Urbis - Urban Gardening

Exhibitions

Urban Gardening

26 April - 7 Sept 2008

FREE

Experience the pleasures and delights of this very British pastime as gardening is brought into the gallery!

This exhibition shows how city dwellers can make a difference to their spaces…. From the neglected back alley, the humble balcony to the high rise towerblock, see how the even the tiniest corner of your home, office or garden can be transformed into an urban oasis.

Find out how much fun gardening can be for the whole family and how you can do your bit to combat climate change and protect your local habitats from the effect of urban sprawl.

Explore our house, fully furnished courtesy Ikea, Manchester. Discover how your home can be the most important place in the world, to grow your own greens and clean up your living environment.

With a variety of events and workshops going on throughout the exhibition (for kids and grown ups alike!) there’s plenty of opportunity to roll up your sleeves, embrace the soil and get back to nature!

Events

Summertime Gardening

Daily: 28 July – 31 Aug

Every Sat & Sun in Sept

12 – 3pm

£3, all ages

Visit our family fun zone and enjoy a range of exciting activities throughout the summer holidays. Make something to brighten up your garden, like a unique plant pot or a fantastic picnic cushion. Our gardening themed activities will change regularly so there will be something new to entertain the family all summer long!

Funky Plant Pots

Daily: 28 July – 10 Aug

12 – 3 pm

£ 3

Come and use your artistic skills to decorate your own porcelain plant pot, plant a seed, take it home and watch it grow. Using a gardening diary, record how your plant develops and how you have cared for it. Send in your photos and we will put them on Urbis’ website.

Wicked Wind Chimes

Daily: 11 – 24 Aug

12 – 3pm

Create an eye catching wind chime for your garden using a range of resources including buttons and shells. Hang it in your garden and enjoy its music all summer long!

Picnic Wednesdays

Every Wednesday in August

12 – 1pm, Free

All Ages Welcome

Enjoy a picnic in Urbis’ own Urban Garden inside the Urban Gardening exhibition. Bring your sandwiches and we will provide a warm, comfy place to picnic, with story telling and colouring activities too!

Arty Gardeners

Sat & Sun, 6&7, 13&14, 21 (Sun only), 27&28 Sept

Create a work of art for your garden! Make a 3D bug, bird or creature of your own, using child friendly plaster.

Perfect Picnic Cusions

Daily: 25 – 31 Aug

12 – 3pm

Learn how to create the perfect accessory for any picnic. Learn sewing and decorating techniques. Perfect for any park, garden or urban outing.

Seed Swap

Sun 7 Sept

11am - 5pm,

£1

Join us for a day of gardening activities including seed swapping. Save any unwanted seeds & bring them along to swap them for some you do want! Get involved in discussions and debates and learn how to pot a plant or watch a bee hive in action. With family activities and a chance to buy some local organic produce make sure you don’t miss this seedy Sunday.

competition

Win a Revolution Pathfinder Nexus bike (RRP £349)

Visit the exhibition for your chase to win a top of the range Revolution Pathfinder Nexus - with an upright lightweight aluminium frame and the clean reliable Shimano Nexus 8 hub gears this bike is perfect for the road and equally fit for light trails.

Exclusively available from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-op.

For your chance to win just fill in the form available in the exhibition.

Tatton Flower Show 2008 - ticket offer

Garden lovers are in for a summer of delights as the Royal Horticultural Society prepares to celebrate ten years of the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park, one of the highlight events of Cheshire’s Year of Gardens 08.

This year’s milestone event will showcase some of the most innovative and fresh horticultural designs from around the UK and will offer visitors a complete horticultural experience with inspiring gardens, expert advice from the RHS and plenty of shopping opportunities.

There will be more tips to be had in the National Plant Societies Marquee where the British Tomato Grower’s Association will be launching new varieties – some of which are currently unnamed, and the National Vegetable Society will be on hand with their latest work.

The RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park takes place between 24-27 July 2008. Advance purchase tickets are normally £21, and tickets cost £23 on the gate.

The RHS has teamed up have teamed up with Urbis to offer readers an exclusive £1 off on advance tickets, so they can be purchased for £20 To book call 0870 906 3850 and quote URBRHS.

For more information on the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park visit http://www.rhs.org.uk/tatton. For more details on the events taking place as part of Cheshire’s Year of Gardens 08 visit www.yearofgardens08.com