Manchester is packed with lovely green oases, providing solace from the hustle and bustle of the city, and we most definitely love a bit of the great outdoors. Now, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has kicked off its new Urban Show in Central Manchester.
The RHS has transformed Manchester’s historic former railway station, Depot Mayfield, into an urban grower’s paradise from 18 – 21 April 2024, full of small space gardening inspiration to encourage and inspire city dwellers to grow plants for both their indoor and outside spaces.
The RHS Urban Show is very different to the RHS’s current roster of Flower Shows, with an industrial, indoor, city centre location and immersive experience designed for those who live in cities with limited or no outdoor growing space.
Whilst urban growing is at the heart of the show, the influence horticulture has on interior design, art, wellness and sustainability will also be explored. There are innovative gardening features with design inspiration for small city spaces, such as vertical gardening and urban farming along with immersive plant installations, a host of talks, advice and practical workshops and a carefully curated selection of plant nurseries selling a huge variety of houseplants and small space friendly plants.
Chase Distillery have been announced as the official Gin & Vodka sponsor of RHS Urban Show in Manchester, opening their ‘Forage Your Own Garnish‘ bar, for visitors to get a bit creative as they bring a taste of the countryside indoors. Visitors can come along and experience cocktail making masterclasses throughout the day and enjoy a delicious nature-inspired cocktail.
Helena Pettit, Director of Gardens & Shows, said before the event: “In recent years there’s been a real gardening boom and we believe more young people living in cities are now growing plants.
“The RHS Urban Show aims to bring gardening to a new audience and demonstrate that if you have plants you are a gardener.
“There is so much great work already happening across the city to make it greener and we are excited to help support this growing movement. We want to get even more people living in the UK’s second largest city inspired to grow plants and connect to the natural world.
“With over 80% of the UK population living in towns and cities, the new show will enable more urban dwellers to garden, especially where access to green spaces can be limited.”
As part of the RHS strategy to 2030 launched earlier this year, one priority is to open up gardening for anyone, anywhere and the new RHS Urban Show is one of the ways in which the RHS hopes to do this, getting as many people as possible gardening in one sense or another.
Tickets for all 2024 RHS Shows are on sale now here.