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''Gardeners' World'' is a long-running British gardening programme, first broadcast on 5 January 1968. The 2022 series is the 53rd. Its first series was presented by Ken Burras and came from Oxford Botanical Gardens. Up until 2020 most of its episodes have been 30 minutes in duration; however, this changed in spring 2020 when the format was extended to an hour. All episodes in the 2021 series onwards follow this 60-minute format. ''Gardeners' World'' currently airs between mid-March and late October on BBC Two every Friday. The programme usually takes a three-month winter break from November to February. The programme's main presenter is currently Monty Don. Other regular presenters include Adam Frost,
Frances Tophill 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. Early life Tophill was born in Deal, Kent, and is one o ...
,
Joe Swift Joseph Samuel Swift (born 25 May 1965) is an English garden designer, journalist and television presenter. Television career Swift is a regular presenter and designer on the BBC's ''Gardeners' World'', co-presenter on the Royal Horticultural So ...
, Arit Anderson, Advolly Richmond, Nick Bailey, Carol Klein, Mark Lane and Rachel de Thame. The magazine ''
BBC Gardeners' World ''BBC Gardeners' World'' is a monthly British gardening magazine owned by Immediate Media Company, containing tips for gardening from past and current presenters of the television series ''Gardeners' World''. History and profile ''BBC Gardeners ...
'' is a tie-in to the programme.


Presenters


Lead

Lead presenters have included: *
Ken Burras Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...
(1968–1969) *
Percy Thrower Percy John Thrower (30 January 1913 – 18 March 1988) was a British gardener, horticulturist, Television presenter, broadcaster and writer born at Horwood House in the village of Little Horwood, Buckinghamshire. He became nationally known thr ...
(1969–1976) *
Arthur Billitt Arthur Billitt was a former lead presenter of the long running BBC television programme ''Gardeners' World''. He took over from the first presenter Percy Thrower who in 1976 invoked the wrath of the BBC by falling foul of their 'no advertising' po ...
(1976–1979) *
Geoff Hamilton Geoffrey Stephen Hamilton (15 August 1936 – 4 August 1996) was an English gardener, broadcaster and author, best known as presenter of BBC television's ''Gardeners' World'' in the 1980s and 1990s.
(1979–1996) * Geoffrey Smith (1980–1982) *
Alan Titchmarsh Alan Fred Titchmarsh HonFSE (born 2 May 1949) is an English gardener, broadcaster, TV presenter, poet, and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a gardening journalist, he established himself as a media personality through a ...
(1996–2002) * Monty Don (2003–2008) *
Toby Buckland Toby Neale Buckland (born 11 October 1969) is an English gardener, TV presenter and author, best known for being the main presenter from 2008-10 of BBC's long running flagship gardening programme ''Gardeners' World''. In 2008 Buckland won RHS ...
(2008–2010) * Monty Don (2011–present)


Co-presenters

Co-presenters have included:
Alys Fowler Alys Fowler (born 9 November 1977) is a British horticulturist and journalist. She was a presenter on the long-running BBC television programme ''Gardeners' World''. Early life and education Fowler was born in Silchester, Hampshire, and had a r ...
,
Chris Baines Chris Baines (born 4 May 1947) is an English naturalist, one of the UK's leading independent environmentalists.
,
Chris Beardshaw Christopher Paul Beardshaw (born 11 January 1969) is a British garden designer, plantsman, author, speaker and broadcaster. Background Beardshaw was formally trained in Horticulture at Pershore College, and holds a BA Hons and PGDip in Landscape ...
, Mary Spiller, Liz Rigby, Diarmuid Gavin, Clay Jones, Stefan Buczacki,
Christine Walkden Christine Helen Walkden is a British television presenter and gardener, best known for her appearances on gardening programmes and ''The One Show''. She has hosted her own series centred on her home garden in Sawbridgeworth, ''Christine's Garden'', ...
, Sarah Raven, Gay Search,
Anne Swithinbank Anne Swithinbank (born 1957 in Belvedere in Kent) is a trained horticulturist and freelance gardening broadcaster who has written several books on gardening, including ''Gardener's Question Time: All Your Gardening Problems Solved'', ''Gardeners ...
,
Nigel Colborn Nigel Colborn VMH is a British TV presenter and gardening expert/writer. He is a former presenter of the long running BBC Gardeners World. He is often a panelist on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners Question Time and is a regular presenter of Granada TV's ...
, Geoffrey Smith,
Roy Lancaster Charles Roy Lancaster CBE (born 1937) is a British plantsman, gardener, author and broadcaster. Background Charles Roy Lancaster was born in Farnworth, Lancashire and is most widely known for his work on the long running BBC TV programme, ''Garden ...
,
Peter Seabrook Peter John Seabrook Order of the British Empire (MBE), MBE (2 November 1935 – 14 January 2022) was a British gardening writer and television broadcaster, presenting programmes including the BBC's ''Gardeners' World''. He wrote a gardening colu ...
,
Joe Swift Joseph Samuel Swift (born 25 May 1965) is an English garden designer, journalist and television presenter. Television career Swift is a regular presenter and designer on the BBC's ''Gardeners' World'', co-presenter on the Royal Horticultural So ...
, Ali Ward,
Pippa Greenwood Pippa Greenwood is an English plant pathologist. She appears frequently on the BBC's long-running ''Gardeners' World'' television programme and has been a regular panellist on ''Gardeners' Question Time'' on BBC Radio 4 since 1994. She also was ...
, Rachel de Thame,
Frances Tophill 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. Early life Tophill was born in Deal, Kent, and is one o ...
, Carol Klein, Bob Flowerdew, Mark Lane, Adam Frost, Arit Anderson, John Kelly, Nick Bailey, Flo Headlam, Arthur Parkinson,
JJ Chalmers John-James Chalmers (born 20 December 1986) is a Scottish television presenter, public speaker and Invictus Games medallist. He was injured in a bomb blast in Afghanistan in 2011, while serving as a Royal Marine. Early life Chalmers was born o ...
, and Sue Kent.


Locations

Since its inception in 1968, the show was presented until 2003 from the lead presenter's own garden. In 2011, the show returned to this practice. *First was
Percy Thrower Percy John Thrower (30 January 1913 – 18 March 1988) was a British gardener, horticulturist, Television presenter, broadcaster and writer born at Horwood House in the village of Little Horwood, Buckinghamshire. He became nationally known thr ...
's The Magnolias in
Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
*Then
Arthur Billitt Arthur Billitt was a former lead presenter of the long running BBC television programme ''Gardeners' World''. He took over from the first presenter Percy Thrower who in 1976 invoked the wrath of the BBC by falling foul of their 'no advertising' po ...
's Clack's Farm at Ombersley in
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
*Followed by two gardens, both called
Barnsdale Barnsdale, or Barnsdale Forest, is an area of South and West Yorkshire, England. The area falls within the modern-day districts of Doncaster and Wakefield. Barnsdale was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Barnsdale lies in the ...
, owned by
Geoff Hamilton Geoffrey Stephen Hamilton (15 August 1936 – 4 August 1996) was an English gardener, broadcaster and author, best known as presenter of BBC television's ''Gardeners' World'' in the 1980s and 1990s.
in
Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...
*Next was
Alan Titchmarsh Alan Fred Titchmarsh HonFSE (born 2 May 1949) is an English gardener, broadcaster, TV presenter, poet, and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a gardening journalist, he established himself as a media personality through a ...
's garden at Woodroyd in
Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland *Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario * Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...
,
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
, renamed ''Barleywood'' for the programme *Next was a rented garden, called Burmans Farm at
Shottery Shottery, formerly a small village a mile west of Stratford-upon-Avon town centre, is now part of the town, though retaining the feeling of a distinct village. History and amenities Shottery has a village hallShottery Memorial Hall one seconda ...
() in
Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...
which was called ''Berryfields'' for the purposes of the programme although it was often described as a 'top secret location near
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
' *Partly as a result of changes in the presenters, for the 2009 series the garden was relocated to
Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...
in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. A playing-field was redeveloped and this garden was given the name ''Greenacre''. This garden was intended to be a permanent home for the programme. *In 2011, with the return of Monty Don, the base relocated to Don's own garden ''Longmeadow'' in
Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...
().


Critical response

As the primary gardening programme on
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
, the programme has attracted vocal opinion on the merits both of its presenters and its content. The 2009 season introduced several new features, many of which were not well received. Criticism was especially harsh regarding the high cost of certain features such as the hard landscaping and raised-beds and what was widely regarded as the dumbed-down and derivative content. The 'Cool Wall' which mimicked '' Top Gear'', a competition for training places which aped ''
The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a Reality competition, reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with variou ...
'', children from CBeebies and content such as a feature on
garden gnome Garden gnomes (german: links=no, Gartenzwerge, lit=garden dwarfs) are lawn ornament figurines of small humanoid creatures based on the mythological creature and diminutive spirit which occur in Renaissance magic and alchemy, known as gnomes. Th ...
s annoyed many viewers. Much of the widespread criticism was also directed at the fact that the show no longer came from a real garden. But 'Greenacre' was a field, part of
Winterbourne Botanic Garden Winterbourne Botanic Garden is a heritage site and botanic garden in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. It is owned by the University of Birmingham. The house was built as a family home for the Nettlefold family in 1904. The garden is a rare survi ...
in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. The 2010 show saw public approval change, after alterations to the show's production. The show's length was returned to the original 30 minutes and several features of the 2009 series, such as the '30 second fix', were dropped. The show concentrated more on gardening content, reintroducing 'Jobs for the weekend' and focusing on plant species. In March 2011 Monty Don returned as the main presenter of the programme. In 2016 new executive producer Paolo Proto (previously producer of '' The Great British Bake Off'') extended the programme from 30 minutes to one hour in September and October, also introducing new presenters Adam Frost,
Frances Tophill 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. Early life Tophill was born in Deal, Kent, and is one o ...
, Nick Bailey, Nick Macer, Florence Headlam and Arit Anderson. On 20 August 2021 the programme featured a visit, to Monty Don's garden at Longmeadow, by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.


Theme tunes

The very first theme tune to the series in 1968 was a piece composed by Peter Craddy and played by Michael Saxton on
clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
. A year later this was replaced by the long-running ''Green Fingers'' composed by John Clarke and Reg Reid, played by Harold Rich & His Players, a version of which, with sweeping strings, was soon used. The most famous theme, which had the longest run from the late 1980s through the 1990s and is still heard in a slightly classical vein today, is a guitar piece that was composed by Nick Webb and Greg Carmichael. It had two titles, one for commercial release and one for library, ''Morning Light'' and ''Natural Elements''. ''Natural Elements'' was the title track of a commercial album released in 1988 on
MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...
under the composers' band name of Acoustic Alchemy. The current theme tune, introduced in 2014, is an arrangement of "Morning Light" by Will Gregory.


Links and spin offs

Former lead presenter, Alan Titchmarsh later teamed up with Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh to make the series ''
Ground Force ''Ground Force'' was a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh. Production The series was created b ...
''. This was about rapid garden makeovers. A book based on the history of the series entitled ''Gardeners' World Through The Years'' was released in 2003 by Gay Search.


BBC Gardeners' World Live

The BBC
Gardeners' World Live BBC Gardeners' World Live is a large multi-day gardening related consumer show held each June at the National Exhibition Centre, England, co-located with the BBC Good Food Show Summer. Open to the general public, the BBC television programme endor ...
Show is an extension of the television programme and magazine. Running annually in June, it is hosted at the
Birmingham NEC The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is an exhibition centre located in Marston Green, Solihull, West Midlands, England. It is near junction 6 of the M42 motorway, and is adjacent to Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International railway stati ...
, co-located with the BBC Summer Good Food Show. The show includes live appearances from the presenters giving topical advice and tips including many of the presenters, such as Alan Titchmarsh, Monty Don, Carol Klein and Joe Swift, Toby Buckland, Alys Fowler, Chris Baines, Diarmuid Gavin, Anne Swithinbank, Pippa Greenwood, Rachel de Thame, Bob Flowerdew and Mark Lane. The presenters film at BBC Gardeners' World Live, with the content aired within the programme on the Friday night of the live show. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the 2020 show was cancelled, with the next scheduled for 17–20 June 2021. A number of new rose varieties have been launched at the show including * 2016: Roses UK presented the new 'Eve Rose' to Simon Lycett on behalf of the Eve Foundation * 2008: Rachel de Thame presented the new rose 'Prince Caspian' to actor Ben Barnes * 2005: The show presented the new 'Duchess of Cornwall' rose to the Duchess of Cornwall


See also

* ''
The Beechgrove Garden ''Beechgrove'' (formerly known as ''The Beechgrove Garden'') is a television programme broadcast since 1978 on BBC Scotland. Over the years it has been broadcast on BBC Scotland, BBC One Scotland, BBC Two Scotland and Britbox. History ''Beechgro ...
'', a long-running gardening show from
BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...
.


References


External links


'BBC Two: Gardeners' World'

'BBC Gardeners' World Live'
*{{IMDb title, id=0260618, title=Gardeners' World BBC high definition shows BBC Television shows Gardening in the United Kingdom 1968 British television series debuts 1960s British television series 1970s British television series 1980s British television series 1990s British television series 2000s British television series 2010s British television series 2020s British television series BBC Birmingham productions Television series by BBC Studios English-language television shows