Alan Titchmarsh has revealed he’s been left severely “irritated” since moving into his new house. The former Gardeners’ World host, 77, recently downsized to a single-storey bungalow in Surrey after selling his £3.5 million Grade II listed Hampshire home.
Downsizing due to health fears
The presenter and his wife Alison moved out partly over fears he wouldn’t be able to maintain the huge garden as he got older, with Titchmarsh admitting he was “in denial” about his health. Titchmarsh - who was made a CBE for services to horticulture and to charity - has since been updating fans on his new £2.6 million home.
Garden gate frustrations
The Love Your Weekend presenter revealed he was facing some issues with his new garden and took umbrage with the metalwork of his gates.
"Garden gates are more than mere portal. They are a fanfare, an introduction of the glories to come - or they should be. Mine, which sticks and then has to be lifted a bit to open or close it, inspires nothing more than irritation,” he wrote in his Country Life column.
Titchmarsh shared his impatience at having the gates fixed, adding: "All this will come to pass and I am eager to make sure that it happens sooner rather than later, instead of leaving it until everything else is has been designed, constructed and plated."
"By then, I will have been irritated beyond belief and my knuckles skinned for the umpteenth time as I fight to open or close it. It is a mistake to overlook the significance of a garden entrance."
Emotional move from Hampshire
In June, Titchmarsh revealed he and Alison were moving out of their sprawling farmhouse while “they had the choice, rather than being forced out” further down the line due to health reasons.
“I cannot ever imagine loving a garden as much as the one I am leaving, which has seen my children grow up and echoed to the sounds of grandchildren... and now that I come to write these words I freely confess that my eyes are full of tears,” he penned at the time.
The TV personality revealed his new garden is significantly smaller at an acre and a half. Titchmarsh initially listed his family house - which he moved into in 2002 - for £3.95 million before reducing it to £3.5 million.
The former Ground Force star, who currently hosts Love Your Garden on ITV, admitted he and Alison aren’t ready to slow down despite downsizing. He said their plan to take Mondays and Fridays off "is not really working" and added that he has no desire to retire because he does a job that people retire to spend more time doing.
“I love that garden more than I've loved anything I've ever made. I've given it a quarter of a century of love and care,” he told The Times. "But when we hand over the key and close the gate, I'm not looking back. I can't."
He said the move from Hampshire has been "an enormous wrench" and added: "It's a pretty big number and in another 10 years' time I probably would have found where we were too much for one man. Four and a half acres of busy garden - and yes, I had help but help costs money."
