Huge cash boost for gardener giving free makeovers

A man who started offering free gardening services in his spare time after seeing a negative social media post about the state of someone's plot in his town has received a huge financial boost.

After the BBC highlighted his work in July, Stephen Jalland, from March, Cambridgeshire, gained national press coverage.

He launched a crowdfunding page to help him buy tools and equipment, and following an article in The Guardian, the appeal hit £25,000.

"This money will help me do more garden work for people who really need it," he said, adding that he will maintain his paid handyman work to fund his personal expenses.

Jalland, 57, who has suffered with mental health issues himself, said he empathises with people in need of help, or who are feeling overwhelmed by the tasks facing them.

He said: "I've been down the bottom of the barrel looking up a few times and luckily I've got out of that barrel and kept going."

Jalland said the money will give him the ability to help about three people a week, alongside his paid handyman services.

"When I go to aid people, the satisfaction of helping and getting to know them is lovely... you're creating friendships."

Jalland said he helps people who are struggling with physical and mental health or who are facing financial worries that mean the upkeep of a garden is not a top priority.

Anita Thursby, 54, lives in March and was diagnosed with stage four cervical cancer in 2024.

"My friend contacted Stephen... to see if he could tidy up my nature reserve of a garden," she said.

Thursby, who is now free of cancer, said she underwent aggressive treatment and would have found the garden a peaceful haven to aid her recovery, but it was too overgrown.

She said she has now been given hope and spends as much time as she can in her garden "sanctuary".

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