Geoff Hamilton (1936-1996)
I get a bit teary as I write this. I never knew or even met Geoff, but I watched him religiously every week when he presented Gardener’s World on the TV. I know that I took copious notes from the program, though I have no idea what happened to them. My husband and I would also be looking out for his cat Denis who made the occasional unscripted appearance on the show.
Geoff came across as such a lovely and genuine person, twinkling away in his friendly manner. Geoff most definitely twinkled; yes he did. His passion and enthusiasm for gardening must have been infectious because I couldn’t wait to get started on a garden of my own. In those days, my husband and I lived in rented accommodation so the gardens were not mine to transform but it didn’t deter me from making ambitious lists of plants that I would grow one day. And he was one of those presenters who have the knack of making things seem doable so that I was not deterred by thinking it might be too difficult. I feel that he was also ahead of his time in terms of advocating reusing materials and improvising, so that cost wasn’t a deterrent either for those of us on a budget.
I think that’s what I appreciate Geoff for because he made it seem possible; that however humble or small or even rented as in our case, you could have your own little piece of earthly paradise. Everyone deserves something nice in their life, and this was achievable.
This is my homage to Geoff. I understand that he collected old gardening tools so this is an image of those in my possession. Thank you Geoff and bless you for the inspiration to start gardening. Being with Nature is one of the best therapies that I know. It brings peace to my soul.
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