The future of British gardening is under threat because of a lack of interest from celebrity-obsessed young people, Alan Titchmarsh warned last night.
The TV gardener said that unless more youngsters were encouraged into horticulture, the Chelsea Flower Show could end up as ‘little more than a wistful memory’.
Young people grew up idolising celebrities, such as boyband One Direction and James Bond actor Daniel Craig, as well as hi-tech gadgets.
‘It’s time we reconnected them with apples rather than Apple Macs, plant cells rather than cell phones and raspberries as well as BlackBerrys,’ he said.
He warned that the young do not consider a future in horticulture because ‘careers advisers never even think of it’ and little is done to champion the industry.
Mr Titchmarsh said: ‘There is much to learn and, as anyone who has been involved with horticulture will tell you, it can be tremendously challenging.
'And yet our role is undervalued by government, by the population and by young people in particular – in every instance because they just do not understand the breadth of what we do and its importance in terms of the wellbeing of the planet and its population.’
Citing a recent survey that showed that 70 per cent of horticulture businesses could not fill skilled vacancies, and another 90 per cent saying the industry ‘lacks career appeal’, Mr Titchmarsh predicted a bleak future for British gardening unless attitudes are changed.
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He said: ‘If this situation continues, British horticulture will dwindle and become a pale shadow of its former self, and Chelsea Flower Show little more than a wistful memory.’
Mr Titchmarsh was speaking at the launch last night of the RHS Chelsea Centenary Appeal, a fundraising drive to find £1million to support the next generation of horticulturists.
Next generation: Alan Titchmarsh is concerned that not enough young people are interested in horticulture
He said: ‘The centenary of Chelsea Flower Show gives us an opportunity that is not to be wasted – a chance to demonstrate that those of us involved in horticulture are not thick, or dull, or unadventurous or simply incapable of doing anything else.
‘Without [horticulture] we would be hungry, uninspired, artistically stunted, unhealthily house-bound, pale of skin and unsound in body.
‘Our wildlife would be deprived of habitats, birds would go hungry, bees would be short of nectar and frogs would fail to find sufficient places to spawn.’