Balcony growing competition launches, with a chance to win £350 worth of gardening prizes

Gardening has reached new heights in Greater Manchester with the launch of the National Trust’s Sky Gardening Challenge competition.

The Sky Gardening Challenge encourages people to green their balconies and window boxes, with those who enter the competition having a chance to win a prize package worth up to £350, from gardening goodies and vouchers to National Trust days out and more. The competition is open to anyone living in a flat across Greater Manchester that has a balcony, window box or private ground floor space.

Through running the competition, the conservation charity hopes to improve people’s connection to nature, enhance wellbeing and create an urban environment which better supports wildlife.

The key thing to note is that you don’t have to be a gardening pro to take part. There are five different categories to enter, meaning that that there is something for all levels of experience. There’s even a ‘One Pot Power’ category, emphasising the collective difference that small actions can make. If you think you have a blooming good balcony in any shape or form, you just need to pick a category and share your gardening journey with the National Trust by Thursday, 31 July 2025.

If shortlisted, you’ll be visited by a friendly panel of judges on select dates. Winners will be announced in September and there will also be a chance to attend a celebration event, which will be attended by community partners from across the city, including Cloud Gardener, Manchester’s very own award-winning balcony gardening expert (and Sky Gardening Challenge 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 of33 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 – visit the Sky Gardening Challenge Competition website.

Terms and conditions apply.