I make a brief appearance on ITV’s Love Your Garden tonight
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Cottage tales | 29 comments
Inca beside the backdoor
Do you remember that Danny and I were beavering away in April and May tarting up the cottage and garden? It had needed sorting out for quite some time. I am naturally untidy, prone to leaving things lying around. Danny is King of Weeding the Gravel and I’m Queen of everything else in the garden so I couldn’t blame him for the mess.
This major shake up was prompted by the imminent arrival of Valentine Warner and a TV crew. They would film a snippet in my garden for the food slot in tonight’s Love Your Garden on ITV. We had about three weeks to prepare and set a lot of other projects on hold.
Our Solar Tunnel really came into its own as it was full of plants started from seed earlier in the year. But there was still masses of work to do from reseeding parts of the lawn, weeding and hacking to painting the big front gate.
Our slot on tonight’s programme is just a few minutes. We really enjoyed the filming day – it was fun and relaxed.
The other bonus is that our front garden no longer looks like the set of Steptoe and Son.
So if you’d like a peek at our garden, tune in tonight to ITV1 at 8 o’clock!
Edit:
Link to the show for UK readers. The segment is 16 minutes in and you have to sit through a few ads first.
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It would be fun to see all the footage that ended up in the trash!
Well done Fiona – I’m still envious of you sharing your garden with Valentine Warner for a whole day – I love his recipes/books.
I enjoyed the programme, I don’t regularly watch TV gardening progs and I admit that although I’m sure he’s a lovely chap, I really can’t stand Monty Don doing gardening. The Alan T show went very well with knitting (I could look up now and again at the interesting bits).
I’m going to try the salad recipe – might not have any gooseberries left the blasted wood pigeons did an afternoon rain and snaffled the lot yesterday – including my precious Hinnomaki Reds WAAAAAAAH!!!!
Celia
Hi Fiona and Danny,
Loved the ‘Gin’ comment Fiona, very quick witted of you. It was great to see your garden in the flesh so to speak(and you of course!)although agree with the others on the length of time spent in your garden.
I think Gooseberrys will be on my list for planting next year. Some one gave me a bag last year and I made some of the best jam ever with them but, the Gin sounds great.
Very nice to see you on the TV and with one of my favourite cooks, sadly I am not a lover of loveage but I do have the gooseberries and potatoes and some spring onions.
I only turned the TV on part-way through, and I hadn’t seen this ‘announcement’ in advance, but I realised straight away that it was you! Loved seeing you and your garden in your slot, but not too sure about the rest of the programme.
Interesting comments re the format. I think the magazine format appeals to non-gardeners like me, while Gardeners World is the complete opposite (I don’t watch that).
But it was disappointing to hear so little of Fiona after 8 hours of filming.
VW’s potato dish was a real surprise when I tasted it on the day. Truly superb and well worth trying yourselves. That’s a pro chef for you, I guess.
Anyway, we are delighted with Fiona’s 3 minutes on national TV. I had not heard the gin quip beforehand. Brilliant! A natural? 🙂
Can’t see the garden (being in the states and all) but I can so relate- had a party this past Tuesday for which I started cleaning on Friday, and the house looks so good I’m obsessively picking up all the time. Even picking up lint from the lone rug in the living room.
Hope the clean lasts for both of us!!
Just watched the program on ITVPlayer, great to be able to see the garden and you.
I agree with keth, too much Valentine, not enough you!
My neighbour has some gooseberries she never seems to use, I’m going to have to ask if I can pinch them for a spot of gin, nice one!
Was great to see the garden – and you, in the flesh! I loved your “GIN!” quip, but honestly, I wish Valentine would shut up on these jaunts.. he seems determined to hog the screen and not to let anyone else get in a word edgeways. Valentine and the Producers – if you want to go film-cook in someone else’s garden then for gods sake do so, don’t try to merge an interview with a cooking blurb in the time you have because it just does not work, the viewer is left wanting a far longer interview with the interesting people (like Fiona)!
I saw this last week and didn’t much like the goldfish format then either. I only tuned in because i happen to love Alan T. Only tuned in tonight for you, Fiona.. won’t be doing so again. Shame really. could’ve been a good programme.
oh well.
But! It was so good to see you and your garden, and the Min Pins!!! however briefly!
keth
xx
Was great to see the garden – and you, in the flesh! I loved your “GIN!” quip, but honestly, I wish Valentine would shut up on these jaunts.. he seems determined to hog the screen and not to let anyone else get in a word edgeways. Valentine/Producers – if you want to go film/cook in someone else’s garden then for gods sake do so, don’t try to merge an interview with a cooking blurb in the time you have because it just does not work, the viewer is left wanting a far longer interview with the interesting people (like Fiona)!
I saw this last week and didn’t much like the goldfish format then either. I only tuned in because i happen to love Alan T. Only tuned in tonight for you, Fiona.. won’t be doing so again. Shame really. could’ve been a good programme.
oh well.
But! It was so good to see you and your garden, and the Min Pins!!! however briefly!
keth
xx
I have just discovered the dog blog! thank you! x