Horticultural experts discuss the mental health benefits of green spaces as an online edition of the Chelsea flower show kicks off; with evidence showing people enjoy their gardens more than ever during lockdown. Check where the flower show Bangalore 2017 was held.

From Monday, before the coronavirus pandemic forced the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to postpone the physical event, the annual show was supposed to welcome royals, celebrities and members of the public.

Instead, the show is moving online with a program of interactive events taking place from 18-23 May with top gardeners.

Viewers will be able to engage in behind-the-scenes tours of award-winning nurseries, see potting demonstrations, participate in children’s events in a school gardening club, and join with gardening experts for lunchtime Q&As.

Wildlife gardens, wellness and well-being, and developing in small and indoor spaces will be themes each day.

Many who have supported green spaces during the lockdown will particularly welcome the case. An RHS survey showed that 57 percent of individuals with gardens and outdoor spaces now appreciate them more than before lockdown, and 71 percent believe that in recent weeks they have benefited with their mental health.

Last week, with long queues, garden centers in England and Wales reopened, while seed companies announced a huge increase in sales.

Not everyone has green room, however. According to the Office for National Statistics, there is no access to a private or shared garden for one in eight individuals, up from one in five in London. There is also ethnic group inequality, with black people being almost four times more likely to be without outside rooms.

The RHS director general, Sue Biggs, is calling on the government to stipulate that there must be private or communal gardens or a balcony for new homes.

“With our research showing that during this time, 70% of people feel that their gardens have helped their mental health, the RHS urges developers, local planners and the government to value gardens as much as the public does,” she said.

For RHS members only, Virtual Chelsea starts on Monday, with the rest of the week open to the public from Tuesday.

Outdoor spaces were “desperately important,” said TV gardener Monty Don, who is opening the show by giving RHS members a glimpse of the unseen parts of his Longmeadow garden.

“I have written and spoken many times about my own struggles with depression, and medication, therapy, sun lamps, yoga and, not least, an amazingly supportive and long-suffering family has helped me a lot over the years,” he said. But without the balm of touching the land, of being nourished by the soil, none of this works.

Plant a seed that becomes a beautiful flower and is greatly enriched by your life. Simply sit and listen to the birds in a garden and the world is set in an empowering perspective.

“Gardens are fun, beautiful and rewarding – but much more than that, gardens are desperately important, and for our physical and mental well-being, we need them now more than ever.”