Kate Garraway has opened up about her new love for gardening, a hobby which has become a source of solace since her husband Derek Draper was hospitalised with coronavirus.
READ: Kate Garraway expresses heartache over children not being able to see husband Derek
Derek, 53, became ill in March and tested positive for COVID-19. He was admitted to intensive care, where he was placed on a ventilator, and spent several weeks there before being woken from his induced coma in July. Since then, the dad-of-two has been in a state of minimal consciousness, and hasn't yet been able to speak.
And now in a new interview, the Good Morning Britain host has revealed how being in the garden has given her and children Darcey, 14, and Billy, 11, a sense of "hope" as her husband remains in hospital.
WATCH: Kate Garraway talks love for gardening
"When you’re living on a knife-edge, doing something that gives you a future just helps with a sense of progress," she said on Gardeners' World, which airs on Friday. "You can't think short-term in a garden, you have to plan. You have to have hope. By planting something and believing Derek will see it… that gives us a sense of future."
READ: Kate Garraway praised for being 'same fun Kate' behind the scenes
MORE: Look back at Kate Garraway's wedding to Derek Draper on 15th anniversary
The TV presenter opened up to Joe Swift about the positive effects of gardening with her two children, saying: "It was rather sad because the radishes came, they’re one of Derek’s favourite vegetables, and we ate them and he still wasn't better.
"So I then thought, we've got to go more long term, planting things that were going to take longer to bear fruit… And I'd say, 'Dad will be better by then'… And of course now that it's been so long, we’ve got a huge basket of bulbs, so that when Dad comes home, the place will be full of colour."
© Photo: PAThe GMB host has found solace in gardening
During the upcoming programme, Kate also discusses Facetiming her husband from their garden in North London, despite knowing Derek couldn't respond from the hospital, adding: "I'd sit in the garden and do that and talk about the things that he loved. It's a lovely thing to do."
MORE: Kate Garraway in tears as she reveals brutal 'reality' of husband's condition
On Monday, Kate had expressed her frustration over her children not being able to see their father in hospital. During her appearance on GMB, the presenter talked about Donald Trump's "reckless" decision to jump in a car despite him isolating with the disease.
© Photo: RexKate's husband Derek was rushed to hospital in March
"When you look at the footage of him doing that at the hospital, 'I'm dong fine, I'm fighting the virus, great, I'm here to win an election,'" she said. "It plays into the idea that if you get coronavirus and survive then you're a hero. You are not, you are very lucky."
"Derek still hasn't been allowed, even though he has no longer tested positive for the virus, his children can't visit," she shared. "His mum and dad haven't seen him you know, and I personally believe that actually him having contact like that would possibly be a great benefit."
Gardeners World will air on BB2 on 9 October at 9pm
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