Balanced News: Alan Titchmarsh: I tend not to follow my own gardening advice

Alan Titchmarsh, a BBC broadcaster, admits that he does not always follow his own gardening advice and makes the same mistakes as the rest of us. His four-acre garden in Hampshire shows not a blade of grass out of place, but he said the mess is just out of sight of the cameras. Titchmarsh advised viewers of his television programmes and reader of his columns to buy plants from nurseries and garden centres only when they have identified a space that needs filling. But he said he is guilty of letting potted plants stack up beside his shed and leaves shrubs sitting in their containers for years rather than planting them out. Nor is he immune to the impulse purchase of plants that have no place in his garden. Titchmarsh said each year he vows to keep on top of things but ends up being “less than assiduous”. He urged people to extend their horticultural spring clean beyond weeding paths and pressure-washing pavements