Alan Titchmarsh has admitted to one of his most embarrassing moments as a gardener, one which occurred when he had two famous horticulturalists round to see his garden
Alison and Alan Titchmarsh(Image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
Alan Titchmarsh is one of the UK’s most renowned gardeners; alongside Monty Don, he has been guiding Britain through the changing face of gardening at home and abroad.
However, like all of us, Alan has made mistakes whilst following his passion, and has been brave enough to speak about them.
Recently, he wrote about an incident in which he had neglected to label a plant, which then landed him in an awkward situation with fellow gardening experts. Alan, 76, admitted to the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine that he had lost the label, but was hoping it wouldn’t be noticed amongst all of the other plants on display.
However, when giving a tour of his garden to a couple of expert gardeners, they ended up questioning him about the unlabelled plant, leading to Alan’s embarrassing realisation that he had indeed forgotten the name of it.
As a result, he said that in their later letter, they omitted any mention of his garden and instead took the time to thank his wife Alison for the Florentines she’d baked to go with their afternoon tea.
He recalled: “A friend asked me, 20 years ago, if she could bring a couple of her own friends to look at my garden. The two ‘friends’ in question were two ladies who had been head gardeners to Vita Sackville-West at Sissinghurst. No pressure then.”
The two visitors were Pam Schwerdt and Sibylle Kreutzberger.
Alan Titchmarsh(Image: Getty)
Alan added: “The only thing that worried me was that I could not locate the label for the tulips that shone brightly from the narrow borders….Not to worry, there were plenty of other plants that would catch their eye.
“And the only plant they asked the name of? Yup. The errant tulip. When their polite thank you letter arrived it mentioned nothing at all about the garden but was full of praise for Alison’s homemade Florentines that she had made for the afternoon tea.”
Whilst Alan admitted this had been a “most embarrassing” moment for him, his career has continued to go from strength to strength.
Alan’s admission comes nearly a year after he was awarded a CBE, something he presumed was a tax bill when it first came through the post.
Alan Titchmarsh (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Speaking to Saga he said: “I’ve been an MBE for 25 years. I didn’t expect anything else, and certainly not the CBE, which is a bit grown-up really.
“I’m deeply honoured, really chuffed. I found out when a letter came through the post with Cabinet Office written on it. I thought, ‘Is this a tax bill?’ It is true I shed a tear.
“I’m touched there were enough people who thought it was high time. It really is rather something. It’s not a medal, it is something they hang around your neck, so it’s a bit posh.”
When asked about whether he would like to be a knight, he replied: “No, this will do me. I’m very happy.”
Alan is set to reappear on the nation’s screens in Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh on Sunday on ITV at 9.30am.
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