Manchester Flower Festival will return this month, bringing three days of floral displays, workshops and family activities to the city centre.
The free annual festival runs from Saturday 23 to Monday 25 May, taking over Exchange Street, St Ann’s Square and King Street with this year’s theme of Green Manchester.
The programme will centre on five major horticultural installations, each inspired by green projects across the city. They include Future Green Manchester by Groundwork Greater Manchester on Exchange Street, which looks at the redevelopment of Piccadilly Gardens through climate-resilient planting, and Exchange in Bloom by Verdure Floral Design in St Ann’s Square, inspired by the Royal Exchange’s rooftop beehives.
Also in St Ann’s Square, PLANT CIC will create The Urban Pollinator Garden, an immersive space filled with wildflowers, nectar-rich planting and habitat features. On King Street, The Sky Garden by Cloud Gardener UK will explore how balconies and small urban spaces can become green sanctuaries, while Frog Flowers’ Nature Unlocked will take inspiration from Castlefield Viaduct.
(Credit: Carl Sukonik)
Visitors will also be able to explore the Ginnel Gardens on Exchange Street, with smaller installations from Ardwick Climate Action, MUD CIC and The Whitworth ECO Garden, using planting, reclaimed materials and upcycled design to show how overlooked city spaces can be transformed.
Selfridges Exchange Square will host its own festival activation across the weekend, with a floral display, live DJs in-store, a pop-up florist, food and drink, and a family trail with rewards.
Family activities will include The Conker Crew’s Urban Nature Play Stations in St Ann’s Square, running daily from 10am to 4pm, and a Family Bee Hunt across Exchange Street. On Monday 25 May, PLANT CIC will lead free family planting and craft sessions on King Street, including seed bomb making, sunflower planting and pot decorating.
There will also be workshops across the weekend, including pressed flower plant sign making, kokedama, dried flower bunches, flower crowns and seasonal floral design. Talks and tours will cover subjects including Castlefield Viaduct, pollinators, sky gardening, British-grown flowers and greenwashing.
Guided walks will include Jonathan Schofield’s Trees, Flowers and Manchester City Centre Tour on Sunday 24 May, the National Trust’s Bloomtown Poetry Walk on Monday 25 May, and a free Nature Walk with CyanLines through the city centre.
St Ann’s Square and King Street will also host flower stalls from local florists and nurseries, while The Makers Market on Market Street will bring together Manchester-based makers, artists and independent businesses.
King Street will become an outdoor dining spot across the festival too, with restaurants including Gail’s Bakery, El Gato Negro and Franco Manca serving outside during the weekend.
Manchester Flower Festival runs from Saturday 23 to Monday 25 May.
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