Tales from Titchmarsh

Tending the land is a rewarding if undervalued career, and it's also the best way to safeguard our future on this planet 'Same old, same old...' is a phrase that sends a shiver down my spine. Friends who have hoed the same furrow (pardon the gardening analogy) year after year in a job that pays the rent but which they do not like have my deepest sympathy.

- Alan

Every New Year reminds me of my good luck in pursuing a career that has never been anything less than an all-consuming passion. Oh, I have days off and other interests, but deep at the heart of my very being is a burning desire to make a difference to the earth - to contribute to its health and wellbeing and to beautify my surroundings.

Should this sound excessively saintly, I will admit to a degree of self-interest: I find my life enriched by gazing on a wellgrown and well-designed garden.

I relish the fact that wildlife keeps me company and that every year, thanks to the seasons in our cool, temperate climate, I am given the chance to start again. Saintly I am not, but I am most certainly driven by a desire to make a positive difference to my patch of land.

You may well feel the same, but the chances are that for you gardening is your hobby; for me it is at the heart of my profession, even though I have also diversified into writing and broadcasting about it.