Gardeners' World man stirs up a storm

17:18 22nd September 2008

New Gardeners' World presenter Toby Buckland has stirred up controversy by going against the views of his predecessor.

Monty Don was firmly against the use of pesticides and was a firm believer in growing from scratch.

But Mr Buckland has come out this week in favour of pesticides and also championed the cause of growing from saplings.

"There is a theory in gardening that you should only visit small nurseries and grow as much as you can from seed," he told the Daily Telegraph.

"I want to broaden the appeal of Gardeners' World and make it acceptable for gardeners to visit garden centres, while highlighting what is on sale at garden centres now.

"I believe gardeners need to be shown how to shop for things and encouraged to support the industry. It shouldn't all be about growing your own as cheaply as possible."

Whether a gardener chooses to grow from seed or not, a greenhouse can be a useful tool in protecting young plants from the elements.