Green-fingered Britons turn to gardening during lockdown

Lockdown has seen a surge in interest in gardening, according to a survey, with around a million people in Britain joining Facebook gardening groups since March.

The Opinion Matters survey found 45% of people had been inspired to improve their gardens during lockdown, with 30% saying they had been inspired by 'garden envy' from seeing other people's beautiful outdoor spaces.

Landscape gardener Joe Perkins, a triple Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner, welcomed the surge in interest in gardening.

He said: "The more interest, the better, as far as I'm concerned, and if it comes from online it's great because it's accessible to everybody.

"Anything that makes people get out into their gardens is a brilliant thing, because I think it's been useful for all of us to, in a way, reconnect with nature." More than three million people in Britain now belong to more than 6,500 Facebook gardening groups.

The social media giant was to have sponsored a garden at this year's Chelsea Flower Show, to be designed by Mr Perkins.