Alan Titchmarsh and his wife Alison have moved from their Grade II-listed property in Hampshire to a new home in Surrey, according to multiple reports. The move was motivated by a desire to downsize and be closer to their daughters and grandchildren. Titchmarsh has characterized his new garden as a classic English cottage garden with many nooks, crannies, beds, and borders, though the exact location or address of the property in Surrey has not been disclosed. According to Daily Express - Showbiz, Titchmarsh described the garden as a sanctuary that complements the house with soft sculpturing and no hard edges.
In planning his new garden, Titchmarsh has specific plants in mind, both to include and avoid. He plans to plant eucryphias and magnolias. He says he will not plant hydrangeas because they require a lot of water and the sandy soil there will cause leaf crisping. He also says he will not plant pampas grass, describing them as looking like feather dusters in an umbrella stand. Furthermore, he says he generally does not like gladioli, except for certain magenta varieties found in Cornish hedgerows. What other plants, besides eucryphias and magnolias, Titchmarsh intends to introduce to his garden remains unclear, as do any specific alterations he plans beyond tidying flowerbeds and planting certain trees.
Titchmarsh is taking a measured approach to developing his new garden. He advises gardeners moving to a new plot not to do everything at once, but to start with the area visible from inside the house, such as from the kitchen sink. In his garden, he has a withered tree with two chairs under it, which he describes as sad and tired but thinks he can improve. To document the process, Titchmarsh is using his YouTube channel to provide updates on his new garden. Whether he has completed any major changes to the garden since moving in is not known, nor is how long he and his wife plan to stay in their new Surrey home.