Horticulture the best therapy

19:28 4th May 2010

Garden and greenhouse enthusiasts may already be aware of a topic picked up on by a national newspaper.

The Times noted how horticulture can be the best therapy for mental ailments such as depression and stress.

Author Catherine Horwood explained that getting her green fingers dirty had helped her stay positive through her mother's battle with an increasingly common mental condition.

She suggested that, while the activity often led to her reaching for medicine to deal with the numerous cuts and bruises she accrued, had it not been for gardening then "I might well have been down at the doctor's surgery not for antibiotics but for antidepressants".

Once the pastime of men, gardening has become increasingly popular among women and families in recent years, Ms Horwood noted.

The author added that the use of horticulture as a therapy is not new, with a philanthropic group distributing plants to the poor in the 19th century to help boost their civic pride.

In other news, Alan Titchmarsh has been named as the new president of Plant Heritage.