The RHS Urban Show celebrates the traditional Pub Garden, with one lucky community taking it home
The Star Inn, Salford is to take home the garden, where it can be enjoyed for the benefit of the community. The RHS and the Manchester Evening News (MEN) joined forces to give local pubs the opportunity to win the final garden for themselves. Entrants needed to demonstrate why their area needs a beautiful pub garden, and how it would serve as a community hub.
Winners of the RHS pub garden competition (left to right) Jane Dudley, Mick Smith and Lorraine Gainsborough, from Star Inn in Salford with garden designer Emma Tipping
Pub gardens have long provided a relaxing area to socialise, enjoy food, and live events. In many urban areas, these spaces are a crucial community asset. Manchester boasts a rich history of pubs – the oldest building in the city, houses a pub, The Wellington, built in 1552.
The RHS Urban Show is paying tribute to the rich social history of its host city of Manchester by creating its very own pub garden inside Depot Mayfield.
Designer Emma Tipping was the natural choice to take on the project. Her medal-winning gardens at RHS Chelsea and RHS Tatton Park have both been celebrations of the joys of socialising in gardens. Be it sipping a cocktail in Come Lime With Me, or enjoying an after-work pint down the local, in The St George ‘I’m Alright Here’ Balcony Garden.
Emma says: “I’m really excited to be designing the MEN Pub Garden for the RHS Urban Show. Pub gardens are about much more than just enjoying a pint on a sunny day, they are key spaces in the community that encourage people to get together, socialise and spend time outdoors. They also present a positive opportunity for greening in urban areas, to create a friendly environment not just for people but for wildlife too.
Emma Tipping’s design for the RHS MEN Pub Garden
“Having a strong sense of connection, to people and to nature, is really important and especially necessary in urban environments, so I love the idea of bringing some more green interest and excitement to a pub garden.”
Lex Falleyn, Show Manager for the RHS Urban Show, says: “We all love a pub garden. But they don’t have to all be concrete squares with a few tattered tables and overflowing ashtrays. They can become spaces where the beauty of gardening inspires, welcomes, and brings us closer together. It’s nice to be connected with nature, even deep within the city.”
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