Thursday 15 May 2008

A Nice Green Leaf: Titchmarsh Warming Report

Dsc_1367jpeg





I found myself in turmoil and confusion on the tube yesterday as, for once, I read an article by Alan Titchmarsh and agreed with every word. For reference, it's Gardeners' World magazine, June edition, p. 186. You can't read GW online, but the general drift is him wondering how to get his wisteria to flower.

I have had my moments of moaning about Alan T, but when he talks about actual gardening he's so gently informative that it's difficult to remember he's also annoying. And his palpable and modest desire to have a nice wisteria up the front of the house so matches my own ambitions that now I'm finding it impossible to keep hating him.

My particular favourite line is this one: "I can get most of the long shoots off in summer by leaning out of bedroom windows". I'm afraid I'm completely charmed by this picture of Alan gamely dashing upstairs with his secateurs to dangle out the first-floor, pruning. (Although he should consider that if it's dangerous to run with scissors...).

And he writes about exactly the same sense of triumph on seeing the buds as I was gargling on about at the start of April - he's just much less smug.

On balance I probably still won't be running up to get his autograph at Chelsea, but while he continues to battle the idea of climate change, I am sensing a bit of Titchmarsh Warming going on in this particular glacial region.



(Sorry about the deeply unsmiling image: I think I was worrying the camera was about to slide off the car I was using as a tripod)

No comments: