Most people love their gardens. But they would love them even more if Alan Titchmarsh and his team of horticultural experts came round to give them a makeover.
That's exactly what happens in Love Your Garden, a popular British show, in which Titchmarsh travels the length and breadth of the UK overseeing surprise transformations to the outdoor spaces of people who deserve it.
He converts neglected plots into breath-taking gardens and uplifting outdoor living spaces while teaching audiences how to replicate the transformations themselves with the least possible hassle.
While the owner – who always has a moving story to tell – is taken off somewhere else, Titchmarsh designs a new garden. He draws on inspiration from great local gardens and asks locals for help in constructing the new space.
The 69-year-old Titchmarsh, who is also a best-selling novelist, underscores that working on Love Your Garden is for him a very fulfilling experience.
"It's really rewarding and moving to see people's reactions when they return home to find their garden has been completely transformed.
"As well as enjoying gardening, I've always found that it offers me tremendous spiritual enrichment. To be able to share that with others is just fantastic."
In addition, the presenter takes great pleasure in working with his regular team of experts – David Domoney, Katie Rushworth and Frances Tophill.
"We are quite different, but then we bring different qualities and skills to the programme," he says.
"We all share a well-developed sense of humour and the ability to send each other up."
Another segment of the programme that has proved successful with viewers is where Titchmarsh, himself a professional gardener, passes on tips.
The presenter, who hails from Ilkley in Yorkshire, says that the best advice he can give to people eager to improve their gardens is, "Take time to work out what you really want from your garden before you make it.
"Observe the path of the sun. It will help you to decide what plants you want where – in the sun or the shade – and where to site your sitting area. Start with the bit next to the house and work your way down the garden." Above all, he counsels, "Be patient."
One problem that Titchmarsh encounters while filming Love Your Garden, which has now been running since 2011 and shows no sign of waning in popularity, is coping with traditional English summer weather – constant rain.
"We frequently get wet," he says. "I think the viewers rather like that. One year we made a garden for a children's hospice in Sheffield and it turned out to be much larger than we thought. Added to that, it rained all the time and the dry riverbed at its centre filled with water. That was in my native Yorkshire. Some sunshine would be nice this year."
Titchmarsh, who for many years presented the long-running BBC programme Gardeners' World, goes on to consider which are his favourite gardens in the world.
"Hidcote Manor in Gloucestershire takes some beating. I'm also fond of the garden at Antony in Cornwall, where there is a great collection of rhododendrons and camellias, as well as fantastic sea and estuary views.
"The Prince of Wales's garden at Highgrove is another favourite. I can lose myself in all of them."
The presenter, who has also fronted How To Be A Gardener and Ground Force (which in one memorable episode remodelled Nelson Mandela's garden), does not just pretend to be passionate about all things horticultural for the benefit of the cameras. He adores gardening in his spare time, too.
He says that at home his biggest challenge is "getting my garden right. The job is never finished, but that's half the fun. Adding new features and redoing those that have gone over the hill is all part and parcel of having a garden."
Titchmarsh goes on to reveal that on his rare days off, he is always keen to get out into his own garden.
"I potter in my garden every day that I'm at home. There are few jobs I hate – I even love mowing the grass. It's my way to unwind and feel a part of nature. I couldn't do without it."