Enjoy Gardening During National Gardening Week and Beyond!

This week is National Gardening Week, and Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats are backing the campaign to help people get gardening and to grow a new generation of gardeners.

If you are lucky enough to have a garden, gardening is a great way to keep active, especially at this difficult time while staying at home. If you don't have a garden then a windowsill can also make a great home for flowers and some vegetables to grow.

You can order flower and vegetable seeds through one of the local garden centres offering home delivery. If you are a beginner in the garden there are lots of relatively simple jobs like weeding, pruning, planting and replanting pots (inside and outside) which will help you to stay active and keep your garden looking good.

And now that Bedford Borough Council has restarted green waste collections following a temporary pause, it's the perfect time to enjoy spending time and working in the garden.

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Kingsbrook Ward Cllr Patrick Solomon (pictured) said: "Plants and gardens can bring real benefits for both mental and physical wellbeing. You can start with simple, light garden work and do as little or as much as you like - and then you can admire your own handiwork!'

"Getting out in the garden is a great way to be active and enjoy some fresh air, especially while we're all staying at home. And with good weather for growing and with green waste collections now back underway, it's a great time for experienced gardeners and beginners alike to get stuck in!"

The Royal Horticultural Society offers a wide range of advice and ideas for looking after your garden, and you can find them all here on its website along with more information about National Gardening Week: https://www.rhs.org.uk/get-involved/national-gardening-week

Following a brief pause due to the pandemic and the need to prioritise black bin and orange-lidded bin collections, Bedford Borough Council has reintroduced green waste collections. For the moment they are on a monthly basis rather than fortnightly, and your collection may be on a different day of the week to your usual collections. You can check when your next collection is at www.bedford.gov.uk/bins