Why we need new talent to come through in the horticulture industry - Yorkshire Post Letters

The media, with shows like Gardeners’ World and Love Your Garden, are not in my opinion showcasing gardening to new young gardeners with the current presenters, like Monty Don and Alan Titchmarsh, who are nearing or over 70 years old.

Monty Don has been presenting Gardeners’ World for 21 years, except for a short break in the mid 20s, and surely this is the time to hang up his well worn digging spade and apron and give the leading role of presenting Gardeners’ World to a younger colleagues such as Francis Tophill or Adam Frost who are more likely to appeal to a younger audience.

Both Francis and Adam have studied horticulture professionally, at Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh in the case of Francis, and North Devon Parks Department where Adam started his career in horticulture.

This I believe would inspire young people to come into horticulture as a professional career knowing that there are opportunities in the media to present and promote horticulture if they wanted a 'taste' of the media.

The BBC wanted someone to do a gardening slot on Pebble Mill at One in 1991, and this is where Yorkshire born and bred Alan Titchmarsh started his television career.

Also Lancashire born Christine Walkden, presenter of a gardening slot on the One Show and more recently Glorious Gardens from Above.

I studied at Lancashire College of Agricultural at Myerscough, near Preston, with Christine in the mid 1970s, and I could see her potential in her presentation skills, which came naturally for Christine, unlike me who prefers to keep away from a camera.

I believe that this is the right time as more of the population are taking an interest in the climate by volunteering to plant young trees, forming new woodlands which will eventually link together forming the Northern Forest which is coordinated by the Woodland Trust (The Yorkshire Post, September 10).

Many older people are either having a career change or taking early retirement, especially after experimenting with planting in their own gardens during lockdown and are finding horticulture a fulfilling career move.

The Royal Horticultural Society's training apprentice gardeners schemes at all its gardens around England, with Harlow Carr in Harrogate and Bridgewater in Salford in Greater Manchester, are all over subscribed each year.

What is needed is more professional tutors to teach students about horticulture as the industry needs trained staff to plant and maintain trees and look after golf courses.