A new campaign to get more Britons to work outside with garden tools has been launched by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
The first National Gardening Week will run from April 16th to 22nd next year and ties in with both the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the existing Britain in Bloom campaign.
"It is fantastic that this inaugural gardening week combines with the Britain in Bloom launch and the year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee to get the nation growing," commented RHS director-general Sue Biggs.
This year's run of Britain in Bloom was recently identified as having a positive impact on local communities in terms of economics and the environment, in addition to making positive social and transformational changes.
An average of £6,044 was raised by groups to fund their volunteer work and one local authority received an estimated £2.6 million – a considerable return on the £67,000 it invested.
Environmentally, around 15 acres of green space was created and maintained by each participating team.
Ecological responsibility could also be a theme of the National Gardening Week, as there will be a composting day on April 19th.
The RHS says it will be providing extensive advice and tips to encourage Brits to take a more active role in composting.
Gardeners are being asked to send in photos of their handiwork, as on April 17th the best images will be selected for inclusion in the Lindley Library archive as a historical record of green-fingered work in the country today.
Horticultural careers will be promoted by Alan Titmarsh and RHS staff on April 18th as part of A Career To Be Proud Of Day, with inspirational talks given on a life's work in the gardening world.
"There are more exciting plans in the pipeline which we'll be announcing in the lead up to the week," Ms Biggs promised.
