Alan Fred Titchmarsh (born 2 May 1949) is an English gardener, author and broadcaster. After working as a professional gardener and a horticultural journalist, he became a radio and television presenter and a novelist.
Alan Fred Titchmarsh[1] was born on 2 May 1949 in Ilkley, West Riding of Yorkshire, England.[2][3] He is the son of Bessie (née Hardisty), a textile mill worker, and Alan Titchmarsh senior, a plumber.[4] In 1964, after leaving school at 15, with one O-level in Art, Titchmarsh went to work as an apprentice gardener with Ilkley Council attending day release classes at Shipley Art and Technology Institute in Shipley in the West Riding of Yorkshire studying for a City and Guilds qualification in horticulture.
In 1968, Titchmarsh went on to study at Hertfordshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture for the National Certificate in Horticulture, before finally moving to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in 1969 to study for a Diploma in Horticulture.[5][6] After graduating he stayed on at Kew for two years, employed as gardens supervisor in charge of staff training. He left to pursue a career in gardening journalism in 1974. Interested in English literature and writing, he applied for a post with the Hamlyn publishing Group, as assistant editor of gardening books. He then started to write his own gardening books, with the first, Starting With Houseplants being published in 1976.[5]
Television and radio
In 1977 Titchmarsh began his career in broadcasting as a gardening expert on BBC Radio 4 You and Yours and The Today Programme . In 1988 he hosted the gardening show A House in a Garden with Gloria Hunniford on BBC Radio 2.[7] Titchmarsh's first television appearances were on the BBC television shows Nationwide and Breakfast Time as a horticulture expert. This led to his presenting of the Chelsea Flower Show for BBC television in 1983. Titchmarsh hosted this every year until 2013.[6]
In 1986 Titchmarsh hosted Open Air and from 1987 the BBC television talk shows Daytime Live and Pebble Mill, which he did until 1996. In 1991 he presented a six part series Titchmarsh's Travels' in which he followed in the footsteps of the pilgrims, travelling around Britain and Ireland.[8]
In 1996 Titchmarsh took over as host of Gardeners' World, the show being filmed in his own garden. In 1997 he hosted the BBC One television series, Ground Force, in which he and fellow presenters Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh would perform a makeover on a garden.[6][9] After Gardeners' World Titchmarsh presented two series of How To Be A Gardener.
In 2010 Titchmarsh presented the first series of Popstar to Operastar with Myleene Klass. From 2011 – 2023 he presented the gardening show Love Your Garden. In June 2012 he presented Elizabeth: Queen, Wife, Mother on ITV.[12] In August 2011, Titchmarsh left Radio 2. Since January 2012, he has hosted a Saturday morning and now Saturday afternoon show on Classic FM.
In 2013 Titchmarsh was a reporter on the BBC Two programme The Great British Winterand in 2014 he presented The Queen's Garden, a two-part series for ITV, that was filmed over one year.[13] In 2015 Titchmarsh presented Britain's Best Back Gardens.[14] From 2016 – 2017 he presented the game show Masterpiece for ITV. In 2017 the Channel Five programme Secrets of the National Trust started airing with Alan Titchmarsh as the main presenter.[15]
In March 2024, it was widely reported in the UK press that Titchmarsh's trousers were censored on Korean Central Television (North Korea television).[16][17][18][19][20] Titchmarsh was wearing jeans in 'Alan Titchmarsh's Garden Secrets', and jeans are banned in North Korea as they are considered a sign of western imperialism. Speaking to the BBC, Titchmarsh said the news had given him "a bit of street cred." In April this was suspected to be a hoax by Joe Lycett for Late Night Lycett but in the first episode, Lycett confirmed he was not behind the story.[21] And when it aired on KCTV, It featured a Korean language voice-over (Despite Alan Titchmarsh's English speaking still being clearly heard). And it was the only voice-over to exist, as the show was never dubbed in other countries.
Writing
Titchmarsh has written for newspapers and magazine's for more than 50 years and has written over 70 books. His first was published in 1979. 20 years later, he branched out into fiction. His first novel was Mr MacGregor in 1998. He has written a dozen novels. Trowel & Error (2002) was an autobiographical work, followed by Nobbut A Lad: A Yorkshire Childhood (2006) and then Knave of Spades (2009) and When I Was A Nipper (2010).
Titchmarsh has also published a series of gardening guides, the How to Garden series (2009 onwards). As well as books on the countryside and the Royal Family.
Personal life
Titchmarsh married Alison in 1975 and they have two children.[22][23] In 2002 he and his wife moved into a grade II listedGeorgian Hampshire farmhouse, with a garden of 4 acres (1.6ha).[24][25] He also has a coastal home, near Cowes on the Isle of Wight, where he spends about a third of the year.[26]
Since the 1980s Titchmarsh has been involved in the performing arts. As a presenter and interviewer he has worked with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet in both concerts and theatrical performances. He presented the Royal Windsor Horse Show Pageants in front of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as well as many concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Festival Hall for a number of national orchestras. He played the part of Kenneth Grahame for the Royal Ballet production of 'The Wind in the Willows' at the Vaudeville Theatre in 2014, written by Andrew Motion and choreographed by Will Tuckett. Titchmarsh presented the BBC Proms for three years in the early 2000s, which included presentation of The Last Night of the Proms on BBC1. In 2000 he featured in 'Victoria Wood With All the Trimmings' on BBC1. Titchmarsh worked with composer Debbie Wiseman on 'The Glorious Garden' (2018) – writing poems for which Wiseman composed separate musical movements – and wrote the words and lyrics for 'Jack Frost – A Winter Story' which he himself narrated in 2024. Both albums went to No.1 in the Classical Music Charts.
Titchmarsh is a passionate advocate of responsible and sustainable stewardship of the landscape and the wider countryside. He is a staunch supporter of sustainable and organic farming and the purchasing of local produce. He has been a vocal opponent of the trend for turning over land which is valuable in terms of agriculture and horticulture to solar panels, believing that while energy saving is vital it should not automatically take precedence over food production. Titchmarsh is devoted to the encouragement of gardening and nature study in schools and for ten years between 2001 and 2011 he and his wife ran 'Alan Titchmarsh's Gardens for Schools', making grants to primary schools in the United Kingdom to create gardens and nature reserves. The charity eventually became part of the RHS Campaign for School Gardening of which Titchmarsh is an active supporter.
He is a contributor to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation.
Titchmarsh is a Patron or president of more than 40 charities including The Royal Horticultural Society (Vice President and Ambassador), Treloar Trust (Patron), The London Children's Flower Society (President), Horticap (Patron), Perennial (Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Society (President)), The Castle of Mey (Patron of Friends), Plant Heritage (President), The Garden Museum (President), The King's Foundation (Ambassador), The Royal Countryside Fund (Ambassador), Morriston Orpheus Choir (Vice President), Alan Titchmarsh's Gardens for Schools (Founder (2001–2011)) and Royal Hospital Chelsea (Commissioner (2010–2016)).
In 1999 Titchmarsh was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science (Hon. DSc) degree by the University of Bradford Hon D Univ. Essex 1999 Leeds Metropolitan 2003.[35] He was made Patron of Writtle College, a university college in Essex, in 2001 and had a building named after him at the college in 2011 (the 'Titchmarsh Centre for Animal Studies'). In 2004, he was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society'sVictoria Medal of Honour, the highest award the RHS can bestow.[36] In 2007, he was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Winchester, and in 2015 was designated as the Chancellor of the university, a post he held until 2022. He was honoured by the City of Westminster at a tree planting and plaque ceremony in 2011 and 2022. Among numerous other awards he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Garden Media Guild in 2004 and made an Honorary Fellow of the Society for the Environment in 2014. [37][31]
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
Sir Robert William Robson was an English football player and coach. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich Town.
Hardiness of plants describes their ability to survive adverse growing conditions. It is usually limited to discussions of climatic adversity. Thus a plant's ability to tolerate cold, heat, drought, flooding, or wind are typically considered measurements of hardiness. Hardiness of plants is defined by their native extent's geographic location: longitude, latitude and elevation. These attributes are often simplified to a hardiness zone. In temperate latitudes, the term most often describes resistance to cold, or "cold-hardiness", and is generally measured by the lowest temperature a plant can withstand.
Gardeners who have achieved fame through their pioneering innovations, writing or, more often, their television personas, may be classed as celebrity gardeners.
Percy John Thrower was a British gardener, horticulturist, broadcaster and writer born at Horwood House in the village of Little Horwood, Buckinghamshire.
RHS Garden Wisley is a garden run by the Royal Horticultural Society in Wisley, Surrey, south of London. It is one of five gardens run by the society, the others being Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall, Rosemoor, and Bridgewater. Wisley is the second most visited paid entry garden in the United Kingdom after the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, with 1,232,772 visitors in 2019.
The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society.
Joseph Samuel Swift is an English garden designer, journalist and television presenter.
Carol Ann Klein is an English gardening expert, who also works as a television presenter and newspaper columnist.
The Alan Titchmarsh Show is a British daytime chat show presented by Alan Titchmarsh. It was first broadcast on ITV on 3 September 2007 until 14 November 2014 and aired on weekday afternoons. The show's main focus is the "Best of British" theme with many of the shows' segments focusing on fashion, health, nature, cookery and animals.
Toby Neale Buckland is an English gardener, TV presenter and author, best known for being the main presenter from 2008 to 2010 of BBC's long running flagship gardening programme Gardeners' World.
Mary Gay Laryea is an English television presenter and journalist. She worked on the BBC television series Gardeners' World with Geoff Hamilton, and on the series Front Gardens.
Matt James is a British garden designer, horticulturist and university lecturer who rose to fame on the Channel 4's The City Gardener.
Alys Fowler is a British horticulturist and journalist. She was a presenter on the long-running BBC television programme Gardeners' World.
Andy Sturgeon is a British landscape and garden designer, author, journalist, broadcaster and commentator in the international garden design sector.
Alan Robertson Gemmell was Professor of Biology at Keele University and a regular member of the panel on the BBC Radio Home Service programme Gardeners' Question Time from 1950 for some 30 years. Disagreements on the programme between Gemmell and fellow panel member Bill Sowerbutts became legendary.
David Martin Domoney, C Hort. FCI Hort is an English Chartered Horticulturist and celebrity gardener. He co-presents the TV gardening programme Love Your Garden, alongside Alan Titchmarsh, and is the resident gardener on ITV1's This Morning.
Frances Ruth Tophill is a British horticulturist, author, and television presenter known for her contributions to Love Your Garden and Gardeners' World. She has written five books.
Haws Watering Cans, formed in London in 1886, is the world’s oldest known watering can company.
Michael Perry is an English celebrity gardener and podcast presenter. He presents a show, Michael Perry’s Garden, on QVC UK, and has appeared on ITV1’s This Morning and Channel 4's Steph's Packed Lunch.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
