Joe Swift: A Man About The Garden

Gardening has long been a mainstay on British television, and Joe Swift is currently one of the genre’s most popular small screen presenters. And now he’s taking his expertise and personality on tour for A Man About The Garden, with live shows which will feature his memories of starting off in landscape gardening in the mid-80s, his rise to become an acclaimed garden designer, and the eventual move into TV. But above all, what will come across is his unconditional love of gardens, whether big or small, commercial or private, contemporary or classic.

“It’s been something that’s kept me going and I really love it. I like the people in the industry, I like the fact that you’re always learning, and I love that it’s very creative. Over the years a lot of funny stories have come up. For the show, I’ll have a lot of slides and visuals, but it’s not an evening lecture about gardening, it’s much more light entertainment. There will be a 10-15 minute q&a but I will not be talking about dead plants.”

 “In 2012 I won a gold medal at The Chelsea Flower Show which is the pinnacle of garden design. I’ve been presenting The Chelsea Flower Show since about 2001 so a lot of people associate me with that. I’ll be talking about what it takes to get a gold medal. It’s quite phenomenal really; there’s an incredible amount to be done because your garden has to go up in three weeks, stay up for a week and then back down again in a few days; you have a quarter of a million pound budget and away you go. There’s no room for error and it’s on such a global stage. If you’ve made a crap garden or if you’re in any way embarrassed about it, you’ve nowhere to hide!”

To hear more stories from the man himself, Joe Swift: A Man About The Garden is in the Main House on Thursday 2 February, 7.30 pm. For tickets click here, or contact Box Office on 01432 340555