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CityCo, working with Manchester City Council, has installed Manchester city centre’s first urban orchard.

The project is our second Manchester Garden City initiative. Designed by gold-award winning RHS national young designer of the year, Daniela Coray, the orchard has been given a permanent home in St John’s Gardens in Castlefield.

As part of the initiative various locations around Manchester city centre were considered for the orchard, with St John’s gardens coming out on top for long-term sustainability of the garden.

Jointly funded by CityCo and Manchester City Council the entire garden has been carefully transported 20 miles from Tatton Park to the new location off Lower Byrom Street.

CityCo has assisted in the facilitation of relocating the orchard, and installing the garden. The orchard will be open to the public by the end of August.

The award-winning design includes 12 crab apple trees laid out on a grid similar to traditional rural orchards, making it easy to pick the fruit. Amongst the trees are wildflowers such as Viper’s Bugloss, a biennial plant with violet blue flowers; Ox-Eye Daisies, a familiar native wildflower and Red Campion, a common spring-flowering plant found in woodland and meadows. Other plants featured in the garden include Good King Henry, also know as poor-man’s asparagus and perennial herbs Common Sorrel and Meadowsweet.

Councillor Mike Amesbury, Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for Culture and Leisure, said: St John’s Gardens is one of the most beautiful green spaces in the city centre and this orchard will enhance it even further. We’re rightly proud of our city’s parks and are committed to ensuring they provide pleasure for residents and visitors alike. The Manchester Garden City scheme is really beginning to take off. It’s a sustainable, important enterprise that will provide lasting benefits in the city centre for generations to come.

Castlefield residents will adopt the garden and ensure its on-going maintenance and well-being.

Read full press release

  • Click here for more information about Manchester Garden City.
  • Anyone wanting to be involved in maintaining the garden should contact Ali McGowan at adrmcgowan@yahoo.co.uk
  • For more information on Daniela Coray and her landscape designs visit danielacoray.com

View images of the orchard