Gardener of Eden slams TV makeovers

Peter Gruner5 April 2012
The Weekender

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The man who created the world-famous Eden Project today warned that Britain's nation of armchair gardeners was threatening the livelihood of traditional horticulturalists.

Tim Smit blamed television lifestyle programmes such as the BBC's Ground Force for presenting unrealistic instant makeovers, with gardeners more interested in decking than digging.

He also accused the heritage industry of turning big gardens into theme parks, with underpaid gardeners being urged to do everything on the cheap.

He will present his controversial views at a National Trust conference tomorrow, Gardening Culture in the 21st Century.

Mr Smit, chief executive of the Eden project in Cornwall, which opened earlier this year, said he feared that make-over shows and complacency could eventually lead to the "catastrophic decline" of the horticultural profession.

He added: "The idea of doing up a garden in a few hours or days, or even a week, is completely artificial. It goes counter to nature and the seasons. I'd like to see what these gardens would look like a month or two down the road."

Britain's obsession with "heritage in aspic", he said, meant that it spent less on its great historic gardens than many other countries.

"Our lack of investment in real horticulture is a complete disgrace. In more civilised countries, like Germany, Holland and Scandinavia, an open space is a sign of the cultural health.

"In Britain, an open space is where dogs crap and people mow the lawn. Britain is in love with heritage to a degree that there is almost a fear of the future. We create not gardens but virtual theme parks."

Among the "disasters" were Birkenhead Park in Liverpool - which inspired Central Park in New York - and London's Crystal Palace park, which hosted the Great Exhibition but is now a shadow of its former glorious past.

Mr Smit said Brixton's Brockwell Park, however, was an example of a well-cared-for park.

He said: "In Europe, to be a great horticulturist is a profession like an accountant and lawyer. In Britain you are regarded as the third thickest son of the third thickest son."

He added: "Morale is very low in our horticultural colleges."

Other speakers at the conference include landscape architect and urban designer Kim Wilkie, who will call for a new philosophy that unites gardens and countryside together.

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