2019

UK: Changing lives with gardening

Author:

Lin Weiguang

Britain is a country where "everyone is a gardener". The British are well known for their obsession with gardening, and their garden care is highly praised. From the royal palace aristocracy to the common people, the British love gardening like lovers, British horticulture is because of this can be timeless and world-famous, and Britain can become a gardening kingdom that flower lovers around the world are fascinated by.

Gardening, British love

For many Britons, the most proud thing is their house and garden, and gardening has become a popular way of life in the UK. According to a survey, 90% of Brits consider their garden care, which is a great enjoyment.

In many British towns, gardening centres have become a popular "standard", they are as important as supermarkets, providing great convenience for flower lovers in the UK. Souvenir shops in tourist attractions such as castles and manors often have flower and garden decoration areas so that visitors can buy and put their garden experience into practice in their own gardens. British newspapers, magazines and television programs have special columns on gardening, which are very popular with the public. Gardening competitions of different sizes are also often organised across the UK.

In British bookstores, there are also countless books on gardening. In 2004, a book called "Gardening, British Love" was published in London and quickly became popular. The book cleverly links the most popular romantic stories of British history with various well-known gardens, not only providing a romantic review of the history of British gardens, but also allowing readers to understand the ancient and interesting horticultural traditions of Britain and the close and pleasant relationship between the British and horticulture through lively and vivid text.

The British media commented that there is a "private kingdom" of its own, a "play place where the imagination can play freely", which is an important reason why many British people enjoy gardening. British gardens are different from other countries, for example, American homes' gardens are usually in front of their houses, as if saying "hello neighbors" to show themselves "open to the world", while British homes' gardens are traditionally in the backyard and have a strong sense of privacy. French and Italian gardens, for example, tend to be solemn and formal, "designed to be seen and envied," while the British built gardens to "wrap themselves in their own green."

Political frustration and the garden is proud

In the UK,

there is no shortage of famous people who love horticulture, and their influence has played a certain "top-down" leading role in the promotion and popularization of horticulture in the UK.

Among them, there is former Prime Minister Disraeli, who loves primroses, and Chamberlain, the "appeasement prime minister" who loves orchids. Queen Elizabeth had a lifelong passion for flowers and gardening, and loved pruning, weeding and loosening the soil in the royal gardens. In Glochester, Prince Charles spent a lot of energy to create his own "garden kingdom" - Highgrove Manor. There, Prince Charles would take off his decent gown and cultivate it himself. It is said that he would whisper to plants when no one was around.

The flower show gave birth to the "Oscars of horticulture"

British horticulture is so well known thanks in large part to some of the large, successfully run flower shows. The Chelsea Flower Show, held in London every May, is known as the "Oscars of horticulture" and is recognised as the most influential flower show in the world. The flower show was organized by the Royal Horticultural Society of the United Kingdom, the first exhibition was held in 1862, after more than 150 years of development, it has now become a global horticultural exhibition and is also considered the vane of industry development. Although tickets are expensive, they are hard to find every year, and in recent years, the number of visitors attracted by the exhibition has exceeded 160,000, and Queen Elizabeth II of England is also a must-visit every year. The Royal Horticultural Society organizes the flower exhibition into a socialized industrial activity with strong influence and radiation through the competition.

In addition to the flower show, the annual Queen's Garden gathering held by the British royal family at Buckingham Palace is also an important occasion to show British gardening to the outside world. The gathering began in the 60s of the 19th century, when most of the people attending the garden party were from high society, and today it is also open to the public, inviting people who have contributed to British public causes.

An important tool to improve national health

In recent years, a new trend has emerged in British horticulture that is becoming a lifestyle with "medicinal curative effects". Some British researchers said that "horticulture has great healing and restoring power for people". In its 'display garden' design, the Chelsea Flower Show is paying more and more attention to the efficacy of horticulture as a "healing for illness".

a report commissioned by the National Garden Programme, the King's Fund recommended that the government use horticulture as an important tool to improve the physical and mental health of its citizens. The report even recommends that doctors use gardening as a "prescription" for people with cancer, Alzheimer's disease and depression. Mary Berry, president of the National Garden Program, said, "I have long been aware of the therapeutic effects of gardening.

There is a horticultural charity in the UK called Thrive with the slogan "Changing Lives with Gardening". Allison Cowley, a spokesman for the group, said that gardening has many benefits, improves physical and mental health, gives people a sense of purpose and accomplishment, and people who enjoy gardening often enjoy exchanging knowledge, which is conducive to building better relationships.

The Daily Telegraph reports that many studies have shown that patients tend to recover faster if they can go to the garden frequently during their hospital stay. The Guardian reports that family doctors in some parts of London have actually begun to use gardening as part of prescribing patients, which has the effect of reducing the need for doctors and emergency room visits, and improving their mood and sleep. The King's Fund Health Think Unit reported a 19% reduction in violence among those with gardens nearby, compared with a seven-fold increase in violence for patients without gardens.

Monty Don, a famous host of the BBC horticulture show, has appeared many times to promote the therapeutic effects of gardening. He had suffered from severe depression and experienced a minor stroke. He has spoken publicly about his depression more than once, saying gardening saved him. "The mud gives me a better cure than any medicine," he said. ”

(From Life Times).

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UK: Changing lives with gardening