Cultivating Community is a community interest company limited by guarantee established in 2019. It operates a plant nursery within the walls of an ancient walled garden in Mells near Frome.
The nursery provides gardening-based activities and therapeutic horticulture programs to alleviate the health and well-being effects of loneliness whether as a result of social, economic, geographic or generational isolation. It is a community hub:
• Improving the physical well-being of the elderly and providing opportunities to socialize and connect;
• promoting, informing and supporting vocational and experiential learning by young adults, especially those with disabilities to improve their employability and participation in society;
• providing an outdoor learning environment for young children and encouraging intergenerational learning.

All plants grown and maintained by participant gardeners are sold to the public when the garden opens from April through to the end of September to fund its therapeutic activities. The CIC derives 48% of its income from funding grants and 52% from trading income. The long-term goal is to increase the trading income percentage to 65% to make the organisation less dependent on grant funding.