It was a trip to B&Q in Cheetham Hill that set in motion the chain of events that led Jason Williams to Chelsea Flower Show. Furloughed and struggling with his mental health during the first lockdown, he decided to have a go at gardening.
As Jason made his way back to his city centre flat with a single marigold, little did he know what was to come. In the months that followed, he transformed his 18th floor balcony in the city centre into a lush urban oasis.
His "Cloud Garden" has been such a success that he has been invited to exhibit at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May. Jason decided to take up gardening as a hobby shortly after March 2020 as an escape to help him aid his mental health during lockdown.
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The 35-year-old explained: "I had just moved into my apartment and realised how important outside space was. I ended up going to B&Q in Cheetham Hill and getting a marigold.
"The garden centre was the only place that was open so that became the day trip out when I was going for walks. It was a nice distraction during lockdown. It started off just to pass the time then grew into more than that.
"I realised how much it helped with my mental health and I got really into self-sufficiency to try and grow food for myself." Jason spent the following months honing his gardening skills through trial and error, and documented his journey in YouTube videos.
His rented apartment off Deansgate is now home to more than 150 house plants and a further 100 containers on his ever-growing balcony garden. It has helped him to become more self-sufficient, and he now grows his own fruit and vegetables as well as converting his household waste into compost.
His balcony garden even boasts its own mini pond - complete with fish - and Jason uses the water as fertiliser in order to avoid having to buy chemicals. One of his main challenges has been figuring out what plants will thrive on the 18th floor of a high-rise building.
"The front of my garden is glass railings so on a sunny day it can be anything up to 15 degrees warmer than on ground level," Jason explained. "That affects some of my plants.
"Being so high up, it's extremely windy. Nine times out of ten, my plants end up getting wind burned and dying.
"It's about making the right choices and working out what is going to suit my space. My garden isn't picture perfect. Sometimes things don't go well and it's important to learn from your mistakes."
Jason showcases his garden on his YouTube channel where he offers helpful tips to other keen gardeners. Such is his love for his horticulture that he has since quit his job as a bar manager to pursue his passion full-time.
In January - less than two years after he took up gardening - Jason found out he had won a place at Chelsea Flower Show. "There were a lot of tears," he recalled.
"It's probably one of the most famous flower shows in the world so for someone like me with no gardening experience to get there is a real honour. It's amazing that they've given me the opportunity. Everyone is super supportive.
"It's been an incredible journey. One of the main things has been just having a bit of self-belief, believing I can do things and not giving up.
"I realised I was working 60 to 70 hours a week, contantly worn out and answering emails. Having time out in lockdown gave me time to reflect. There's nothing better than leaving a toxic work environment and doing something you love."
Jason will make his Chelsea debut in the small balcony and containers gardens category, which was introduced last year following a boom in lockdown gardeners. His self-funded effort is exclusively made up of plants that have been tried and tested on his balcony, and will be sourced from Chorlton Plant Nursery.
Ultimately, Jason says he hopes he can make the event "more accessible" and inspire fellow apartment dwellers to set up their own balcony gardens.
"When people think of a show garden they think of extravagant flowers," he said. "I live in the city centre and don't drive, so they're all plants you can get at B&Q or your local plant nursery.
"More and more people are moving into urban apartments. If you rent, you have to be more creative in how you use space.
"There are more people doing what I'm doing in London than Manchester. The stuff I do is very time consuming but it would be amazing if everyone had just one container of wildflowers.
"It's a lot more simple than people think. I think the appetite is there but people don't know where to start. This time next year, we might have have a whole tonne of balcony gardeners in Manchester."
