Alan Titchmarsh has spoken out about gardeners being “demonised” by water companies during the drought that plagued the UK this summer.
Titchmash said it was “depressing” to hear about the “horror stories of every global tragedy” on the news in regards to the changing climate - but added that he had “learned to be [an] optimist].”
The former Ground Force star, 77, said he would often “ferry his watering can to and fro” amid the months of no rain and had taught himself to “marvel” at his plants’ “capacity to weather the weather”.
His positive attitude was tested when gardeners were accused of “wasting” water on their gardens, Titchmarsh admitted in his latest column for Gardeners’ World magazine.
“It was difficult during the period when gardeners were all but demonised by the water companies for daring to ‘waste’ water on their gardens,” he penned.
Alan Titchmarsh has hit out at water companies for ‘demonising’ gardeners
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The Love Your Weekend presenter went on: “Was ever a course of action more misplaced? We are a nation surrounded by water. Up north they were deluged while down south they were parched. It cannot be beyond the wit of man to move water around.
“What became clear if that it is beyond the desire or the capabilities of water companies to invest and look to the future.”
His comments come after Thames Water cracked down on hosepipe usage over the summer, allowing people to only water their plants using watering cans or troughs.
Residents and local gardeners criticised the policy, pointing out a double standard where Thames Water struggled to fix major street leaks that wasted millions of litres daily while penalizing households trying to keep green spaces alive.
Some celebrities faced backash over their suspiciously green gardens in spite of the hosepipe bans, including stars like TOWIE’s Mark Wright and wife Michelle Keegan, Billie Faiers and Rod Stewart.
Jeremy Clarkson recently revealed he found a loophole for the hosepipe ban, keeping the green spaces around his pub The Farmer’s Dog looking lush and verdant through a private borehole.
It is legal because the water is not sourced from the public treated mains network. A borehole is drilled deep into the ground, providing access natural groundwater, and can be fitted with an electric pump that is connected to a garden hose.
Titchmarsh shared his watering woes after moving to a single-storey bungalow in Surrey after selling his £3.5 million Grade II listed Hampshire home.
The presenter and his wife Alison moved out partly over fears he wouldn’t be able to maintain the huge garden as he got older, with Titchmarsh admitting he was “in denial” about his health.
Titchmarsh - who was made a CBE for services to horticulture and to charity - wrote in June: “I cannot ever imagine loving a garden as much as the one I am leaving, which has seen my children grow up and echoed to the sounds of grandchildren.
“Now that I come to write these words I freely confess that my eyes are full of tears.”
The TV personality revealed his new garden is significantly smaller at an acre and a half.