My Favourite Television Gardening Presenter - A Tribute to Geoff Hamilton

Do you have a favourite television gardening presenter? I don't mean just at the present but all time. My favourite has to be Geoff Hamilton and I know I am not alone in this.

There are many reasons why so many of us think so fondly of the late Geoff Hamilton when we do our gardens even though it is a few years since he passed away. He had natural warmth when presenting and although very knowledgeable never talked down to his audience. It was always "we gardeners" when talking about garden problems or projects.

Some in "the establishment" might have had problems with him when he campaigned for what he strongly believed in but most of the time his beliefs were right and many of us followed. Before Geoff I read garden books and followed the methods that recommended cocktails of chemicals to solve all our garden problems and increase yields. I had a shelf in my shed high enough to be out of the way of little fingers with quite an impressive array of proprietary garden chemicals. Then this man started to tell me to forget all that and let nature take its course. This was a big step to take and I had to put a lot of faith in Geoff Hamilton. I stopped spraying the greenfly that attacked my roses in early spring and the shrubs were covered and suffered. It was very tempting to reach for the spray but I resisted the temptation. That first year my garden suffered and I began to wonder at the wisdom of "letting nature take its course". The second year started off just as badly but then I noticed the greenfly popula tion started to diminish. Not only were the blue tits and great tits feeding but ladybirds, hoverflies etc became more plentiful. The chemicals became a thing of the past and I have never sprayed since.

I have given some thought about why this man caught my attention more than any television gardener that went before him. Can you guess? Colour television. When we first married we had a small black and white television and that seemed adequate for us. I had not watched much television for years, preferring to go out in the evening. I had always had an interest in gardening and wildlife but never through the medium of the small screen. Then came the day when we decided to splash out on our first colour television with a picture the size that you could actually see what was happening! What a difference, now it was worth watching programmes about flora and fauna and at that time for me, especially gardening programmes. I was hungry for knowledge and there was this man all too willing to teach me.

He did a few special series for the BBC that were very enjoyable as well as being instructional and were released on video. I acquired two videos that I enjoyed watching episode by episode on cold winter nights that had the added advantage of rekindling my passion so that I could not wait to get outside to start again as soon as the weather allowed. The problem is that being on video they had started to deteriorate. Thankfully the BBC has now released a triple DVD set and, yes, I have bought it. Included in the set are:

Cottage Gardens

Geoff builds two cottage gardens from scratch at his Barnsdale garden one built as cheaply as possible and the other for those with a bit more disposable income. The joy of this series for me is the "old time gardeners" that he speaks to. There are more modern cottage gardeners on show but just see what you can achieve without having to spend too much money.

Paradise Gardens

Geoff Hamilton visits inspirational gardens showing how to create privacy without shading the garden from the sun. If this series does not inspire you to try to produce your own bit of paradise then nothing will. Oodles of enthusiasm from not only Geoff but the gardeners he visits and talks to along the way.

The Ornamental Kitchen Garden

Never previously released on DVD or video which is probably the reason I have never been able to find it!

Geoff takes us through the essentials of an organic garden, giving practical advice on plant selection, planting schedules, harvesting times, plant locations, soil type, drainage, crop rotation and composting.

I am certainly looking forward to watching these programmes once more and recommend them to any gardener, especially those beginners thirsting for knowledge and inspiration.

Thank you Geoff.

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