LIKE many proud homeowners Rose Wall spends hours tending her beautiful garden and cultivating her vegetable patch.
But while the mum-of-three from Birmingham is busy trimming her rose bushes, anyone walking into the garden might be forgiven for not noticing the flowers.
Rose Wall loves to get back to natureCredit: Rose Wall
The mum-of-three is proud of her mum bodyCredit: Rose Wall
Rose, 39, is among the growing army of dedicated naked gardeners and regularly digs, pots and trims in the buff.
“I love gardening nude. It’s so freeing,” she tells The Sun. “I celebrate nature and being natural.
“I garden naked in front of my kids. I don’t care if people think it’s odd or bonkers. I love celebrating my lumpy body and showing the world what a real woman’s figure looks like.
“Naked gardening is my chance to show my kids I celebrate my body. I don’t care if people think it’s crazy. Naked gardening is brilliant. If you don’t like it, don’t look. I love my wobbly bits.
Rose shows her wild side in the gardenCredit: Rose Wall
Her kids think she’s pottyCredit: Rose Wall
“It’s something I never thought I’d do but now I am a naked garden aficionado. I am trying to convince all my pals to give it a go.”
Wild side
Carer Rose, who is separated, has always loved gardening but until 2015, when she bought a four-bedroom detached house with an overgrown back yard in Birmingham, she had been in rental properties.
Now she is proud of her sprawling cottage-style garden, which is sectioned into vegetable patches and flower beds to attract butterflies and bees as well as potted plants and thriving bushes.
“Gardening in a rented property limits you to what you can change and restricts you to planting in pots,” she says.
“If you decide to garden naked and the neighbours complain the landlord gets involved and that could be awkward.
The older kids worry they’ll bring pals home and I’ll be in the buff in the garden wearing a hat, wellingtons and gloves
Rose Wall
“Getting the house was a great chance for my green fingers to be unleashed and for me to let my wild side out.”
Initially Rose gardened fully-clothed or in a swimsuit, then in 2020 decided she wanted to show her kids how proud she was of her body.
“My kids occasionally see me running from the bathroom if I am late, and I have always been open about my body shape,” she says.
“It’s important kids learn to celebrate all different shapes and sizes no matter how much they complain or look shocked.
“The older kids do worry they’ll bring pals home and I’ll be in the buff in the garden wearing a hat, wellingtons and gloves. They always check.”
In lockdown Rose saw an advert for World Naked Gardening Day and decided to give it a go, although she admits the thought of someone taking nude pictures was initially terrifying.
“It’s one thing to run around the house in the buff but another thing to pose up in your garden doing the weeding while trying not to flaunt your girly bits,” she says.
Kids take nude pics
Rose hides behind an overgrown bushCredit: Rose Wall
She spends hours in the gardenCredit: Rose Wall
Short of a photographer in lockdown, Rose enlisted her 12-year-old to do the camera work.
“My kids thought I’d gone bonkers and had huge laugh ,” she says.
“I think seeing me end up with dirt over my bum, trying not to expose too much and avoid stinging nettles turned it into a real giggle.
“If I leaned over too far or stood too close to a rose bush, the kids were left screeching at me in horror.
“I thought I’d hate the pictures. Instead I loved them. I am no supermodel, but my kids managed to show me having fun and enjoying the garden and myself in all my glory.
“I showed less flesh in the pictures than I would in a swimsuit.”
‘Trolls call me shameful’
And she doesn’t mind if the neighbours get an eyefulCredit: Rose Wall
Rose shared her images on social media and received overwhelming praise and support.
“My inbox was inundated with positive feedback and people telling me how amazing it was to see a ‘real mum-of-three’ showing off her body in a positive way.
“Others said seeing mum tum on show and mummy lumps and bumps being celebrated was amazing.”
Some fans commented that Rose was brave and inspiring.
“Of course, I got some trolls telling me to ‘put it away’ and telling me I was shameful,” she adds.
“Those people are just sad and jealous, I reckon.”
Rose admits the trolls’ negativity inspired her to post even more images.
“I love getting the last laugh,” she says. “My friends told me I was brave and wished they had my guts. The support of my mates was amazing.”
Kids say ‘behave’
Rose tends to her veg patchCredit: Rose Wall
Since 2020 Rose has taken part in World Naked Gardening Day annually and admits each time her photos show her confidence with her body growing.
“The kids are now teens and got sick of me asking them to play photographer,” she says. “Teens are teens.
“I was determined not to let them spoil my fun and this year I took my pictures using a timer which proved a challenge.”
Rose admits she hopes the neighbours don’t get an eyeful.
“I am lucky my garden has an extra high fence,” she says. “I haven’t ever had a complaint. My buff gardening pictures expose way less than many bikinis on Instagram.
“There was scaffolding up one year for building works so I gardened after the builders finished. It was too hot in the middle of the day to tackle the weeds anyway.”
Celebration of four births
Rose has been showered with praise for her picturesCredit: Rose Wall
She takes part in World Naked Gardening Day every yearCredit: Rose Wall
As well as having three kids of her own, caring Rose acted as a surrogate for another couple last year.
“As a carer I have seen couples struggle to have children and I wanted to give back,” she says.
“I was the ‘greenhouse’ for their embryo, just as I have a greenhouse in my garden.
“This year my pictures are a celebration of having given birth to four children and helping another couple grow their baby.”
Rose isn’t alone when it comes to naked gardening.
An Ipsos poll last year revealed that 14 per cent, or 6.75 million UK adults, describe themselves as Naturists or Nudists – almost double the 3.7million in a 2011 poll.
The British Naturism Group say people of all ages are turning to body-positive, clothes-free recreation and enjoying a wide range of live and online events and activities.
“It’s great to be on trend. I’m not a nudist. I just like gardening in the buff when the weather’s good,” Rose says.
“It’s great to be rebel mum with a sense of fun. But for me, it’s about being a mum and sharing body positivity. If my mum tum or cellulite show in the pictures I don’t care. It’s who I am, and I am keeping it real.
“If anyone trolls me, I say ‘shame on you’. It takes guts to promote body positivity and naked gardening and I think every mum in the country should give naked gardening a go.
“It’s made me feel more confident and given the neighbours something to gossip about.
“I’m blooming with new body positivity and it’s all thanks to buff gardening.”