Gardeners’ World & Alan Titchmarsh Gardening Club 2025

One day it might be reviled that half, maybe more, of these presenters are not real gardeners in the sense of get all muddy during winter.
A lot are just scene setters at the Chelsea flower show, moving around the exhibit.

Its a throw back to thrower, Percy the bloke that never took his jacket and tie off.

 

Percy Thrower wore jackets and ties because he was on TV. Men did in those days. I shouldn't think he did when alone in his garden.

 

Gardeners’ World is gradually changing, the BBC are pivoting away from the one main presenter format to several presenters, this is due to scandals in particular Hugh Edwards, they also want to move away from the pale, male and stale look, a better example of this, is Bargain Hunt when it started 20 odd years ago the main presenter David Dickinson and experts were 95% white male, it certainly doesn’t look like that now, I agree with all this as a programme should reflect who views the programmes. I am saying this as someone who is pale, male and very much stale.

 

This should strictly be in a 2026 thread but time is of the essence as at 8pm tonight there is a compilation programme, the first of 4.

"In the first of four special programmes, Monty celebrates the dawn of a new gardening year by looking back at some memorable moments.

At Longmeadow, he adds some giant grasses to the Jewel Garden as part of its big rejig. He’s also got French beans to plant out and shares tips on how to look after oriental poppies once their moment of glory has gone.

Toby Buckland discovers how a garden near Bath has managed to marry its wild surroundings with its rich industrial past. Jamie Butterworth visits RHS Bridgewater to catch up on all the latest developments. And in Essex, Adam Frost finds out how a walled garden has been brought back to life, thanks to the dedication of one incredible woman.

In the Peak District, a couple have ripped up the rule book on veg growing, with impressive results! And a community group in Cheshire demonstrates the power of gardening and the enormous benefits it can bring to everyone involved."

 

I enjoyed yesterday’s episode very much. Just to my taste most of it.

 

Yesterday's programme was mostly ok, but why show planting climbing beans when it will be another 4months before you can even think about it in most parts of the country.?
One of my increasing criticisms, even with the normal shows, is that they often show pieces that were obviously filmed at other times of the year, but without making it clear. OK last night they did but often not, it must be very confusing to novice gardeners.
Pete, as far as I know the only one of the current batch of presenters that is NOT a formally qualified gardener is Monty himself all the rest are. Monty has always said openly that he learned by doing , reading, and visiting other gardens. In fairness, if you go back less than 100 years, most of the great gardens were staffed by people trained in that way. Most of them would never have sat an exam, they learned as apprentices and worked their way up.
Nowadays they all sit exams too even if like Alan Titchmarsh, and Adam Frost, they started as apprentices, they go on to be formally qualified.

 

@Allotment Boy Yesterday’s episode was not intended to be a winter programme - please watch Carol Klein’s winter episode of her season series for that - but gave plenty of inspiration what to do this year and to plan ahead.
I just had a shower and watched it again. It was 2 o’clock, the iPad on a little chair, and the bathroom, normally quite dark in winter time, was brightened up as it is in summer from the sunshine that is reflected by the opposite house. I felt like being in Spring. Amazing. This episode definitely raised my spirits and I can’t wait to get started. Unfortunately my garden is too small to have all the lovely plant that I saw in the episode. I will definitely put some herbs into the borders.

 

As far as I know being an apprentice is how you became formally qualified, I dont know how they do it these days then, apprentices always have to do exams or in the case of a 100 years ago, time served.

I dont watch it much now days so I dont really know anything much about any of them or even their names, so maybe I shouldn't comment.

 

Back in the day a master would receive a fee to take on an apprentice in his workshop or business. The apprentice would work there for a number of years (typically 3, 5, or 7) and in the case of many trades complete an apprentice piece that was assessed by his master. He then became a journeyman and probably moved around continuing to learn before completing his masterpiece that was assessed by the guild he belonged to. If good enough he could call himself a master and set up his own workshop.

 

I will start a new thread entitled "Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes 2026" if OK with admin @Fat Controller ?

 

Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes 2026