Legendary gardener Alan Titchmarsh, 71, was “persuaded” to join Instagram so he could share more of his green fingered talents with the world. But the horticulturalist, whose latest series Spring into Summer began on Sunday, remained adamant he wouldn’t be sharing anything else on his social media page in order to avoid being “cancelled”, as he revealed he feels “so sorry” for those who get trolled online.
In a recent interview, Alan feared he could wake up one morning and his career be over due to “venomous reactions” to his posts, while insisting he’s steering clear of Twitter wars.
“It’s all outgoing from me. I was persuaded to join because I was told it would be a lovely to share it, so people could enjoy me in my garden,” he explained.
“I’m not doing it to be reassured about my popularity – I’m just happy to share the things I enjoy.
“People can either look at them or not look at them, and that will do. It’s very benign, it’s very gentle, there’s going to be nothing controversial.”
He added: “I’m not going to be giving opinions about people in the news or what they’re doing.
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“It’ll all be to do with gardening, so I’m just popping it out there and people can enjoy it.
“I’m not anxious to get into Twitter wars, not at all,” Alan insisted.
The TV star admitted he “feels so sorry for the people who are trolled on social media”, and wants to avoid causing any controversy or disruption with his posts.
He also admitted he would hate to embarrasses his two daughters Polly and Camilla, and always checks with them before he shares anything online.
“I don’t know whether you can have a venomous reaction to a picture of a daffodil. It probably says more about you if you do, than it does about me,” he laughed.
He said: “Letting grass grow, which is, after all, a pretty passive thing to do, is probably the single most effective thing you can do in any garden of any size to encourage particularly insect life, but also small mammals, invertebrates, replies.”
However, Alan has directly opposed Monty’s tips saying that a neat, stripy lawn is “excellent” for his mental health.
The 71-year-old told Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard on Good Morning Britain: “Our gardens are full of exotic plants from foreign countries which are still good for British bees.
“I have a flower meadow but I also have a striped lawn.
“Gardens do two things… One, most importantly, they’re brilliant for wild fly.