The place where Mr Smith put down roots up for sale

When he finally stopped for a cup of tea, his favourite spot was his summer house, from where he surveyed the fruits of his labour and drank in views of his beloved Yorkshire countryside.

The garden he created over three decades is his most tangible horticultural legacy and is now up for sale along with his four-bedroom home, Mount Pleasant at High Birstwith, near Harrogate.

The prolific writer and broadcaster, best known for his Mr Smith TV series and as one of the most popular panellists on Gardeners’ Question Time, developed the five acres of gardens and grounds from scratch.

“There was just a plum tree, a couple of ash and a conifer and he built it up from there. He spent thousands of pounds on soil and the quality is amazing. It’s so good you could eat it and you could grow anything in it,” said his daughter Caroline, who has been tending the land since her father died in February 2009.

“Over the years it has undergone many transformations, largely due to its regular appearances in the gardening programmes my father hosted. We saw the vegetable patch appear in different areas of the grounds and where there once was a purpose-built pond, there is now a rock garden in the style of a small, dry ghyll. He loved alpines and they look glorious at this time of year. He also planted a lot of oak trees. He was always planting for the next generation.”

Geoffrey Smith was born on March 23 1928 at Barningham in Swaledale, where his father was head gardener at Barningham Park. He trained as a gardener alongside his father for six years, then went on to Askham Bryan College of Agriculture and Horticulture, near York, where he was awarded the prize for the best all-round student.

At the age of 26 he was appointed superintendent at Harlow Carr, Harrogate, now run by the RHS, and stayed until he was 48 helping to create one of the greatest gardens in the North and defying experts by growing plants once deemed unsuitable for northern climes.

Mr Smith and his wife Marjorie bought Mount Pleasant 35 years ago after he had left his job as supervisor at Harlow Carr.

“It was sad to leave but it turned out for the best. He never went on holiday and worked seven days a week and even at night. He’d patrol the gardens with a 12-bore shotgun and our German shepherd because thieves were stealing the plant labels that were made out of lead,” said Caroline.

The swift departure from the tied bungalow at Harlow Carr left them homeless and a friend offered them the use of a holiday cottage in Norfolk.

“We were desperate to get back to Yorkshire and saw Mount Pleasant advertised in the Yorkshire Post. When we went to view it my father didn’t even look at the house. He looked at the land and the view and said: ‘we’ll have it’. Dad’s passion was the countryside and gardening,” said Caroline.

“The garden is sun drenched and south facing, which makes it hugely versatile and my father knew each stone and corner and worked every inch of it himself.”

It was in the garden that Mr Smith got his big break. A BBC producer turned up to invite him to appear with Percy Thrower. Mr Smith, who was working up a tree, dropped down from his branch and accepted on the spot. In 1976 he made the first of many BBC series, Mr Smith’s Vegetable Garden, followed by the one of his finest achievements Geoffrey Smith’s World of Flowers. He joined the panel of Gardeners’ Question Time in 1983 and his knowledge, wit and warmth made him a favourite with listeners.

He died aged 80, leaving his wife, a son and daughter and Mrs Smith is now selling Mount Pleasant to downsize.

Caroline Smith added: “I’d like to say don’t be daunted by Geoffrey Smith’s garden. It isn’t complicated.

“The garden matured alongside its creator and he made it easy to maintain as he got older.

“My father was very proud of it but now it’s time for someone else to enjoy this beautiful spot.”

Offers are invited over £700,000. Contact Carter Jonas tel: 01423 523423, www.carterjonas.co.uk

For more of the region’s best homes see Property Post in today’s Yorkshire Post.