The one lesson I’ve learned from life
Charlie Dimmock
Charlie Dimmock, 50, shot to fame as co-host of the BBC’s garden makeover show Ground Force, with alan Titchmarsh. most recently on our screens presenting BBC1’s Garden rescue, Charlie lives in hampshire.
MAKE THE MOST OF WHAT YOU’VE GOT
I learned fairly early on in my life to work with what I had, rather than wish I had something else. I was born with curly red hair, and all was well until I hit my teenage years. everyone else had straight hair, and I spent ages trying to make my unruly locks behave.
I had to plait my hair tightly to try to uncurl it. Within an hour, the curls would be back. But, by the time I was 17, I gave up and accepted my hair was always going to look a certain way.
When Ground Force came knocking at my door in 1997, it was another case of having to make the most of what I already had. I got a phone call out of the blue to do a screen test for a TV show by director John Thorneycroft. Four years earlier, I had met John’s production company at the garden centre I was working at, and they asked me to do a small job on a TV show called Grass roots.
When I did the screen test, there was no image consultant or stylist to hand — I didn’t wear a certain undergarment, and thought nothing about it.
little did I know that not wearing a bra would become my trademark.
Since the show ended, I’ve kept busy working in horticulture and, in 2010, I was offered a part in the musical Calendar Girls. I’ve never trained to be an actress or performer, but my TV career happened and other opportunities followed.
acting in a show was pretty nerveracking, but I managed.
I have the same philosophy about gardens. It is much easier to work with what you have, and plant according to what conditions you have. For instance, if you have poor soil, but a sunny garden, plant hardy Mediterranean herbs, such as rosemary and thyme.
Being outdoors and keeping active are good for our physical and mental health. You may not be able to get to a gym, but you can walk around the garden, smelling the roses (literally) and enjoying the sunshine. Making the best of what we have is a recipe for contentment in my book.