With summer officially underway in the city, the National Trust has launched the Sky Gardening Challenge Competition, an exciting new project in which participants are invited to green their balconies and window boxes.

Through running the competition, the conservation charity aims to foster a connection between people and nature while nurturing an urban environment that supports better wildlife.

Open to anyone living in a flat across Greater Manchester with a balcony or window box, the competition is open to budding balcony gardeners of all abilities, with the chance to win up to £350 worth of gardening inspired goodies, vouchers and more.

Share your balcony gardening story and enter into one of five categories spanning all levels of experience, including a ‘One Pot Power’ category, emphasising that even the smallest action can contribute to large-scale collective wellbeing and conservation.

All you need to do is pick one category and share your gardening journey with the National Trust by Thursday 31 July.

If shortlisted, you’ll get a visit from a friendly panel of judges on a select date, before finding out if you’ve won a gardening haul, National Trust passes and more, as well as the opportunity to attend a September garden party with community partners from around Manchester and Cloud Gardener, Manchester’s award-winning gardening expert and competition judge.

Cloud Gardener said “Competitions like this are key to helping people maximise their unique growing spaces in an accessible way. Urban balcony gardening not only has mental health benefits but also has a direct impact on urban wildlife and biodiversity. All the balconies in Greater Manchester would add up to the size of 33 football pitches, which is potentially a huge impact if we greened them. Hopefully the competition can help us turn as many balconies as possible into thriving beautiful gardens.

Joining Jason on the judging panel is Victoria Holden and Teddy Jones. Victoria is the founder of Northern Lily Community Interest Company, a social enterprise based in Oldham that promotes wildlife friendly gardening in urban areas.  Teddy is the National Trust judge, an assistant gardener at Castlefield Viaduct and wildlife conservation student who has always been fascinated by urban nature. Teddy also enjoys and cares for his very own balcony garden.

Housing associations and community greening organisations from across Greater Manchester have worked with the National Trust to deliver workshops to get people started and give specialist balcony gardening advice.

Salford housing association Salix Homes, which owns 8,000 homes across Salford including 20 high rise blocks, has been encouraging its customers to take part, hosting a series of gardening workshops in partnership with the National Trust to encourage people with balconies to give ‘greening’ a go.

Warren Carlon, Director of Communities at Salix Homes, said: “We’re proud to support the Sky Gardening Challenge and to work alongside the National Trust to encourage our customers living in high rise homes across Salford to get ‘greening’.  It’s a great opportunity for people to connect with nature and improve their own wellbeing, and this competition is a fantastic way to show you don’t need a garden to enjoy nature or grow your own produce. Even just a few plants can make a real difference, especially in urban environments, and we’re excited to see how our customers bring their balconies to life.

The National Trust would like to thank partners STIHL and CJ Wildlife for their kind donation of competition prizes.

Enter the competition by Thursday 31 July via this link: Sky Gardening Challenge Competition | National Trust

T&Cs apply  

Sign up for a balcony gardening guide, free seeds and email support here: National Trust’s Sky Gardening Challenge | National Trust

Image credit: National Trust Images / Paul Harris

A Manchester Wire Partnership post
Thu 12 Jun - Thu 31 Jul
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Words:
Wolf McFarlane
Published on:
Tue 17 Jun 2025