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Adjoa Andoh has shared how gardening has improved her health, as she encourages people to get weeding, planting and birdwatching in order to enhance their well-being.
The 61-year-old actress revealed that horticulturalism has been a transformative experience, not only for her physical well-being but also for her mental and emotional health.
The Bridgeton star appears this week as a guest on ITV's Love Your Weekend, hosted by gardening legend Alan Titchmarsh.
The show celebrates the British countryside, including arts, crafts, manufacturing and produce, and Andoh, will join Charlie Stemp and Carol Drinkwater in Episode 18 of the sixth series, set to air on ITV1 at 9.30am on Sunday 5 May.
Andoh, originally from Bristol but has since moved to Brixton in south west London, opened up about her upbringing, which led to her passion for gardening, as well as the benefits of being at one with nature with The Telegraph in 2022.
Adjoa Andoh has shared how gardening has improved her health, as she encourages people to get weeding, planting and birdwatching in order to enhance their well-being
The 61-year-old actress revealed that horticulturalism has been a transformative experience, not only for her physical well-being but also for her mental and emotional health
Expressing pride over the year-round blooms in the 'fair-sized back garden' of the home she shares with her husband, Howard, she detailed which species of plants have blossomed throughout the months.
She said: 'I like to have something in flower all the time, so in the first few months of the year, it's my winter-flowering jasmines and honeysuckles, hellebores, crocuses and daffs, followed by irises and the beautiful blossom of the crab apple tree.
'By May, the tulips are beginning to leave us and the flamboyant flouncy crimson blooms of the peonies are starting to appear.'
Andoh was raised in the village of Wickwar in the Cotswolds after relocating with her father and mother - who are now divorced - from Bristol at the age of four, and would spend each autumn picking blackberries and damsons to make jam with.
She grew up in a 16th century 'typical English cottage' that was home to a sprawling array of plants and produce, including; foxgloves, lupins, hollyhocks, roses, peas, beans, carrots, tomatoes and herbs.
Getting candid about her current garden and how it has benefitted her mental health, she said: 'My garden is my sanity. It’s my constant reset. I feel my blood pressure go down the minute I step into it.
'There's something about being in the garden that makes you slow down… that halts the speed of everything, no matter how busy you are. For those precious few moments, it’s just you and the plants.'
The actress encourages people to immerse themselves in nature, as 'it teaches us many things' and 'opens our senses.'
The actress encourages people to immerse themselves in nature, as 'it teaches us many things' and 'opens our senses'
Andoh was raised in the village of Wickwar in the Cotswolds after moving from Bristol at the age of four, and would spend each autumn picking blackberries to make jam with
She added: 'You stand there, you look around, maybe spot something you haven’t seen before, maybe something you planted the year before, or the year before that. Patience has rewarded you.
'We live in a society where we want instant gratification. Nature doesn't give you that. Nature says: "Watch and wait and, when it comes, it will be marvellous." And, you know what, nature's right. The garden also opens our senses to other things.
'We always feed the little birds that come by and, sometimes, just seeing a blue tit or a goldfinch close-up is magical.
'I've now got the Merlin Bird app on my phone so I can identify all of them from their sound. Birdwatching. Me. Hilarious!'
Meanwhile, Alan Titchmarsh reveals his preferred natural method for ridding your garden of weeds this spring.
Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh with Adjoa Andoh airs on ITV1 at 9.30am on Sunday 5 May.
