INTERVIEW
Show landmark
Exclusive by Peter White
Former Isle of Wight High Sheriff
Alan Titchmarsh, the popular TV
presenter, will shortly hit another
milestone in his remarkable and
extremely busy career.
Alan will be on our television
screens from May 21 to 25
presenting his 30th Chelsea Flower
Show, the most famous flower show
in the country, and arguably in the
world.
I was wearing an absolutely awful
pictorial jumper when they were in
fashion. It had a scene knitted on
the front of it.
“I did a garden for the show
in 1983, and in 1985 I did one
again and won a gold medal and
was presented to the Queen. I was
wearing a maroon and black striped
blazer, white flannels and a yellow
bow tie – why?
'The standard of design and
inventiveness has increased in
leaps and bounds over the years'
By coincidence the Chelsea Flower
Show reaches its 100th anniversary
at the Royal Hospital this year, and
ahead of the spectacle, Island Life
caught up with Alan to talk about
some of his memories as its TV
presenter.
He said: “I have been going to the
show since 1969 as a punter, and
have been filming there for 30 years.
And I well remember the first one;
“The wardrobe was intriguing,
but as for the show itself it has just
got better and better. The standard
has always been of the best, and for
me is undoubtedly the finest flower
show in the world, not least because
of the standard of finish. But the
gardens are much more exciting
than they used to be.
“You could generally tell whose
garden it was by the style, but they
were relatively conservative in the
way they were put together – lawns
and large sheets of water that looked
black, and billowing banks of
rhododendrons and hostas. But the
standard of design and inventiveness
has increased in leaps and bounds
over the years, and now it really is
cutting edge.”
Alan, who recently celebrated
his 64th birthday, has seen many
changes in trends and fashions
during his time at Chelsea, and not
just in his attire! He recalled: “We
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