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Geoffrey Stephen Hamilton (15 August 1936 – 4 August 1996) was an English gardener, broadcaster and author, best known as presenter of

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television's ''

Gardeners' World ''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 e ...

'' in the 1980s and 1990s.Geoff Hamilton – a gardening legend

Background

Hamilton was born just a few minutes before his twin brother Tony, in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...

, London. His family moved to

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 I ...

in Hertfordshire when he was two, and his interest in horticulture was nurtured initially by working on the family's back garden. He expanded his knowledge still further by helping out at local nurseries during the school holidays – mainly at the Van Hage nursery at the end of his road. He went on to Writtle Agricultural College in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

where, in 1959, he passed the National Diploma in Horticulture with distinction. After graduating from agricultural college he became a nurseryman and self-employed landscape gardener, then opened his own garden centre ("The Hamilton Garden Centre") on the outskirts of

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. He began writing a column for ''Garden News'' in 1970, and in 1975 became a full-time journalist when he took over as editor of ''Practical Gardening'' magazine, where he began his crusade to inform everybody about the joys and benefits of organic gardening.

Television and Barnsdale

Hamilton got his first break into television in 1970 presenting ''Gardening Diary'' for

Anglia TV ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated ...

which led to guest appearances on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's ''

''. From 1979 until his death, he was the show's regular, and longest-serving presenter, and, in 1985, was responsible for moving the show's venue to his own garden at Barnsdale, Rutland. He was also the creator of several other BBC television gardening series such as ''The Cottage Garden'', ''The Paradise Garden'' and ''The Ornamental Kitchen Garden''. Hamilton wrote or co-wrote a number of books to accompany his television series (see below). His practical hands-on experience, down-to-earth, cost-saving approach to gardening, his desire to share his failures as well as successes with the audience, combined with a gentle humour were some of the keys to his success and popularity. He was a committed and informed early advocate of the organic approach to gardening, helping to dispel the rather widely held belief that organic gardening was slightly odd and 'cranky.' Readers of '' Amateur Gardening'' magazine nominated Hamilton as Gardener of the Millennium. It has remained a puzzle to many in the gardening world that despite his achievements and popularity, he received neither award nor recognition from the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

. He was, however, awarded an honorary Master of Science Degree by Anglia Polytechnic University in 1994.

Death and legacy

Hamilton suffered a heart attack in 1995, and took three months off work to recuperate. He died after suffering a heart attack on a charity bike ride near Merthyr Tydfil,

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, in August 1996. He was buried at St Peter and St Paul Churchyard in Exton, Rutland. His garden at Barnsdale, consisting of 38 themed gardens over , remains open to the public and is run by his son Nick Hamilton (also an organic gardener and writer). A charity, Geoff Hamilton's New Gardeners' Foundation, was set up to provide a bursary of £4,000 for students of any age and level studying practical horticulture at

Writtle College Writtle University College is a university college located in Writtle near Chelmsford, Essex. It was founded in 1893. Writtle obtained University College status in May 2016. Its countryside estate features a wide range of facilities, includin ...

.Writtle College
This award is funded by donations and sales of gardening DVDs.

Bibliography

;Written or co-authored by Hamilton *''Do Your Own Garden Stonework'' (W Foulsham & Company Limited, 1986). *''The Living Garden'' (BBC books, 1992). *''Geoff Hamilton's Cottage Gardens'' (BBC books, 1995). *''The Ornamental Kitchen Garden'' (BBC books, 1995). *Search, Gay. ''Old Garden, New Gardener '' (BBC books, 1995) *Search, Gay. ''The Complete First Time Gardener'' (BBC books, 1996) *''Geoff Hamilton's Paradise Gardens'' (BBC books, 1997). *Clevely, A & Hamilton, L. ''Geoff Hamilton's Year in Your Garden'' (Headline Book Publishing, 1998) *''"Gardeners' World" Practical Gardening Course'' (BBC books, 2000). *''Organic Gardening'' (Dorling Kindersley, 2008). ;About Hamilton *Search, Gay & Hamilton, Tony. ''Geoff Hamilton: A Man and His Garden" (BBC books, 1998).'' *Hamilton, Tony. ''Geoff Hamilton: The Complete Gardener'' (Headline Book Publishing, 2000) *Hamilton, Tony. ''My Brother Geoff: The People's Gardener'' (Headline Book publishing, 2001) *Hamilton, Nick & Sue.

' (2006).

References

External links

Geoff Hamilton biog
(Barnsdale gardens)
Geoff Hamilton
– an " English rose" by David C.H. Austin {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Geoff English gardeners English garden writers English television presenters People from Stepney 1936 births 1996 deaths