Gardening a simple pleasure

With the economic chaos continuing to drag the British public into a financial quagmire, many are looking for cheap and fun forms of entertainment.

Recent research has shown that around eight in ten consumers turn to creative activities such as gardening to beat the credit crunch.

The study, by smoothies company Grove Fresh, found that simple pleasures such as growing your own fruit and veg can be among the more satisfying experiences in life.

Grove Fresh sales and marketing director Mark Philips is not surprised by the results.

"The simple things in life tend to be the best and its interesting that these new skills and interests have recently become more apparent amongst the British public," he said.

"Home gardening is a very popular pastime.

"Not only do people have full control over how they care for their produce, they enjoy more interaction with nature and encourage wildlife to thrive."

Those looking to grow their own food would do well to use a greenhouse to help cultivate young and fragile plants.