Alan Titchmarsh has revealed he hopes the late gardener Beth Chatto will forgive him for not bringing a variegated ground elder plant to his new Isle of Wight garden. The broadcaster moved from his Grade II-listed home to a single-storey property at the end of last year to be nearer to his grown-up daughters.
Moving to a new garden
Writing in his BBC Gardeners' World Magazine column, Titchmarsh said plants with happy memories become more treasured as the years go by. He has chosen to commemorate his grandfather, Beatrix Potter, Sybill Spencer, John Anderson and Tony Kirkham in the new garden.
Beth Chatto, who died in 2018 at the age of 94, gave Titchmarsh a variegated ground elder and variegated Japanese knotweed. He said the knotweed 'fizzed out 20-odd years ago' but the ground elder has survived.
What he planted instead
Titchmarsh admitted: "I can only hope that Beth will forgive me." To remember her, he has planted the giant reed Arundo donax 'Variegata' in his Isle of Wight garden, describing it as "spectacular, classy and statuesque".
In a separate column, he discussed repairs to his garden gate, saying it "sticks and then has to be lifted a bit to open or close it". He said he was eager to fix it sooner rather than later, adding: "It is a mistake to overlook the significance of a garden entrance."
