As an online version of the Chelsea flower show kicks off, horticultural experts are highlighting the mental health benefits of green spaces, with evidence showing people are appreciating their gardens more than ever during lockdown.
The annual show had been due to welcome royals, celebrities and members of the public from Monday, until the coronavirus pandemic forced the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to cancel the physical event.
Instead the show is heading online with a programme of virtual events featuring top gardeners taking place 18-23 May.
Viewers will be able to participate in behind-the-scenes tours of award-winning nurseries, see potting demonstrations, take part in a school gardening club with activities for kids, and join lunchtime Q&As with gardening experts.
Themes each day will include wildlife gardens, health and wellbeing, and growing in small and indoor spaces.
The event will be particularly welcomed by those who have embraced green spaces during lockdown. An RHS poll found 57% of people who have gardens and outdoor spaces value them more now than before lockdown, and 71% feel they have helped with their mental health in recent weeks.
Garden centres in England and Wales reopened last week with long queues, while seed firms have reported a huge rise in sales.
However, not everyone has green space. According to the Office for National Statistics, one in eight people do not have access to a private or shared garden, rising to one in five in London. There is also disparity between ethnic groups, with black people nearly four times more likely to be without outside space.
Sue Biggs, the RHS director general, is calling on the government to stipulate that new homes must have private or communal gardens or a balcony.
“With our research showing that 70% of people feel their gardens have helped their mental health during this time, the RHS is urging developers, local planners and the government to value gardens as much as the public do,” she said.
Virtual Chelsea starts on Monday for RHS members only, with the rest of the week from Tuesday open to the public.
The TV gardener Monty Don, who is opening the show by giving RHS members a glimpse of the unseen parts of his Longmeadow garden, said outdoor spaces were “desperately important”.
“I have written and spoken many times of my own battles with depression, and over the years have been much helped by medication, therapy, sun lamps, yoga and, not least, by an astonishingly supportive and long-suffering family,” he said. “But none of this works without the balm of touching ground, of being nourished by the earth.
“Plant a seed that becomes a beautiful flower and your life is immeasurably enriched. Simply sit in a garden and listen to the birds and the world is set in a perspective that is empowering.
“Gardens are fun and beautiful and rewarding - but much more than that, gardens are desperately important and we need them now more than ever for our physical and mental wellbeing.”
