RHS Urban Show in Manchester to celebrate ‘gardening boom’ in cities

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Mayfield Park at Depot Mayfield Manchester

The Royal Horticultural Society is to celebrate the “gardening boom” taking place in cities by hosting its first ever large indoor show in 2024.

The charity said it wanted the RHS Urban Show at Depot Mayfield in Manchester to inspire urbanites to grow plants both indoors and outside.

It said it would be “very different” to its “current roster of Flower Shows”.

Director of gardens & shows Helena Pettit said it would be about bringing gardening “to a new audience”.

The charity has five gardens across the UK, including RHS Bridgewater in Salford, which opened in 2021, and hosts a number of annual outdoor flower shows, including one at Tatton Park in Cheshire.

People sat on small terrace surrounded by plants

An RHS representative said the urban show, which will take place from 18 to 21 April, was part of its strategy for the next decade, which it launched earlier in the year with the aim of opening up gardening “for anyone, anywhere”.

“The RHS Urban Show will be 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,” they said.

They said “urban gardening” would be a focus for the show, but it would also look at “the influence horticulture has on interior design, art, wellness and sustainability”.

“There will be innovative gardening features with design inspiration for small city spaces, such as vertical gardening and urban farming… 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,” they said.

Ms Pettit said there had been a “real gardening boom” in recent years and “we believe more young people living in cities are now growing plants”.

She said the new show would “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,” she said.

“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.”