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Dig the City

Get over to Manchester’s biggest garden party
Grass_flowers_bench Picture from MyGreenPod Sustainable News

The UK’s largest summer garden festival, Manchester’s Dig the City, is a seven-day al fresco party that takes over the shopping streets.

Until Thursday 6 August, you’ll be able to enjoy glorious gardens, daytime and evening events, shopping exclusives, pop-up bars and masses of free events.

Guerrilla gardener Richard Reynolds – on growing wild

Show gardens and installations

28 stunning designs – based on the theme Innovate and Interact – will be on display throughout the festival, from professional and amateur designers as well as community groups and businesses.

Some of the highlights include a pop-up meadow on wheels from horticultural experts Kew Gardens, a mountain stream by Hulme Community Garden Centre, a garden that erupts from cracks in Manchester’s pavements and a vertical growing experiment with bug houses and a mud kitchen from Incredible Edible.

Click here for the full list of show gardens – all of which are free.

Coronation Street The Tour Garden

Manchester’s most famous street has inspired Coronation Street The Tour Garden.

Designed by Coronation Street The Tour and Manchester City Council, the garden explores how a famous ginnel behind the Rovers Return can be turned green and beautiful.

Following the festival, this garden will be used to create a new green alleyway in the city.

Urban agriculture

All week, the beautiful Manchester Cathedral will play host to urban gardening exhibition, Carrot City.

Carrot City showcases examples of urban agriculture from around the world, including vertical gardening, rooftop gardening, community gardens and allotments. The idea is that we can grow anywhere, even within the most complex of urban environments.

Remembering our lost gardens

The National Trust returns to St Ann’s Square with a shed load of garden memories. If you’ve been part of Remembering Our Lost Gardens, you’ll find your memory inside the shed.

There’s still time to tweet your memories to #digthecitymcr. There will also be courses for kids on dry-stone walling, barefoot walking, giant wild art, mud-pie and kite making and giant garden games.

For the kids

There’s also plenty to get small hands dirty at some of the Show Gardens – Pendleton Together’s ‘Friendly Fences’, The Moss Cider Project, Real Food Wythenshawe, Incredible Edible and Dreamscape Gardens all have interactive activities for kids, including hands-on planting and growing, smoothie making and even apple juicing.

Click here to find out more about Dig the City and to see a full list of events.

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