Carol Klein has made the surprising revelation that she detests garden makeover shows. The plantswoman and beloved TV presenter rages against the concept of programmes such as Garden Rescue, Your Garden Made Perfect, Filthy Garden SOS and The Great Garden Revolution in the latest episode of the Talking Gardens podcast.
Listen to Carol Klein on Talking Gardens
“I shouldn't say this but I really hate gardening makeover programmes,” she explains, “because they've got nothing to do with gardening. Gardening is a process, it's not a product. I was recently asked to do a garden makeover programme but I declined. I probably didn't do it in a very diplomatic way. It’s the whole idea that that you can sort of wave a magic wand and create a garden.”
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The makeover show trend, which peaked in the 1990s with Ground Force, the show that make household names of Alan Titchmarsh and Charlie Dimmock, is a perennial favourite on British screens, with even Monty Don doing several series of one called Big Dreams, Small Spaces; but in recent years more practical gardening content has also remained popular with new shows such as Alan Titchmarsh’s Gardening Club pulling in viewers.
Carol, who turns 80 this year, is best known for her slots on Gardeners’ World and programmes such as Life in a Cottage Garden, and her ultra enthusiastic and passionate delivery when talking about plants.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer last spring, and had a double mastectomy in April 2024; she has subsequently been given the all-clear. “I am totally recovered now,” she tells Talking Gardens host Stephanie Mahon. “Everybody was so supportive and wonderful about it.”
Amazingly, Carol was back working at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show last year, only weeks after having her procedure. Asked where her boundless energy comes from, and if she is likely to retire soon, Carol replied: “I think it’s just the thrill of being able to do what you love. How many people in the world can say that they get the opportunity to do every day something that they absolutely love? I don’t like filling in tax returns or anything like that, but the rest of it is wonderful. So no, I shan’t retire. I don’t care who says what, I’m not going to!”
In the episode, Carol also talks about her one big gardening bugbear - dwarf plants that are bred to be small – and regales with tales of filming around the world and her favourite gardeners, including why the legendary plantswoman Valerie Finnis once gave her a banana as a consolation prize at Chelsea.
