Choosing which plants to have in your garden is all a matter of personal taste, says Alan Titchmarsh , though he couldn’t resist a light-hearted dig at fellow Gardeners’ World expert Joe Swift when discussing garden colour schemes. Writing for Scribehound , Alan jokes that Joe’s dislike of pink flowers probably dates back to “being frightened by pink and green floral wallpaper in the smallest room of someone else’s house” and suggests that the Newcastle-born designer’s anti-pink prejudice could be solved with “a session in the psychiatrist’s chair", before adding "Sorry Joe; only kidding." But Alan admits he’s “not immune to current fads and fancies” himself. He says he would always choose a shrub rose rather than a hybrid tea rose when selecting roses for his own garden. Listing celebrated garden designers of the past, such as Vita Sackville-West with her renowned balance of green, silver and white plants in the “White Garden” at Sissinghurst , Alan says there’s no reason to rule any one colour out — or in. Such rules are “whims, fancies, prejudices,” he says, “all often based on nothing more than a need to impress one’s fellow gardeners.” Alan says he’s completely nonplussed by garden designers who admit they are colourblind. “It leaves me feeling as bewildered as Strictly champion Chris McCausland,” he says. “He told me that when he was almost blind he got down to the last 30 out of a group of 2,000 hopefuls who applied to join MI5. The fact that he might have become the UK’s first blind spy was,” Alan adds, “great source material for a comedian.” For Alan, a sense of fun is essential in a garden. “When walking down a street, I encounter a front garden whose badly-placed lumps of granite are billowing with clouds of aubrieta and arabis, snow-in-summer and mossy saxifrages, I cannot help but smile at their joyful exuberance.” Any garden that gives its owner pleasure is a success, he says, whether it’s a “tasteful” one-colour creation in the style of Sackville-West or a playful riot of colour. He adds, though, that there are some garden sins he cannot forgive — pampas grass has no redeeming features. And for Alan, the greatest garden sin of all is having no garden at all. “A sea of concrete that requires nothing more than a stiff yard broom should make your heart sink more than a riot of supposedly unfashionable colour,” he says.
Alan Titchmarsh issues apology for cheeky swipe at Gardeners' World star after admission
Choosing which plants to have in your garden is all a matter of personal taste, says Alan Titchmarsh , though he couldn’t resist a light-hearted dig at fellow Gardeners’ World expert Joe Swift when discussing garden colour schemes. Writing for Scribehound , Alan jokes that Joe’s dislike of pink flowers probably dates back to “being frightened by pink and green floral wallpaper in the smallest room of someone else’s house” and suggests that the Newcastle-born designer’s anti-pink prejudice could be solved with “a session in the psychiatrist’s chair", before adding "Sorry Joe; only kidding." But Alan admits he’s “not immune to current fads and fancies” himself. He says he would always choose a shrub rose rather than a hybrid tea rose when selecting roses for his own garden. Listing celebrated garden designers of the past, such as Vita Sackville-West with her renowned balance of green, silver and white plants in the “White Garden” at Sissinghurst , Alan says there’s no reason to rule any one colour out — or in. Such rules are “whims, fancies, prejudices,” he says, “all often based on nothing more than a need to impress one’s fellow gardeners.” Alan says he’s completely nonplussed by garden designers who admit they are colourblind. “It leaves me feeling as bewildered as Strictly champion Chris McCausland,” he says. “He told me that when he was almost blind he got down to the last 30 out of a group of 2,000 hopefuls who applied to join MI5. The fact that he might have become the UK’s first blind spy was,” Alan adds, “great source material for a comedian.” For Alan, a sense of fun is essential in a garden. “When walking down a street, I encounter a front garden whose badly-placed lumps of granite are billowing with clouds of aubrieta and arabis, snow-in-summer and mossy saxifrages, I cannot help but smile at their joyful exuberance.” Any garden that gives its owner pleasure is a success, he says, whether it’s a “tasteful” one-colour creation in the style of Sackville-West or a playful riot of colour. He adds, though, that there are some garden sins he cannot forgive — pampas grass has no redeeming features. And for Alan, the greatest garden sin of all is having no garden at all. “A sea of concrete that requires nothing more than a stiff yard broom should make your heart sink more than a riot of supposedly unfashionable colour,” he says.
