Dig The City 2014: Manchester’s Urban Gardening Festival

Manchester may be urban, but there’s no love lost between the city and nature. Remember Happy Mondays Bez’s rooftop bees?

This August, the rural theme continues with Dig the City coming to the city centre. The successful show gardens will take over between the 2nd and 10th of August.

The competition-based show, which will be judged by famed gardener Rachel de Thame among others, will feature the kind of extreme gardening popular at London’s Chelsea Flower Show featuring hot tubs, floral bus stops and something intriguing called ‘edible tunnels.’

Entrants who range from successful designers to novice, green-fingered enthusiasts were instructed to create gardens inspired by the three categories ‘city gardens’, ‘eat’ and ‘grow anywhere.’

Joining TV’s gardening expert Rachel de Thame at the free nine day event is celebrity gardener Diarmuid Gavin. Both will offer talks on urban gardening and landscape design – from simple digging to grand statements. Work will also continue between Dig The City and major retailers Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and M&S to create a city-wide festival designed to transform Manchester into a garden city.

For those wanting to be involved in Dig the City 2014, the event works with many volunteers. Get in touch with for more information , and find timetables and tickets for ticketed events at www.digthecity.co.uk