EPICURE Winter Issue 2020/21

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COMING
UP ROSES
Sally Thomson had a chat with Alan Titchmarsh
MBE, DL, HonFSE and discussed some of the
many passions he enjoys - extending far beyond
gardening. He has written more than forty gardening
books, memoirs and his latest creation is a book on
poetry which illustrates the love he has for not just
plants, but all of life...
You still do Saturday mornings on Classic FM. Of all the
music that you enjoy, what is your favourite?
It’s fairly classic, although I like a lot of stuff! Whether it’s
Handel or Mozart or Tchaikovsky. It’s part of my life. I’ve
always loved light opera. I love The Merry Widow and
Fledermaus and things like that, as well as the heavier stuff.
But I think sometimes Operetta is overlooked. It has the
most glorious melodies and it tends to fall between two
categories; it’s not a musical and it’s not an opera and so I feel
that at the moment Operetta seems to fall in the dark.
I’ve been listening to some snippets on your show on
gardening and there are such useful tips. I mean, I don’t
fancy going out there at the moment because it’s so wet. But
when Easter arrives how should we start in the garden?
The great thing about the winter months is that everything
moves so slowly, so when Easter arrives it gives us time
to catch up in the garden. We can get stuff cut back, fed,
mulched.
Mulching is probably one of the best things to do this time of
year isn’t it?
Well it is because the ground is moist and the weeds haven’t
started growing yet so you can spread it now and it will keep
the weeds down.
Yes, obviously the bulbs are coming up now and I’m dreading
a frost that will knock down my narcissus…
Oh, frost won’t knock them down! They’re tough as old
boots. They might bow down for a night if it gets really
frosty, but they’ll pick up as the day progresses. The
thing about narcissus and snowdrops is that they are not
susceptible to frost. They really are hardy.
That’s good to know! I’m really interested in your 50 shades
of Green - the programme. Tell me all about that, how did it
happen?
ITV very sweetly said they wanted to mark my seventieth
birthday, which was very kind, and they wanted to do it in a
very engaging way, so they had me name my top 50, and they
went from there.
Were they difficult choices to make?
Oh yes! It was like Desert Island Discs! But we covered all the
main things you know, like trees, water, roses, and the last
one was my garden which has not been seen on telly before.
I know. A bit special! One of the elements of the show
is about you visiting the National Gallery, and how the
masterpieces have inspired you. Which were the paintings in
particular that inspired you?
Oh gosh, well for me it’s so difficult to choose, I mean
there’s Mr and Mrs Andrews by Gainsborough, then you see
Whistlejacket by Stubbs. Just walking past them all and the
feeling of joy that it was open for us to see them all, it was
like being a boy in a sweet shop! When you manage to see
EPICURE | Winter 2020/21 39