Liking color, perhaps to brighten the dark mood of living on a family compound with overbearing in-laws, she filled flower beds with blooms.

WSJ: Ruth Bancroft, Growing a Piece of History

There are herbs growing in flower boxes at the bus stop, raspberry canes on waste land, cabbages in the flower beds at the local park - and even beans between the graves in the local cemetery.

CNN: Transforming England's towns into green and pleasant land