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Mr Nice guy's Himalayan adventure
He's just turned 60, so you could be forgiven for thinking that Alan Titchmarsh may be about to slow down a bit and reduce his workload.
After all, how long can the affable, ever-smiling, always-busy Yorkshireman go on the way he does? It's not normal. But he thrives on it – the books, fiction and non-fiction, the TV, the talks, the travelling. Oh, and, yes, the gardening, which is what got him into this position in the first place.
Look him up on Wikipedia, and you get Alan Frederick Titchmarsh, MBE, DL, an English broadcaster and novelist, particularly famous in the field of gardening programmes on UK television, although he has also had lengthy stints presenting daytime and religious programming on TV and radio.
It's long way from school in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, where, he was dismissed by his teachers as a no-hoper. But he had inherited the green fingers of his grandfather and great-grandfather, who had been professional gardeners, and he went to work as an apprentice gardener with Ilkley council.
And that was the start of it all; the fame, the fortune, the accolades, the honours and celebrity status. Alan Titchmarsh's star has never really dimmed since he stepped before the cameras to present his first Chelsea Flower Show. He has just fronted his 26th, and although gardening and television have both changed extraordinarily since the early 1980s, Alan has not. He remains the same easily identifiable, always amiable, ever smiling – boyish even – bloke who finds it as easy to chat with royalty as he does with commoners. And although he has spent the best part of his life living far south of his Yorkshire home, he does pop back, perhaps two or three times a year. We caught up with him at the official opening of the relaunched Harewood Himalayan Garden.
In and among chatting to all and sundry – "it's nice to be back in Yorkshire; I can flatten the vowels a bit more," he says – he ignored the almost Himalayan weather (rain, patches of mist draped among the trees) to tour the garden with Harewood's head gardener, Trevor Nicholson. From a vantage point among the heavy foliage, it was possible to follow their route by the flash of cameras as everyone sought to get a photo of the great guru of British horticulture.
"Unique and astonishing," is how Alan described garden whose creator, Trevor Nicholson, recently won the title of Professional Gardener of the Year.
The three-acre sunken glade situated below "Capability" Brown's majestic lake, has been redeveloped and replanted and even has its own stupa – a sacred Buddhist monument – which was originally consecrated by Bhutanese Lama Baso Karpo in 2005 at a ceremony attended by the Prince of Wales.
Paths wind and weave through foliage; an elegant bridge spans a waterway, but it's the plants – and the way they have been used – which makes the setting so memorable. Vivid shots of rhododendron flash like spotlights from amid the greenery, while wild garlic clothes the ground between stately trees.
Even more eye-catching are the carpets of primulas and the incredible blue of the Himalayan poppy, Meconopsis betonicifolia.
This is a garden to take slowly; every nook and cranny deserves attention, even the most insignificant of plants is worthy of note. It's a bit of paradise created by man – and one which will have to be tended by man to ensure that it remains a thing of beauty and a joy for ever. Pity the poor gardener who has to do all the weeding. As the rain continued to stair-rod its way to earth, Mr T continued to smile for the photographers – both professional and amateur – and exchange pleasantries with perfect strangers.
"This is why the garden thrives here at Harewood – it's warm and damp in a perfect setting, and the plants will continue to flourish in the months to come. The Harewood Himalayan Garden is a hidden gem and second to none in the UK. Tell all your friends."
Standing in the middle of Yorkshire, in the middle of a Himalayan garden, in the middle of a typical wet day, it was easy to see why he has remained so popular and so in demand. He is the mister nice guy, every mum's successful, smiling son. A real charmer, says one enchanted female watcher. And it's here that you can see his fan base. He can make a simple gardening technique sound almost amorous, and his twinkling eyes and roguish grin have endeared him to millions of middle-aged women.
Suggest to him that his success lies, in part, to having a portrait in the attic on the lines of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, brings an even bigger smile to his face.
Not true, he says, "but when my face no longer fits on the telly, I'll stick to writing where they can't see how ugly I am."
But just how does he cram so much into so little time. Does he still garden? "Of course. I still get my hands mucky.
"And it's great to be able to talk a bit of Latin," he says in a reference to his tour of the garden and the plants with Trevor Nicholson.
Gardening, says Mr T, recharges his batteries. "But I don't actually work. I don't have to wait at the station every morning. I don't have to be in the office at a certain time every day. I write at home; I need somewhere to sit and do it properly."
Writing is a big part of his work these days, but he is still a firm favourite on TV. His first few television appearances were as a horticultural expert on the long-running BBC television show Nationwide. He was also on other BBC shows, such as Breakfast Time and Open Air, and then Pebble Mill at One.
He had spells presenting Songs of Praise, plus many more one-offs and regular radio work. And apart from numerous books on gardening, he even finds time to write novels – they may have been panned by the Press, but they have been best-sellers for the happy millionaire.
He made an excellent host for Gardeners' World, and, in 1997, he took gardening to the masses with a popular BBC1 television series, Ground Force (here he gives a big grin and a quick apology for helping to popularise decking).
But it's Chelsea which remains close to his heart. Chelsea wouldn't be Chelsea without him. It's difficult to think of anyone else who could front the BBC's coverage of the event with such consummate ease.
"It's a plantsman's paradise," he says of the event. "Chelsea is the best for growers anywhere in the world. The outside gardens push back the boundaries of gardening, and the
plants themselves are of supreme quality. It's 40 years since I first went to Chelsea, and although it's a lot less predictable, it's still the greatest show on Earth."
Time for a few more photos in the rain of Harewood, then a quick lunch and a flight back to Southampton to prepare for his beloved Chelsea. But he'll be back in Yorkshire. You can count on it.
The relaunched and replanted garden is open from 10.30am to
6pm until November 1, then weekends until December 13.
Visit the website at www.harewood.org or call 0113 218 1010.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 11 February 2012
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