“Gardening is a lifelong journey of building up knowledge. And I think I'm very much at the start of that, but I'm very passionate about making it easy for people. When I first started gardening, when I bought my first house, I really did struggle to find an accessible way into gardening.”
Green thumbs aren’t limited to those who are retired. TV’s newest gardening star, Daisy Payne, is digging out all the deep-rooted stigmas and bringing gardening to a sprouting generation.
The 24-year-old from Cirencester is a gardener, presenter and Instagram influencer, perhaps best known for appearing on ITV’s This Morning, where she shares all her green-fingered knowledge to viewers at home, making gardening a little bit less daunting.
Daisy’s rise to fame came at a time when our gardens and the outside world were more treasured than ever before. As a nation, we discovered a newfound love for all things nature during the first Covid-19 lockdown. Our gardens, parks, fields and forests became safe havens, providing much needed peace and tranquillity.
As our appreciation for these spaces grew, so did the awareness on the danger they are facing: the State of Nature report 2019 suggests there has been a 13% decline in the average abundance of wildlife in the UK since the 1970s. With the United Nations estimating that the global population will reach almost 10 billion by 2050, frozen food giant, Birds Eye, says it's crucial that we source our food sustainably - meaning in a way that doesn’t destroy biological diversity (biodiversity).
Birds Eye have teamed up with Daisy to guide the nation on how to help preserve biodiversity. They have launched an on-pack giveaway competition across the selected packs from their Birds Eye Peas range, where 20,000 wildflower seed boxes are up for grabs to put supporting biodiversity directly into the hands of shoppers.
Daisy has been actively posting helpful tips to her 18.K Instagram followers, giving us to get the most out of our outdoor areas and show us what we can do to help increase biodiversity in our own backyard.
Daisy’s voice sparks up as she starts to explain her passion for sustaining biodiversity, “it’s all about everything that surrounds us in nature. So all the life that supports further life and future life. So in our gardens, that's everything right from our plants, through to other things that live in our gardens, like insects and bees. And I've teamed up with Bird's Eye to really promote what biodiversity is all about, but also how people can support it just in their everyday lives.”
When asked what she does to support nature and the environment, Daisy takes a heavy sigh and laughs, suggesting the list is endless. Thinking of one example, she said: “I really read up on the brands that I'm buying from, checking out their sustainability credentials, and that kind of thing, just so that I'm being really cautious and careful about what I'm buying into and what brands are doing to really support the future.”
The Royal Society reports that, although the UK boasts more than 70,000 known species of animals including plants, fungi and microorganisms, the abundance of its wildlife is declining. With Gloucestershire being the home to large parts of the Cotswolds, it is rich with biodiversity, spread across its distinctive landscapes for wildlife.
The county has 248 Conservation Areas and approximately 800 Key Wildlife Sites.
Daisy says she has always appreciated her Cirencester home and the biodiversity that surrounds it. A warm smile fills her face as she says, “I'm a Gloucestershire girl. It's great to drive around and see some of the roundabouts and some of the verges that are often left to go wild by the Council, which is fantastic to see."
"But you can also do that in your own back garden. Leaving areas to go wild is fantastic for insects, and other life too.” She giggles to herself with delight as she says, “I've got lots of lovely followers in in Gloucestershire, and it is my home.”
Daisy has shot into TV stardom rather suddenly, planting herself into our screens, homes and gardens with a familiar and friendly face. Her soft and inviting manner has allowed her to gain the trust of gardeners around the nation, but it hasn’t been an easy ‘root’.
“It's been a really hard-working year, but I'm very thrilled to be a part of This Morning and to be bringing gardening to life in a new fun, bright, light way. I hope that I'm encouraging people to get into gardening, where they maybe haven't thought it's for them. It's been so fun and it continues to be fun.”
A simple internet search will reveal how the majority of TV gardeners in the UK are part of an older generation, that was until Daisy grew to prominence. Seen as a breath of fresh air, Daisy is inspiring the younger generation and this is what keeps her going.
“Sometimes there's so many different descriptions of things, there's so much jargon. So, I kind of started out just really passionately trying to get the basics across so that it would inspire or help one person to get into gardening and now I sort of find myself doing it week after week on telly and its brilliant fun, because I know people are enjoying it.”
When asked for one final piece of advice, Daisy confidently says: “Well if you are starting out in the garden, you realise actually, there's a lot that can be done, and it can all be started in your in your outside space, no matter what size.”
You can read all about Daisy’s partnership with Birds Eye here.
Jack Shute
Comentarios