For Emily Hough, nature was too often simply something out there", a world apart from her, a view from a hospital window. Years spent in and out of specialist mental health units ... meant she felt little connection with the countryside. That was until five years ago, when a hospital occupational therapist gave her an unusual prescription: Grow a sunflower. "I'd never planted anything in my life," Ms Hough said. "But I planted that sunflower and, just watching it grow, from me watering it and from me protecting it from the shade, helped me feel connected for the first time and really be able to appreciate what was around me - and how I can make a difference to nature and what nature can actually do for me." Ms Hough, now 35, embraced what is formally called by the NHS "green social prescribing", where GPs and health practitioners refer patients to organisations that offer nature-based activities, whether that be hiking, birdwatching, rockpooling or looking after a city-based allotment. It is supposed to complement other more mainstream treatments and therapies and has been a key part of the government's 10-year plan for the NHS in England. The national pilot scheme saw nearly 8,500 people prescribed nature activities in its first two years, with more than half those patients living in socio-economically deprived areas. Chris Dayson ... who was part of the team that evaluated the scheme, said it brought "a really statistically significant increase in wellbeing" for patients.