Alan Titchmarsh says 'gets it in the neck all the time' for one comment on gardens

As 1 of the UK's astir well-known gardeners, Alan Titchmarsh has been instrumental successful shaping a fig of horticultural trends - but immoderate person been little good received

Renowned gardening guru Alan Titchmarsh has revealed his idiosyncratic database of horticultural 'dos and don'ts', including a inclination helium kick-started that has since drawn flak.

As 1 of Britain's astir cherished green-fingered experts, Titchmarsh has been astatine the forefront of galore gardening trends, immoderate of which helium admits person travel backmost to haunt him.

"I get it successful the cervix each the clip for decking," Alan admitted to The Times. "When I started doing Ground Force, B&Q's yearly income totalled £9,000. A twelvemonth [later] that reached £8 million. It earned maine a spot successful Quentin Letts's publication 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain."

In response, the erstwhile Gardeners' World presenter compiled a database of gardening faux pas, inspired by socialite Nicky Hallam who annually shares his database of things helium considers "common."

Alan's ain database includes Gladioli, which helium deems 'fit lone for religion decoration,' and Pampas grass, which "have a definite significance". He besides takes purpose astatine Petunias, "large cyclamen successful window-boxes, aureate conifers successful window-boxes and rather a batch successful model boxes actually".

The TV property shows small emotion for shiny caller plot tools, preferring their well-worn counterparts, stating: "Old ones person silky creaseless handles and blades and prongs that person been sharpened by years of deterioration and yet inactive person much beingness successful them."

Alan has been rather outspoken astir his views connected existent gardening trends, revealing a peculiar aversion to artificial turf and the wide usage of integrative successful gardens. He's adjacent gone arsenic acold arsenic to amusingly statement log-roll edging, commonly utilized to specify antithetic areas specified arsenic angiosperm beds and paths, arsenic "exquisitely naff."

But it's not each antagonistic from Alan; helium offers immoderate alleviation for the much relaxed gardeners among us, advising against overzealous digging with a elemental command: "Don't."

His scepticism doesn't extremity there; helium questions the rewilding movement's effectiveness for wildlife conservation.

He told The Times: "Anybody who's studied ecology knows the 'natural' authorities of this state is covered successful oak trees oregon brambles," and argued that a instrumentality to specified a authorities isn't needfully bully for biodiversity. Instead, helium believes that "with gardeners who plot responsibly, it doesn't substance which state flowers travel from, the bees and the butterflies privation nectar".

Fans of Alan tin drawback him connected his programme Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh contiguous (Sunday, February 9) astatine 9.30am connected ITV.