A green-fingered Cambuslang woman is hoping to share gardening tips with like-minded locals after setting up a new online group.
Keen gardener Victoria Freed was looking for advice on greenery but discovered the majority of tips related to America.
Deciding that a local touch would be a nice way to overcome the lockdown blues, she has now set up Cambuslang Cultivators – Gardening Forum on Facebook, and has already got just under 100 members in only a week.
The group aim to share photos, advice and general chat about gardening and Victoria is hoping other locals will sign up.
She explained: “I had started gardening in April 2020 during the first lockdown because I wanted to feel at peace in my outdoor space.
“I participated in gardening forums online to learn basic information and they were supportive but mostly US-based, so it’s a completely different climate from Scotland.
“As a novice gardener I had a lot of basic questions so I had to do so much independent research. I was looking up the last frost dates the other day for Cambuslang and it clicked with me that there are probably a lot of people interested in that information that applies to us local gardeners.
“I asked around on All About Cambuslang to see whether a local group existed that I could join. No one replied positively so I made one myself.”
Victoria says that gardening was a huge mental boost to her during the difficult lockdown, and hopes to encourage others to get involved.
She added: “Honestly, gardening has helped my mental and physical health so much. It’s also given my outdoor space the ‘wow’ factor when it’s been legal to have friends visit outside.
“I also really care about biodiversity and I think it’s great that so many other people are interested in gardening, which supports bees, butterflies and other wildlife.
“Imagine how our town would look if everyone cultivated one square metre of land!”
Search for Cambuslang Cultivators – Gardening Forum on Facebook to join. All are welcome.
