The gardener has been a household name for decades
Alan Titchmarsh (Image: PA)
Gardener Alan Titchmarsh has revealed there are two plants he is not a big fan of. The gardening expert and television personality has graced our screens for decades. He initially ventured into radio broadcasting when he presented the gardening show House in a Garden on BBC Radio 2.
His television career began on the BBC programme Nationwide as a horticultural specialist, before he took on presenting duties for the Chelsea Flower Show on BBC television back in 1983. Alan is perhaps best known for presenting BBC show Gardeners’ World and Ground Force.
In a conversation with Stephanie Mahon on the Talking Gardens podcast. Alan named “Pampas grass” as the first plant he’d happily never see again. He described the plant as looking like “a collection of feathered dusters sticking out of a mountain of grass”. He warned that once planted, it’s incredibly difficult to remove.
The second plant he would avoid is the large flowered gladioli, although he admitted they can look “very good in church.” He clarified that it is only the larger, more flamboyant type of gladiolus that he dislikes.
The 75-year-old recently shared his favourite “must-have” plants on his popular YouTube channel named Gardening with Alan Titchmarsh. In the video, Titchmarsh describes how certain plants make a comeback each year, boasting both vibrant foliage and flowers – providing they’re well looked after.
To see them thrive, he insists on finding their perfect place in the garden along with the right type of soil for planting. He particularly praised the English Lavender ‘Vera’. He said: “Every garden should have this lavender. The foliage, which is almost evergreen, smells like mentholyptus sweets [and is] really good for clearing your tubes.”
The gardener suggests that English lavender can perfectly complement vegetable patches or borders, flourishing in plenty of sunshine and soil that allows good drainage. In terms of growth, lavender grows around 18 inches tall, approximately 45 centimetres, particularly in certain dwarf varieties.
He praised the Geranium ‘Wargrave Pink’, labelling it as one of his “all-time favourites” and a plant he would “never be without”. This perennial can reach around 45cm in height and is known for its vibrant pink blooms that last throughout the summer.
He also revealed his winter mowing habits, which depend on whether the grass continues to grow and are subject to weather conditions. In terms of achieving optimal results, he shared: “I don’t absolutely shave it, I suppose there’s probably about three quarters of an inch of grass on my lawn that I leave.”
Royal Horticultural Society has shared advice for maintenance of lawns in October. Tips are:
Rake any remaining fallen leaves from lawns so they don’t smother the grass, blocking out light and moisture.Mow your lawn if the weather stays mild, as grass continues to grow in temperatures above 5°C (41°F). But raise the cutting height to 2–4cm (1–1½in) – about 5mm (¼in) higher than in summer.Repair bare patches, especially around lawn edges, using turf cut from other areas of the garden if available.
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