Last week, the RHS opened their first urban show in our local City of Manchester. The show celebrated small spaces and city living for plant lovers and green thumbs in the North. The people of Manchester got together to express their love for gardening, planting and transforming spaces from gardens to balconies to create the perfect outdoor oasis.

Only a short 10 minute walk from our Manchester Offices - our Marketing team were lucky enough to visit the show. Take a look and discover all there is to offer so you can plan your visit for next year!

Gardens

There were six Show gardens dedicated to different aspects of Urban Gardening including ‘Beginner Buddies’, helping first time green fingers to find their own, what’s beginner friendly and with how-to start up tips. ‘Garage Gardening’, by Jack’s Patch, found the perfect place for shelving microgreens and mushroom cabinets to pin-point a great way to grow your own.  ‘How To Grow Your Own’ by the University of Manchester used a wide range of edibles, ornamentals and propagation side-by-side packed with possibilities, thus using every corner available in your small space.

RHS City spaces

Jason Williams, AKA the cloud gardener via instagram showcasing his 18th floor balcony space produced 4 balconies to demonstrate the best layout for North, South, East and West facing spaces. Co-designed by Manchester University students, the teams had a budget of £500 to create a mini oasis in the big city. Each garden will relocate back to campus to document the wildlife and crop yield. Jason Williams shares with the RHS: ‘The concept as a whole is ambitious but it is a blueprint of how we can bring a city together. These are not show gardens, they are learning exhibits designed to teach residents, local authorities, retail and developers how we can all improve to make our towns and cities greener.”

Taking care of your Houseplants

RHS Urban Show was full of houseplants along with the best plants dependent on your space and location! If you love houseplants but are unsure how to look after them, the show perfectly displayed 3 groups of houseplants which needed more shade, more sunlight and humidity. Altogether there were 38 plants ranging from popular to exotic, to suit each and every home. The three categories help us recognise plants should be well looked after and not bought to die months later. This highlights the sustainability of house plants.

Shop the show

Throughout the show there were stalls, plants, tools and more to shop as fan favourites were showcased all over Depot Mayfield. Whether you’re a truly experienced plant lover or a newbie to the gardening space, everything you need to improve or begin your outdoor oasis was available to shop at the show. This includes caring, growing, planting and so much more! 

If you’re looking for inspiration, take a look at our Composite Planters. Ranging in an array of sizes, styles and optional additions such as Wheel Bases and Decorative Screens to section off parts of your garden or simply create a gorgeous centrepiece. Our Decorative Screens and Mirrored Screens are also great ways to upgrade your garden space. Using space vertically is perfect use of space which will create a visually taller balcony, garden or patio. For experienced garden lovers and green fingers, our Trellis Decorative Screens are an amazing way to showcase your plants and add an extra feature into your exterior space!

RHS Urban Show was a wonderful experience and we were extremely excited to hear the news that it was held in our local town of Manchester. We’re super excited for the future of the Urban show and look forward to RHS returning for Tatton Flower Show this Summer for show gardens, talks, tips & tricks and much much more!