Sir Ben Kingsley, Judy Dench, Ricky Gervais and Pixie Lott are just a small sample of the celebrity names who have lent their support to a campaign promoting the importance of gardening.
Conducted by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the initiative – entitled Pot Art – is aimed at raising awareness and enthusiasm for the satisfaction of getting to work with garden tools, particularly among children.
It was launched at the ongoing Chelsea Flower Show, where the celebrities were seen decorating miniature plant pots in the hope of raising funds for the RHS Campaign for School Gardening.
This supports schools up and down the nation in their efforts to promote creative engagement with – and activity in – gardens.
A report was conducted prior to the launch of the scheme, which found that gardening is an activity that can teach the next generation invaluable life skills, as well as making them fitter, happier and more productive in general.
While celebrity gardeners such as Rachel de Thame and Alan Titchmarsh have promoted the initiative, it has also attracted the support of writers like Ben Okri and poet Andrew Motion, actors such as Christopher Biggins and Joan Collins and comedians including Rob Brydon and the controversial Ricky Gervais.
Gervais underlined the importance of schemes such as this one – particularly when they promote activity among children.
"Everyone should do something creative and I can't think of anything better than appreciating the beauty of nature. That is why I support a campaign that encourages kids to get involved in gardening," he remarked.
The celebrity-decorated plant pots will be auctioned online to raise funds for the RHS campaign, which is thought to get more than half of the nation's children outdoors to work in the garden.
Indeed, pots designed by Alan Titchmarsh and Rachel de Thame raised over £200 each.
