The medieval quarter of Manchester was transformed into a city centre garden
featuring over 10 different areas, including a huge flower festival at Manchester Cathedral, and displays in the Corn Exchange and the National Football Museum. The public areas including Exchange Square, Cathedral Gardens and the recently pedestrianised Victoria Street were transformed into a city centre garden with play areas, activities, falconry displays and planting demonstrations. The majority of it was free to see and take part, and was visited by thousands of people from across the North West.

Groundwork Manchester, with Dig the City, turned Victoria Street into ‘The Living Street’ to help Mancunians imagine the possibilities that Victoria Street could have. Groundwork Manchester transported over 3000 plants from Chris Beardshaw’s RHS Hampton Court Flower Show and brought them to the centre of Manchester. There was a pop up meadow, pigs, falcons, story telling and yurts in the heart of the city, and even rare dragonflies and honeybees were thriving in the inner city plantations.

Manchester Cathedral became an attack on the senses, with over 30,000 stunning cut flowers filling the Cathedral, looking and smelling amazing. Exhibits included “We are the champions” which shows football rivals Manchester City and Manchester United both holding the cup!

The Very Reverent Rogers Govender, Dean of Manchester commented:

“Manchester Cathedral is very pleased to have initiated the vision for Dig the City and that we were able to establish the festival with our partners at the Town Hall and local businesses.

“I would like to say a big thank you to our partners, sponsors, volunteers and staff who have helped to make this festival a huge success.

“We hope that this will become an annual event and look forward to working with you all again. Hopefully this festival has added some festive joy to your summer!”

Manchester City Council filled Cathedral Gardens with greenery – creating Community Avenue, Sunflower Corner, the Jubilee Garden and the RHS Tatton Garden, that won a silver medal at the RHS Tatton Show. The flower markets also relocated to Cathedral Gardens for the week.

Additionally, Dig the City was host to the RHS In Bloom judges who were impressed with the event in its first year, and had never seen a festival such as this in an urban setting.

Nikal, one of the main sponsors for Dig the City, turned their headquarters into an eye-catching display with a tongue in cheek take on The Builders Yard!

Dig the City Manchester 2012 ended on Sunday 29th July and all of the plants and flowers have found new homes! The flowers from Manchester Cathedral are being sent to St Anns Hospice and plants from the RHS Tatton Garden, Sunflower Corner are going to community gardens across Manchester.

The planters on Community Avenue are being moved around to Victoria Street where they will be maintained by volunteers from The Booths Centre, who will use the vegetables and herbs grown in the planters in their kitchens.

Cllr Bernard Priest, Manchester City Council’s executive member for neighbourhood services, said: “Once again, Manchester residents have proved they are passionate about making their city look as good as possible. Dig The City has attracted thousands of visitors into the city centre as well as inspiring people to take up volunteering opportunities, learning new skills, boosting their confidence and making a real difference to Manchester.”

Elements of the Living Street will be relocated to nearby Meanwhile projects. The Meanwhile concept seeks to develop a temporary community green resource from a vacant plot of land that might be awaiting development or an under used space. Meanwhile sites are temporary, flexible and mobile. Once a development proposal has been agreed for the site, all or parts of the project may be moved to another nearby site. The original project is maintained, but at a different location.

Mike Ormerod, Operations Director at Groundwork MSSTT, said

“We have really enjoyed being part of the inaugural Dig the City event and hopefully our Living Street demonstration has inspired local people to look again at the possibilities for enhancing and greening urban areas. Feedback from families visiting the site has been universally positive – in fact most people we spoke to were really disappointed that the transformation of Victoria Street wasn’t permanent! We are also really pleased that significant elements of our display will be recycled and used by a wide range of community groups across the city and on other sites we are developing with our partners – for example we have donated plants from RHS Hampton Court to more than ten local voluntary organisations.”

Dig the City organisers are also working with city centre bodies to develop a lasting legacy and, as plans start to form for the 2013 event, Manchester is set to become a greener city.

Groundwork Manchester, with Dig the City, is proud to present ‘The Living Street’ as part of the inaugural Dig The City festival – right here in the heart of the city.

Victoria Street, between the River Irwell and Manchester Cathedral, has been transformed into an urban garden?– and it’s just waiting to be explored!

Here’s what is happening on The Living Street:

TUESDAY 24TH JULY
9.30am – 5.30pm Lettuce Growing
9.30am – 5.30pm Wildlife Recording
9am – 12pmUrban farm with pigs

WEDNESDAY 25TH JULY
9.30am – 5.30pm Lettuce Growing
9.30am – 5.30pm Beauty is in the eye of the beholder- Weed or Wildflower

THURSDAY 26TH JULY
9.30am – 5.30pm Beauty is in the eye of the beholder – Weed or Wildflower
12-1pm Tree Talks

FRIDAY 27TH JULY
9.30am & 4pm Falconry/Bird of Prey demonstrations
9.30am – 5.30pm Green Roof demonstration/Street Trees

SATURDAY 28TH JULY
9.30am – 5.30pm Green Roof demonstration/Street Trees
9.30am – 5.30pm Yurt Display/Bodger (Forest crafts for the day)
9am & 4pm Urban farm with pigs

SUNDAY 29TH JULY
9.30am – 5.30pm Yurt Display/Bodger (Forest crafts for the day)

EVERYDAY
9.30am – 5.30pm
There will be a selection of workshops from the following: Seed Bomb Making, Living Salad Workshops, Guess the seed/seed timeline and guess the veg workshops, New Plants for Nothing Workshop, Composting Workshop, Spots Vs Stripes games and activities.
Plant stall 9.30am – 5.30pm
??

Dig the City was officially launched last night at Manchester Cathedral and opened to the general public this morning. We’re pleased to say that the sun was shining for us, and we are looking forward to lovely weather all week!

The Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, Lord Bishop of Manchester and The Worshipful, The Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Elaine Boyes and The Very Reverend Rogers Govender, Dean of Manchester opened Dig the City last night amongst an exclusive preview of the stunning floral displays within the Cathedral.

The surrounding gardens are so beautiful, with the silver award winning RHS Tatton Garden on show outside of the Cathedral, visible from The Diamond Jubilee Marquee!

Remember that the majority of the event is free to visit, and that Manchester Cathedral is only £10 per person, with children admitted free.

We hope to see you here!

DTC

As the festival is opening this Tuesday, we are no longer selling advanced tickets online for Manchester Cathedral Flower Festival. If you would like to pre-book tickets please call Manchester Cathedral on 0161 8332220.

Tickets for the flower festival can be purchased on the door, and are only £10 per person, with children coming in for free (max 2 children per adult).

We look forward to seeing you there!

DTC

As we near the exciting opening of the festival, activity is reaching fever pitch! More of that in our next blog piece, but this article is all about a very special project who are displaying some fantastic birdboxes around the festival site!

Working in conjunction with the Council’s Environmental Strategy and Biodiversity team of Manchester City Council, residents of the ‘in house’ art group and gardening team from Mary and Joseph House have created these beautiful decorative bird boxes. Each box is unique and certainly provides a little bit of glamour for their intended new inhabitants!

Both art and gardening are an integral and very successful part of the therapeutic programme at Mary and Joseph House, with some outstanding work being produced. With a heritage going back over 40 years of helping men from all backgrounds with the complex needs associated with alcohol related mental health issues, Mary and Joseph House now based in a purpose built unit in Ancoats provides both a home, the means for recovery and hopefully a return to independent living for 41 residents.

The aim of both the art and gardening programmes is to develop new and dormant skills to promote both confidence and a sense of purpose. With this in mind and building on the work already achieved, we are now developing our links with outside organizations such as the council environmental teams to share skills and assist in projects such as creating decorations for the Queens visit and making environmental art for community events. This has greatly added to the sense of purpose felt by all those involved and is promoting a healthier lifestyle whilst giving something back to the community.

We hope that these bird boxes provide both a smile for all who see them and a little colour, on well let’s be honest probably a rainy day in Manchester!! More importantly of course, hopefully a new rather posh home for some city dwelling birds as well!

So, when you are wandering around Dig the City, enjoying the gardens, make sure that you look up to the lamp posts!

DTC

Dig the City will feature over 10 different areas, including a huge flower festival at Manchester Cathedral and activity within Manchester Arndale, the newly rebranded Corn Exchange and the soon to open National Football Museum. The public areas including Exchange Square, Cathedral Gardens and the recently pedestrianised Victoria Street will be transformed into a city centre garden. The majority of it is free to see and take part, making it an idea family day out.

Here is a list of the different areas and activity (please refer to the enclosed map):

Manchester Cathedral
Stunning flower festival of over 30,000 flowers depicting themes of music through the ages and the Diamond Jubilee. This will be the largest flower festival in the North West, and will rival major Cathedrals in the South.

Manchester Arndale
Manchester Arndale is helping to introduce children to sustainability and green issues in a gentle and fun way during the Dig the City festival.

For two days, Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 July, Exchange Court will be transformed into a miniature green haven incorporating artificial grass surrounded by a white picket fence, colourful wheelbarrows brimming over with plants and flowers in bloom plus free interactive workshop areas for children to paint their own plant pot and then to plant their own sunflower seed.

Each child will be given simple instructions on how to create a pot, which is personal and individual, and also advice on how to care and nurture their seed.

National Football Museum
A floral carpet will be created on one of the levels of the National Football Museum.

Corn Exchange
The ground floor atrium of the newly rebranded Corn Exchange will be transformed into a Mad Hatter’s Tea party.

Sunflower Corner
As part of the MOSI Turing Sunflower project, and their Manchester Science Week, we will be creating a sunflower corner with Manchester City Council. There will be planters full of sunflowers, and scientists on hand to teach people about the project.

Jubilee Square
Manchester City Council’s impressive Jubilee Garden created for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visit to Manchester will be rebuilt in Cathedral Gardens.

Community Avenue
Stunning gardens Manchester communities will be on display in planters. Manchester City Council, who are delivering this, and local volunteers who built these will be on site to talk to the general public about the gardens.

RHS Tatton Garden
Manchester City Council is bringing this garden, which is coming straight from the RHS Tatton show. Designed by residents from Newton Heath and depicts a running track and three athletes representing sports that will be included in the London Olympics.

The Olympic Live site
Exchange Square is the site to watch the London 2012 games, and forms part of the festival site with themed planters, life sized topiary sporting figures and food / drink concessions.

The Flower Markets
The flower markets will be relocated to Cathedral Gardens for the week. Flower and plant market stalls from Manchester Markets.

The Living Street by Groundwork
Victoria Street will be transformed into a visual representation of everything that Groundwork stands for. Workshops, gardens, demonstrations, activities through the promotion of health and well being, play, sustainability, community cohesion and food growing.

The Volunteer Legacy Garden
A garden designed and maintained by Manchester City Council and volunteers will be built on Victoria Street, to celebrate and recognise their achievements.

Nikal
Nikal is one of the lead sponsors of Dig the City and the Manchester property developer’s historic head office will be transformed and open for viewing.

The fashion catwalks have been blooming with every type of flower to inspire us. Designs aren’t only featured as prints on clothing, shoes and bags. They also influence the shape of headwear and come in all kinds of jewellery. Necklaces, rings, bracelets, hair pins and other jewellery pieces from spring/ summer 2012 collections have been inspired by flowers. Designers have also added a touch of 3D–style appliqué flowers, ruffled embellishments and subtle embroidery on garments too.

So even if the sun isn’t shining as much as we’d like this summer in the UK, there are still plenty of opportunities to brighten up one’s wardrobe and embrace the floral theme. You don’t have to be green-fingered to enjoy this fashion trend but just to enjoy the dazzling delight of pretty floral prints this trend brings.

With a diverse range of styles on offers, feel free to dip into floral as much or as little as you please – so whether you want to go full-on flowers or simply make a subtle nod to the style’s new blooms, there is something out there for everyone.

Manchester Arndale has plenty of retailers stocking the current floral trends and the first-ever Dig the City urban garden festival is one such place these trends will look right at home, so ladies what are you waiting for? Get your floaty dresses ready and hopefully with all these beautiful flowers and gardens on show, the sun god will just make an appearance too!

We’re very excited to announce that Groundwork, the environmental regeneration experts, are to take over an area near Manchester Cathedral to show Mancunians how healthier and greener living ideas could be recreated on their doorsteps.

Groundwork Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford (MSSTT) are to temporarily make the recently pedestrianised Victoria Street, adjacent to Manchester Cathedral, into an urban garden as part of Dig in the City!

Groundwork MSSTT plans to bring to life the 250metre street, promoting the longstanding Groundwork vision of “changing places, changing lives” by showcasing a wide range of projects linked, amongst other things, to health and wellbeing, play, environmental sustainability, social enterprises, community cohesion and food growing. Elements of the Groundwork show gardens at the RHS Hampton Court event will be transplanted into the centre of the city.

“This will be a visually stimulating and thought provoking display, where we turn tarmac into a green oasis” said Groundwork’s Senior Landscape Architect, Julie Hyslop. Instead of having garden festival events out in the country, Groundwork along with Manchester Cathedral and the City Council are bringing the countryside into the city. People will be able to see how becoming more connected with the environment even in urban spaces can really improve their lives and make them feel better.

“With plans to inspire and change the perceptions of the public to help them imagine the possibilities Victoria Street can have. ‘The Living Street’ will be peppered with interactive live demonstrations, training workshops and talks to help educate, enthuse and interact with the general public.”

Groundwork has been “changing places, changing lives” since 1982, with over 35 independent Trusts now working across the UK to support those neighbourhoods facing the most significant challenges. Although the world is a very different place in 2012, there are still many parallels with 1982.

“Communities are being buffeted by economic forces beyond their control “a concern expressed by Groundwork UK, as part of Operation Groundwork. “ Unemployment is high and social tensions are simmering. There is a need for new thinking about how we manage land and green spaces and increasing urgency about the real and unstoppable impacts of climate change. 30 years on, Groundwork still holds on to that vision and forever pledges to help make a brighter future.”

We can’t wait to see The Living Street!

Horticultural regards

DTC

Our fantastic flower supplier, Nursery Fresh, is expecting one of their busiest weekends of the year as sole supplier to The Chichester Cathedral Flower Festival 2012.

Nursery Fresh will be supplying and delivering the flowers to Manchester Cathedral, The Triangle and the National Football Museum for Dig the City – a pretty big task!

Working with 150 flower arrangers and approximately 50,000 stems of flowers, Nursery Fresh will sort and condition every single stem prior to delivery to the Cathedral.

Thousands of lilies will be delivered today so that they will open in time for next week’s event.

The Nursery Fresh ‘Team’ have supplied the Chichester Cathedral Flower Festival since 2006 and are thrilled to be working with Internationally renowned florist, friend and Patron Paula Pryke.

We’re pleased to be working with such an experienced team and can’t wait to open the doors to share it all with you!

DTC

The subject of ‘locally grown’ is close to our hearts and, with that in mind, we wanted to tell you about the flowers that will be on display in Manchester Cathedral, and where they come from.

It is the policy of our flower suppliers, Nursery Fresh, to use British grown flowers where possible. Nursery Fresh is a big supporter of British grown flowers and is a regular contributor to Britishcut flowers.com.

It is a sad fact, however, that many British growers were forced out of business during the 1970’s oil crisis. In the ‘80’s virtually all carnation growers in the UK were forced out of business when the Government decided to ‘drop’ import duty on carnations grown in Columbia in a bid to ‘help’ third world countries.In the 1990’s growers in the UK were given very little aid, whilst the Dutch growers were very heavily subsidised by their government.
In latter years many growers have been squeezed out of business by the supermarkets, and many growers have sold their glass houses for housing development or soft fruit production.

It is a sad fact, therefore, that the production of British flowers is limited.

The bulk of the flowers used for Dig the City will be sourced and grown in Holland. Flowers that are not indigenous to the UK or Holland will be sourced from the Country where that product is in season in order to maintain quality and longevity.

‘Hot’ Orchids will be sourced in the Far East, ‘fillers’ such as Solidago and Gypsophila will be sourced from Israel, ‘Tropical’s’ will come from South Africa and South East Asia as will certain foliages. Carnations will originate in Columbia.

There is often a misconception that imported flowers have a much higher carbon footprint than flowers produced in the UK. To produce flowers in the winter in the UK, many gallons of heavy oil will be burned, whilst the same flowers, grown in warmer countries, will require no heat input.

Nursery Fresh will always use growers who are registered as Fairtrade growers where possible. Please click here http://nurseryfreshwholesaleflowers.com/about/environmental-policy/ for their environmental policy.

DTC