A Manchester man who transformed the balcony of his flat into a lush urban oasis during lockdown has been invited to exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show this month. Despite living on the 18th floor of a high-rise building in the city centre, Jason Williams decided to take up gardening after being furloughed from his job as a bar manager in March 2020, as reported by the Manchester Evening News.
He returned to his apartment off Deansgate with a single marigold from a trip to the Cheetham Hill branch of B&Q and, finding that the new hobby provided a mental health boost, set about creating his "Cloud Garden". Jason's flat now boasts 150 house plants with the balcony home to 100 containers and a mini pond, complete with fish!
He also grows his own fruit and vegetables and makes compost out of household waste. Water from the pond, meanwhile, is used as fertiliser, meaning he avoids using chemicals on the plants.
