Alan Titchmarsh ‘My Secret Garden’
Perhaps the most famous gardener in the UK over the last two decades, Alan Titchmarsh was used to sharing his own garden with the public. For 6 years, as host of the BBC’s Gardener’s World, Alan allowed the viewers into his garden known as Barleywood. Then, in 2002, he left the programme and his home and garden of over 20 years. His latest book, My Secret Garden, is the story of the new garden he has created over the last decade. A space, until now that has not been shown to the public.
I was looking forward to receiving this book. I used to avidly watch him on his BBC gardening programmes, even though I had no garden of my own at the time and I’ll often refer back to his gardening books for ideas and advice now I do have a garden. And, to be honest, I’m quite nosey so the idea of being able to see the garden he has created appealed to me.
It’s quite a hard book to pin down. There are lovely photographs by Jonathan Buckley showing the garden in all its glory which gives it the feel of a ‘coffee table’ book but there is also text from Alan as he talks you around the garden. This is a book about the raison d’etre of his own personal garden. He avails us with the thoughts behind his design ideas and his planting choices.
I don’t think I’ve read a book like this before. It is described as a gardening memoir. I’m not sure that memoir is the right word but then I’m not sure what is. I did enjoy hearing the reasons behind the ultimate look of the garden and where his inspiration came from. He shares his triumphs and disasters and doesn’t feel the need to hide elements that haven’t worked so well, for instance the use of box and the subsequent blight attack. It makes those of us with less experience feel better to know that someone as knowledgeable as Mr. T can still make mistakes.
I liked the photographs taken from the same angles throughout the seasons. These particularly highlighted the value of evergreens and structure in the garden. And, whilst the book is not so much about passing on gardening expertise, I did think it was possible to take elements away from the book to possibly use in my own garden. Certainly by studying the photographs you could take inspiration for planting combinations.
If you like cutting edge design this won’t be the book for you but then Alan is probably not on your radar anyway. The garden surrounds a stunning Georgian house and the garden he has created is classical in style but there is a relaxedness about the space that came across in the photographs. It’s certainly a garden I would like to spend time in. There are elements of the garden that I loved, the topiary lining the terrace, for instance, and his stunning greenhouse but there were other aspects that were less to my taste such as the Union Jack flying from a flag pole. However, I like the fact that he doesn’t feel the need to hide these from the ‘design police’, this is after all his own garden.
I would have liked a few ‘before’ shots of the garden showing what it was like when he first moved there, to give the creation of the new space some context and I was disappointed there weren’t any pictures of the vegetable garden. It was a shame this area wasn’t given any coverage.
If you’re a fan of Alan’s then you’ll love this book. It’s interesting to read about the formation of a garden and the reasons behind it. So many gardens seem to evolve quite haphazardly over time or are created in one fell swoop by a design team. It was good to read about the problems he encountered with his new garden. It wasn’t a blank canvas as so many gardens aren’t and yet this seems to be only rarely touched on in features about gardens. Having someone describe their garden is a interesting idea. It’s quite easy to pick at someone’s personal taste but I wonder how many gardens would stand up to such scrutiny. I think it’ll make me question ideas I have about my own garden in future and the plans I have for it.
Alan’s book is available to buy now from Amazon and all good independent bookshops.
Thanks to Claire at Ebury Publishing.
I can’t say I’ve ever been a real fan of AlanTitchmarsh but I do respect his genuine enthusiasm; I enjoyed the honesty of your review and think it will be helpful to those deciding whether this book is for them or not. Christina
It’s on my Christmas list and I’ve dropped so many hints so I hope I find it on Christmas day! Like you, I like to have a peek behind the hedges of well known gardens or gardeners and I’m sure this won’t disappoint. Some people say there should be planting plans, but if your soil is totally different from his (which mine is) then planting plans are useless, you have to find your own plants that look similar but like your soil. Nice to have a positive review, thank you.
Thanks for such a detailed review. I saw another review only yesterday and enjoy getting different people’s opinions!
Now I see what you mean about great minds thinking alike WW
Interesting to read your review as you have picked up some excellent points that I had not considered. Perhaps my review was a bit negative but it did leave me feeling wanting more. I did enjoy reading it though and peering into his garden but it was not a book that I think that I would ever return to. Would give my eye teeth though for that meadow and the borrowed landscape complete with church spire 
I’d love those meadows too. The house wouldn’t be bad either
I can see why you wanted more from the book. I don’t think I’ve come across a book like that which is purely about one person’s garden and its creation.
sadly the link from ‘Anna’ goes to Blog Not Found and I KNOW I read her review of this book.
This is the kind of book I love to read and I wish there were more of them. It is so much more interesting to read about how someone created their garden and the process they used to design it than to read about the garden design process in theory only. It doesn’t matter if their garden isn’t to my taste, the process is still fascinating and provides inspiration and motivation to get out and improve my own space. I’d be interested in reading this book, but I think I’ll wait a while and get a cheap second hand copy.
Lyn, It was a nice to change to read a book about gardening that came from a different angle. I liked hearing the thoughts behind the design of his garden.
Well done on a good review. However I’m not a fan of Mr T so I’ll be giving this one a miss. xx
I like Alan Titchmarsh; there’s something very nice about his enthusiasm and the way he clearly enjoys gardening. It’s somehow more relateable than many of those celeb gardeners that seem to be much more design focused; we can all garden like him as long as we keep happy, whereas we might not all be able to garden like, say, Diarmuid Gavin. (I do love Diarmuid too, but my garden will never be an artwork in itself, so Titchmarsh is much easier to be inspired by.)
I don’t think, though, that I’d want to read this book; your review seemed much more pleasant than the book itself could be, and I will let his new garden remain a secret from me for now. (I love secret gardens, and one of my hidden dreams is to create a secret garden somewhere in my own little garden; maybe behind the house where nobody ever comes except to dispose of old bicycles and other rubbish waiting for the quarterly “large refuse collection”. Imagine turning that area into a beautiful surprise!)
I read Anna’s review of this book too. I’d like a nosey at the photos of the garden he’s created, so I shall look out for it at the library. You’ve both picked up on the fact that the veg garden’s missing, such a shame.
I know, no photos of the veg garden. It was tantalisingly off in the distance. A real pity.
I like a lot of things about AT and his books helped me take my first steps as a gardener. I love the look of his garden but am not quite sure how this latest book would help anyone move forwards except for gaining inspiration from the photos. I have been a bit disappointed that he has teamed up with B and Q to promote their garden products as their stuff is not the best. I feel that AT has sold out here. Just opened 2 packets of allium bulbs from there and 25 % are rotten. I wonder if those alliums in the photos came from B and Q???