Gardening icon Alan Titchmarsh has shared the ‘most important thing’ green-fingered Brits can do when building their garden. Speaking to the Gardener’s World podcast, the 75-year-old suggested people should ‘test’ their soil to determine its ph level.
This will tell would-be gardeners whether their soil is acidic – perfect for plants such as rhododendrons and azaleas – or alkaline.
Alan said testing your soil will help people narrow down which plants to go for. He claimed ‘loads of plants will grow on chalk provided you enrich the soil.’
He said: “At the outset when you’re making your garden, the most important thing is that you have your soil tested to find out its ph, whether it’s acid, and rhododendrons and azaleas and chameleons will love growing.
“Or whether it’s alkaline over chalk or limestone, in which case they will not be growing, but lots of other things will. Clematis and loads of plants will grow on chalk provided you enrich the soil a bit.
“It’s not always as hungry as it’s made out to be, provided you’re good with the compost.”
The gardening expert had some more advice for British gardeners when it comes to building their ideal garden.
He suggested keeping an eye on neighbouring gardens for inspiration to find out more about what plants might or might not work in your area. Alan, who was the lead presenter on Gardeners’ World from 1996 to 2002, suggested it could be ‘kinder to the plants’.
He told the podcast: “It’s finding out what will grow well in your area. Look in neighbouring gardens, and if there are no rhododendrons growing there, the chances are they don’t grow well in that area. Learn from other folks’ gardens.
“It doesn’t mean to say you have to have an identical planting scheme, but ask questions of them and see what does well for them.
“Sometimes you can adjust conditions so a particular plant will do well, but in other instances it’s much better to garden with what you’ve got and to grow plants that will naturally like your conditions anyway.
“It’s much less of a hassle and also kinder to the plants than to be forever ministering to them and trying to keep them away from the brink of death.”
It comes after Alan named one tree everyone should plant if you have a specific garden. Quizzed on which tree is ideal to grow in a small residential garden, he said: “Even in a tiny garden, you can get height.
“And, there’s one tree I would always recommend for a small garden to bring you a bit of height, particularly if the garden offers a little bit of shelter, and it’s the Japanese maple.”