GARDEN centres are closed and supermarkets only have limited stock – so Minehead gardeners in the know are heading for a handerchief-size garden in a narrow lane just off the seafront.

There Judith Heaphy, aka “the Plant Lady”, magically produces a constant stream of flowers and vegetable plants which she sells for charity from under awnings by her front door in Quay Street.

And in the last six weeks, Judith’s plant stall has raised over £1,750 for the Bumble Bus mobile cancer care unit run by the Hope for Tomorrow charity, which recently lost some of its funding: “All the money I take goes to charity and this is a vital service which needs to be supported,” she said.

“For the past four years I have been selling plants for charity to a growing number of regular customers, but since the coronavirus lockdown, things have just gone crazy.”

Every inch of Judith’s three-metre by nine-metre back garden plot is taken up by masses of plants and seedlings in pots and trays. Her conservatory doubles as a greenhouse and she borrows two more greenhouses from kindly neighbours.

“I just can’t meet the demand at the moment from my own garden, but luckily friends with surplus plants are helping me out,” she said.

“Apart from supermarkets, I’m probably the only regular plant supplier in the town and at the moment I could sell everything I produce many times over.

“At the moment I’m getting up to 30 customers a day, ranging from someone buying a couple of plants after a walk on the beach to somebody going off with a car-load.

“I make sure I observe the personal distancing rules and police officers are among my customers so I must be doing things right!

“My garden is simply unable to keep up with the demand and I’m desperate for more supplies, particularly of vegetable plants. If any local gardeners have surplus plants, particularly tomatoes, beans and especially courgettes, I would be delighted to sell them for charity.”

To buy or donate plants, contact Judith at [email protected], 07827 330750.