TV gardener David Domoney’s dirty secret – ‘I have 15 compost bins – is that excessive?’

What’s your new book about? I’ve got three children under ten. I’m always telling them about amazing things to engage them with plants and nature. It has rekindled my own fascination with plants, and I thought writing a book on amazing plant stories would appeal to the child in anyone from six to 90. I set myself the task of writing about 75 plants that you can grow in your own home and garden.

You may also like:

• Adam Frost on beating burnout and gardening
• Nine plants that can help ease stress, fatigue and burnout
• Why gardening can make you smarter
• Going outside can help support your mental health

What did you learn from writing it? That there’s always something to learn. Horticulture is like a Christmas tree – underneath it, there are boxes of presents that contain information you didn’t know, or something that fascinates you.

I’ve got 15 compost bins… and counting. I don’t know if that’s excessive.

The research for this book took me into topics that I wouldn’t normally associate with, such as neurology, toxicology, fables and history. The snowdrop has the ability to harden the tip of the bud to break through the snow, but it also has certain proteins that act as anti-freeze by inhibiting ice crystallisation within the cells of the plant. A Venus flytrap has its own internal calcium clock, which gives it the ability to count and have a memory.

I’ll read anything about/by… I’m a keen amateur cook, so most of what I look at and read involves combining growing my own food and cooking it, with an emphasis on flavours and textures. I’m also a great fan of John Le Carré.

What first sparked your interest in gardening? When I helped out at the church fête, it was always on the plant stand, and I got to take home whatever was left at the end for a small donation.

I was also a Scout and did bob-a-job jobs to raise money for charity. When bob-a-job week had finished, I went back round to see the pensioners, offering to cut their lawns or help with the garden. I had a nice little business going as a teenager and I thought, this is a job for me – being outside and engaging with plants, with customers who were so grateful and generous.

For me, the biggest mistake in gardening is considering it just to be a hobby. It’s about finding the time, not necessarily for the garden, but for me.

What’s your garden like? We moved just after the pandemic and we’re planting the garden from scratch as a family. The previous owners took out all the trees to put in paddocks for horses and I’m taking out all the paddocks to put back in trees.

We’ve planted a small orchard with the children – I was keen for them to have an involvement with every tree. We’ve also created a sizeable grow-your-own area. We’re building a series of small gardens in one big garden.

We film here for ITV’s This Morning and Alan Titchmarsh’s Gardening Club. My original thought was to buy something already established, then enjoy and grow with it, but the pleasure from seeing it develop has been marvellous.

What’s your biggest gardening mistake? For me, the biggest mistake in gardening is considering it just to be a hobby. It’s about finding the time, not necessarily for the garden, but for me.

It’s having that intimate moment with myself, whether it’s hearing the rain clink on the glass of the greenhouse, potting with the sun on my face, or the sound of the bees and the birds. I need to prioritise those moments when I’m not driving to Brownies, or football club – it’s a constant attempt to find more times to relax and engage.

What’s your guilty gardening secret? I’ve got 15 compost bins… and counting. I don’t know if that’s excessive. All of our gardens produce so much material and there’s a good feeling about putting something back into the garden. I like stripping the tape off cardboard delivery boxes and ripping them up to put into the compost bin.

What else are you up to? I’m launching the 14th year of Cultivation Street – it’s the longest running independent community gardening campaign in Britain. There are thousands of members in communities up and down the country and many of the organisers have become friends.

There are no standards people have to reach, and it’s a free resource. I’m filming Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh and for ITV’s This Morning, and I’ll also be filming for my own YouTube channel.