Gardens
As Gardeners’ World celebrates its 50th anniversary, Hannah Stephenson looks back at five decades of gardening on the TV
Gardeners’ World celebrates 50 years on TV
Itstartedasaseedofanidea when colour TV was coming in and gardening was considered a fantastic subject for it – and has gone on to produce vast harvests of information for gardeners worldwide. Now, Gardeners’ World is celebrating its 50th year with a special feature in this month’s edition of Gardeners’ World magazine – but the celebrations will no doubt continue long after that.
The BBC2 show has grown to become a mainstay of British gardening TV, capturing on camera how trends have changed over the years, from formal bedding of the Sixties and Seventies, to naturalistic planting and wildlife-friendly spaces of the Eighties, outdoor rooms and decking of the Nineties, robotic mowers and ‘grow your own’ resurgence of the 2000s, to the climate change-conscious, wildlifefriendly plantings for smaller spaces in recent years.
“Over the last 50 years, Gardeners’ World has reflected the changes in society at large – it’s gone from being presented by Percy Thrower in a shirt and tie, to Monty Don’s much more relaxed attire. It’s changed the advice it gives in line with current thinking and research – no more chemical solutions for example, now it’s all about working with nature rather than against it,” says Paolo Pronto, executive producer of the show.
“The production process has changed radically. It used to be shot by a huge team with large TV trucks full of heavy machinery, who stopped for a proper sit-down lunch hosted by Percy. Nowadays, a small team using the very latest technology deliver stunning photography with an array of high-tech equipment that would have left the original production team baffled.
“But despite the changes in technology, the clothes and attitude to chemicals, at its core Gardeners’ World still does what it set out to do 50 years ago and that is to celebrate gardens and plants, and to inspire people to go outside, get in the garden and have a go.”
PRESENTERS’ REFLECTIONS Monty Don On Geoff Hamilton
“Geoff Hamilton was my first recollection of Gardeners’ World. Geoff was an inspirational figure for me. I liked the way he was organic, the fact he took issue over the limestone pavements and peat debate. As a public figure, I think he was very brave. Everything you do is scrutinised and so to stand up and say something like he did was very brave. I think he saw organics as a personal journey and he was evangelical about it... and for quite a long time, he’d give you both options.”
On Barnsdale Gardens, created by Geoff Hamilton in Rutland for
Gardeners’ World “If you look at a plan of Barnsdale it looks all wrong. No garden designer would ever have designed that. But when you go there, it feels right. And I think that’s because it’s all about Geoff Hamilton. The man absolutely suffuses the place and actually all great gardens, all good gardens, come down to individuals.”
Alan Titchmarsh
On Percy Thrower “Percy was the first identifiable icon and it is impossible to say, to convey, how big he was.” On taking over from Geoff
Hamilton “I remember the letter that came in – one vividly because it began: ‘Dear Mr Titchmarsh, when you took over from Geoff Hamilton my heart sank... I’ve been watching you these past few months... you’ll do.’ The nicest thing anybody’s ever written to me.”
Rachel de Thame
On being too glamorous to present “You shove your hair any old how. It’s usually raining. I’ve got three layers of thermal underwear and a hideous big jacket. If that’s glamour, great!”
Chris Beardshaw
On the presenters “I remember watching Percy Thrower at a time when my grandparents used to watch, with his formal clipped approach, which is still very distinctive. But the person who really captured my imagination with their infectious enthusiasm was Roy Lancaster. I remember a young Roy talking to an even younger Geoff Hamilton, getting wildly excited about rhododendrons that Roy had seen on his travels. Little did I know that fast forwarding a few years I would become part of the Gardeners’
World team.”