"If you have created garden, you have created a work of art," says Geoff Hamilton. A quarter of a century ago, Hamilton's predecessor Percy Thrower became the first gardening superstar, when Gardeners'
World evolved out of an earlier programme Gardening Club.
This celebration of the 25th anniversary traces the evolution of a programme that has made household names of screen gardeners, and has been at the forefront of the ever-growing popularity of gardening.
And how times and techniques have changed. In a pilot programme for Gardening Club the curator of Oxford's
Botanical Gardens wanted to show viewers the beauty of his blue water lillies. But the cumbersome television equipment took so long to set up that the lilies were closing by the time the crew was ready. So he offered viewers a loofah instead.
Producer Keith Haley ; Executive producer
John King Stereo Subtitled
Geoff Hamilton looks back over 25 years SEE FEATURE page 28