Alan started broadcasting when 大象传媒 Radio Shropshire opened in 1985 and has produced the Sunday Gardening programme since 1996. He says radio gardening is a great! He meets fellow amateurs each week on air and at question times and gets good answers for them from the experts. He does sometimes get his hands dirty in his own garden although he likes to tell listeners that his long-suffering 'head gardener' wife does all the work there. Alan鈥檚 interest in the hobby was first sparked as a child when his father found him a small plot to grow radish, lettuce and sweet peas - the latter winning him prizes at Minsterley Show.听 Alan said: 'Growing food was an absolute necessity in the 1940s but these days I do it for the taste. Even with all the extensive choices in supermarkets, there is still nothing as good as fresh crops from my own garden.'
| Jessica, Bryan, Alan and Martin |
Although Alan doesn't know all the answers, he does know who to ask. Martin Ford is always on hand to share his expert knowledge, and they are joined regularly by Jessica Pannett and Bryan Howard. Between them there's not much they don't know about gardening, but just in case, there are a host of other experts, like Margaret Thrower and Reg Moule to back them up. If you have a horticultural puzzle, give them a ring on Sunday, or join them at one of the many Gardeners' Question Time events in village halls all over Shropshire. |