Tributes paid after ‘Super Garden’ winner passes away

An online notice on RIP.ie said: “The death has occurred of John Dooley of Castledermot, Kildare. 

“Deeply regretted by his loving wife Liz, brothers, sisters, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours, and a large circle of friends”.

Mr Dooley told the Irish Examiner at the Bloom festival in Phoenix Park in Dublin last week that he was “delighted” that he won the contest while Liz said she had entered him into the competition without telling him.

“I knew he would be well able,” she said at the time. 

“I just filled out the application and told him afterwards, we are delighted, and everyone is coming up to us and congratulating us.

“He is so talented, he sees it in his head and puts it all together, we are over the moon with the win.”

Mr Dooley described his gift of gardening as “something you can’t learn in school”.

“I’m not someone who studied this, I just can do it myself and I’m able to put things together. 

“I always loved the garden, but we are not using the right flowers when it comes to the garden.”

“If you see the back garden here its full of vegetables like our parents would have done. They grew every vegetable.

“Then you have all of these flowers that are doing nothing for the environment.

“We want people to plant flowers that will come back the following year but will be a pollinator and attract the bees and be good for the environment.”