Alan Titchmarsh made the comments as he reflected on his father’s death and leaving behind his prized garden, but the Ground Force icon considers himself “very lucky”
Alan Titchmarsh has set the record straight about his health, saying “every day is a bonus” as he reflected on his father’s death. The comments emerged as he discussed relocating with Alison, his wife of 51 years, from their Grade II listed Georgian property in Alton, Hampshire, to a bungalow in Surrey.
The move means Alan must bid farewell to his cherished four-acre garden, which he’s nurtured with “a quarter of a century of love and care”, though new horizons await, and the Ground Force legend now has a different, albeit smaller, space to maintain.
Alan has no plans to wind down just yet, confessing he doesn’t want “ever to retire”. And it appears his health isn’t preventing him either. In fact, he regards himself as “very lucky”.
Alan told The Times: “I’m very lucky; nothing has been replaced. People keep saying, ‘You’ve got new knees’. I haven’t; they’re the ones I originally had.”
It was also noted that the TV favourite chooses to walk up the escalator when he travels by tube. Discussing his father, who passed away four decades ago, Alan revealed that he’d exceeded his age.
Alan added: “You don’t know what’s round the corner. My dad died of a heart attack at 62. It makes you aware that every day is a bonus, really. I’ve lived 15 years longer than my dad did.”
In separate Alan news, the treasured gardening expert revealed the “only” method that will deter slugs and snails. Speaking to Country Life magazine, he said: “Like most gardeners, I have tried just about every slug control known to man.”
He ruled out numerous methods, including metaldehyde-based slug pellets, eggshells, holly leaves, sharp grit, gravel, sheep’s wool, and even coffee, remarking that he’s “not wild about” it.
Alan explained: “I do not drink enough Colombian or Arabica to carpet my hosta border in coffee grounds and, anyway, I’m not wild about imbuing my garden with an aroma redolent of Starbucks.”
He insisted that the sole approach that’s proved effective for him is “those rings of copper that resemble a vicar’s clerical collar and which can be pushed into the ground around individual plants to discourage the molluscs from coming any closer.”
Earlier this month, Alan discussed the “confusion” surrounding pruning. In a video for the BBC Gardeners’ World YouTube channel, the 77-year-old outlined how there are “many plants that need pruning in summer”.
He commented: “If there’s one gardening task that can cause more confusion than any other, it’s pruning. Generally speaking, one thinks of pruning as something you do in winter when everything’s dormant, when you can really have at it, when it’s not moving and you can’t make many mistakes.
“But there are many plants that need pruning in summer. There are plants which respond to pruning when the sun is shining and all the flowers are out in summer. We prune them to keep them in shape.
“We prune them to keep them useful, to get rid of pests and diseases, to encourage flowers and fruiting and to generally improve their health.”
Catch Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh on ITV today (Sunday, June 14), from 9.30am to 11.25am.
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