WASHINGTON: Mel Gibson says he is always loo-king to improve himself and insists the best suggestion he ever received was to take up gardening.

The actor, who became a father for the eighth time when girlfriend Oksana gave birth to daughter Lucia Anne, says the best advice he was ever given was to dig ditches. The 53-year-old star now grows vegetables to become a better person. “Some of the best advice was from a guy who said, ‘You want to make yourself better, go and dig a ditch.’ So, a lot of that’s been going on, ditch digging, vegetable growing.”