Village plant stall near Aylesbury and Leighton Buzzard raises £150 for Ukraine

A woman from Wing has helped raise funds for people affected by the ongoing Ukrainian conflict. Gemma

Godivala has taken in a Ukrainian family who were displaced by the war, but wanted to help out in other ways too.

Gemma said: “I was just looking at my flower beds last year, thinking that I would have to lift and divide a lot of my perennials this year.

“My Ukrainian guest, Viktoriya, was helping me in the garden. I had the idea that, rather than just toss lots of surplus plants on the compost heap, I could plant up all the root cuttings and have a fundraising plant sale.

“Since then, I started looking for any opportunity to salvage little seedlings and runners from lots of plants in my garden and filled my greenhouse with the results.

Gemma, who raised £150 from the sale, added: “I'm so touched, not just with this support on this occasion, but more broadly with how wonderfully supportive our community has been to Viktoriya and her family since she arrived.

"The local welcome has really made Viktoriya fall in love with England. Her home is still Ukraine and she yearns to return, not least to reunite with her husband, but it makes me happy that, despite all of the fear and worry and separation, Viktoriya and her boys will always have warm memories associated with their time seeking refuge here."

The proceeds will be administered by Village Help for Ukraine, run by two other Wing women, Hannah Pierce and Allison Milligan.