Still growing strong...
WE LOOK BACK AT 50 YEARS OF GARDENERS’ WORLD AS THE PRINCE OF WALES PREPARES TO MAKE AN APPEARANCE ON THE LONG-RUNNING BBC FAVOURITE
TIPS on the best way to make everything in your garden grow has captured the interest of TV viewers for five decades.
Everything from dealing with bugs to the best time to prune your roses has been on offer on Gardeners’ World over the years.
It all began in 1968 and grew out of the success of BBC’s Gardening Club, which ran every Friday night for 12 years from 1955.
Percy Thrower was the green-fingered gardening guru who fronted both shows offering a practical and friendly approach to all manner of gardening problems.
Gardeners’ World featured Percy at work at his own garden in Shrewsbury and also included visits to National Trust properties and advice from professional and amateur garden lovers.
Percy was a BBC stalwart and also introduced a new generation to gardening with his work on the Blue Peter garden in the 1970s.
He became such a familiar figure that he even appeared as himself on comedy shows such as Morecambe and Wise and The Benny Hill Show.
His assistant Arthur Billit and newcomer Peter Seabrook continued the show at Clack’s Farm in Worcestershire and Geoff Hamilton took over the TV trowel in 1980 offering a hands-on approach and introducing organic farming to a wider audience.
He also brought out books like The Ornamental Kitchen Garden and The Living Garden.
Geoff had been planning to retire when he tragically died at the age of 59 after suffering a heart attack in a charity cycle race near Merthyr Tydfil in Wales in 1996.
Alan Titchmarsh had been lined up to host the show after Geoff’s retirement and stepped in early. He filmed from his Hampshire garden which was renamed Barleywood for the programme.
Alan also introduced viewers to a new line-up of presenters – Joe Swift, Chris Beardshaw, Pippa Greenwood and Rachel de Thame.
Monty Don and Carol Klein took over in 2003 when Alan moved on to the BBC’s new garden makeover show Ground Force.
Prince Charles will be making a special appearance on the BBC2 show at 8pm on Wednesday to discuss with presenter Adam Frost the threats posed by pests and diseases to our native plants and trees.
The Prince of Wales has long been a keen gardener and has spent nearly 40 years transforming the gardens at his Highgrove home from overgrown and neglected land into a beautiful natural space.
He will be talking about the steps he is taking within the Duchy of Cornwall – which covers 53,000 hectares of land across 23 British counties – to avoid the spread of plant diseases and pests as well as his first-hand experience of problems such as Dutch Elm Disease, Ash Dieback and Phytophthora Ramorum.
Presenter Adam Frost says: “The prince has invited me back to Highgrove to explain why we as gardeners also need to do our bit.”