The TV gardener and presenter was asked which plant he would happily never see again
Alan Titchmarsh, the beloved British gardener, has revealed his two least favourite plants during a chat with Stephanie Mahon on the Talking Gardens podcast. Without missing a beat, Alan named “Pampas grass” as the first plant he’d happily never see again.
He described the plant, infamous for its association with suburban swingers, as looking like “looks like a collection of feathered dusters sticking out of a mountain of grass”. Moreover, he warned that once planted, it’s incredibly difficult to remove.
His second gardening bugbear is large flowered gladioli, although he admitted they can look “very good in church.”
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However, he clarified that it’s only the larger, more flamboyant type of gladiolus that he dislikes, expressing a fondness for the smaller gladiolus Byzantine, which grows in hedgerows and Cornwall. Alan also shared an anecdote about his old friend Beth Chatto, who was quite partial to pampas grass, reports the Express.
He told her: “You keep it in your garden, Beth, and I’ll be happy.”
Beth also initiated the regular “Unusual Plants” exhibition at the Chelsea Flower Show. Alan expressed concern over the escalating costs of exhibits at Chelsea, saying: “I begin to worry when gardens start to cost six figure sums, a quarter of a million and more to make a garden for a week.”
He has developed a preference for attending more low-key events, such as the Royal Windsor Flower Show, where the expertise of the growers takes centre stage. He recalled: “When I went there first, the weather was lovely, which is always a plus.”
“Windsor Great Park is the most beautiful landscape and it was a classic village fête atmosphere for all the right reasons.”
He noted that while the Windsor show is smaller in scale compared to Chelsea, it boasts a delightful atmosphere, saying: “Beautifully done but friendly. Lots of different growers, there, with little stands… it’s a bit like portrait miniatures. You don’t always need enormous great, massive paintings to impress.”
“It’s so intrinsically British and it’s what we all remember from flower shows as a child. The skills are there, but so too is the friendliness.”
“I think often on a small scale, you get the charm, the magic that is lost on the grander scale.”
