TV gardener and friend of the King, Alan Titchmarsh has opened up on a “heartbreaking” discovery he made one day after returning home from a weekend away with his wife Alison.
Alison and Alan celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this summer. They have two daughters, called Polly and Camilla.
And, as you’d expect, an entirely gorgeous garden. Just don’t mention the cherry blossom tree…
Alan Titchmarsh on those pesky pigeons
One of the more heartbreaking wildlife experiences of Alan Titchmarsh’s long career was the destruction of his beloved cherry blossom tree.
“My small but now 20-year-old plantation of the pure-white ‘Shirotae’ cherry generally gives rise to gasps in early April,” he told the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine in June.
“This year we went away for the weekend just before it was due to open. We returned and excitedly walked around the back of our barn to take in the anticipated view.”
But alas, wood pigeons had decimated the welter of buds that had earlier appeared.
“It was pathetic. Only those flowers at the very tips of the branches, unable to bear the weight of these portly peristeronic gluttons, were intact. Heartbreaking,” he concluded.
Ducks introduced fish to the pond he excavated 15 years ago
When Alan Titchmarsh excavated his wildlife pond a decade and a half ago, there were a few animals he hoped might one day call it home. Newts, dragonflies, damselflies. Maybe a kingfisher or two.
But then, likely carried on the webbed foot of a visiting duck, a species of freshwater fish arrived. He’d never expected it, so at first it was quite exciting.
Roach are hardy, and can grow up to 36cm (14in) long. And when they eat, they eat. Alan likened the scene of sprinkling fish food on the water to a scene in a James Bond film where a baddie is consumed by voracious piranhas.
However, they also decimated the pond’s insect population.
To restore balance to the ecosystem, Alan has tried to introduce kingfishers by encouraging the growth of an alder over the pond. Kingfishers are skilled hunters, and dive into fresh water in search of prey.
The hope was that a resident kingfisher might regulate the roach population, which will in turn allow the insects to thrive once again. But Alan has only seen him once. And the fish population? Much the same.
Never a dull moment in the TV gardener’s home!
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Read more: Why Alan Titchmarsh’s daughters were ‘so relieved’ to get married and lose the family name
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