ON PRESCRIPTION… gardening

July 2020 will see the grand opening of the Royal Horticultural Society’s first new garden in nearly two decades: RHS Garden Bridgewater in Salford, Greater Manchester. And some of the volunteers (left) helping to create the gardens are part of a new social-prescribing scheme. Lack of gardening experience or physical ability are no barrier to getting involved, and activities include everything from weeding and planting to digging and deadheading. As well as the mindful benefits of gardening, RHS therapeutic gardener Ozichi Brewster (above) believes people benefit from contributing to such a project by seeing the fruits of their labours: “Our referrals can see when the hellebores spring up in the future and know they planted them. It makes people feel they’re part of a community.”