Driving home the benefits of plants

摘要

Britain might be a "nation of gardeners" but there is woeful ignorance about the valuable contribution plants make to society and its health. And this ignorance is worst where plants could be at their most valuable. On many of the poorest estates in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow barely a green plant is seen and fruit and vegetables are ignored. Life expectancy in these areas remains stubbornly low while alcoholism, nicotine and drug dependencies thrive. Encouraging a love of plants willnot of itself cure these problems, but it does offer alternative and possibly more attractive lifestyles.