One woman who thinks she has the answer is Jill Mitchell Field, who has set up a new on-line shop from her county home offering gardening and eco-lifestyle books, green-fingered greetings cards and gifts.
The 51-year-old former sales assistant with Harrods gave up her job as an English teacher to establish the business Eden Essentials from the barn conversion in Gretton she shares with her husband Digby, who designed its website www.edenessentials.co.uk.
Mrs Mitchell Field, who taught at colleges in Uppingham and Stamford, moved to the area ten years ago, fell in love with gardening as a hobby and helped establish a gardening club for like-minded enthusiasts in the village.
She said: "When we first came here, we only had a courtyard garden but when we moved to our present home we had more space and I took a greater interest in designing our own plot and picking the plants I wanted.
"The club was set up with a few friends who met socially in each others' gardens, swapped plants and went on visits to interesting gardens and nurseries. Two years ago we also held an Open Gardens day with the proceeds going to charity.
"While many people read cookery books, I love gardening books which are always full of fabulous ideas and beautiful illustrations. But I found trying to find a good selection was quite difficult. I thought there was scope for an internet business where people could find what they wanted more easily.
"Visiting our site should be fun, informative and satisfying. All of the books are helpfully catalogued with illustrations and descriptions of each book so that you really know what you're getting before you buy. As well as celebrity books, we have broken them up into helpful sections, such as trees, planting, flowers and vegetables."
A major feature of the site is its tie-in with the horticultural charity Seeds for Africa, whose patron is TV gardening guru Alan Titchmarsh. This small but growing charity provides indigenous seeds and plants to projects in Africa, helping some of the world's poorest communities to feed and support themselves.
Mrs Mitchell Field said: "I came across its stall at the BBC Gardeners' World Live show in Birmingham this year and for every One Tree card it sold for £5, a fruit tree was planted in a schoolyard in Africa. I thought this was a worthwhile cause for the website to support, as it's about ethical shopping as well as for pleasure."
In addition to cards and books, the site sells gifts such as gardeners' aprons and handmade soaps – an area she hopes to expand using local craftspeople. She said: "We've been trying to find a nice reproduction of the Green Man face carving, but we would rather support high-quality cottage industries than sell mass-produced goods." "Since we started, business has been slow as it takes time for people to become aware of us, but we are advertising in Amateur Gardening magazine in the hope of attracting Christmas trade."
n Mrs Mitchell Field can be contacted on 01536 772433 or jill@edenessentials
.co.uk.