The Duke of Rothesay has given a green thumbs up to a national campaign promoting the physical and mental health benefits of gardening.
Prince Charles planted a hydrangea at his Deeside home of Birkhall in aid of Million Planting Moments.
The new initiative is being run by the Horticultural Trades Association and aims to encourage the UK public to get their hands dirty while planting this autumn.
Running until September 27, the HTA’s project aims to educate budding gardeners all about plants and where they come from.
It also promotes the importance of sourcing healthy plants, which the HTA argues is “critical from a biosecurity perspective”.
Boyd Douglas-Davies, the president of the HTA, said: “We are very grateful for the support from The Duke of Rothesay at a time when the benefits of planting and gardening have never been more important, both to our environment and climate change.
“Million Planting Moments aims to highlight the huge contribution that plants make to our environment.
“Anyone can take part, whether they have access to a community space, garden, patio or window box and they can plant anything from trees and shrubs to perennials and bedding.”
Research by the HTA suggests as many as three million new gardeners “sprung up” while stuck at home during lockdown
It hopes to capitalise on the new influx of plant fans and “educate and inspire them to become lifelong gardeners”.
“Gardening benefits mental health and wellbeing across all generations and this was particularly reinforced during lockdown,” Mr Douglas-Davies added.
“We would encourage everyone to visit their local garden centre to find out the best plants for their space and share Million Planting Moments on social media.”
