Geoff Hamilton: A Man and His Garden (Gardening) Book

"Thank you for lending me Geoff every Friday evening. I feel he's there in my living room." This viewer's reaction to Geoff Hamilton's sudden death in 1996 sums up the impact the charismatic TV gardener had on many Gardener's World devotees. From the moment he appeared on our screens to the time he was laid to rest in his jeans and boots, Geoff Hamilton was the domestic gardening authority; the one to whom people turned week after week for down-to-earth, practical advice on what was going on in their own back yards. Subtitled A Portrait of Britain's Best-Loved Gardener, this book is a must for anyone who regularly switched on BBC2 on a Friday night. From his early life as Tony's identical twin (when his charisma soon became apparent), through marriage, fatherhood, divorce and new-found happiness, this is the story of how an ordinary man communicated his passion for gardening to millions every week. Not always successful, Geoff suffered through two failed businesses before--up against the wall financially--a friend offered him a job as a gardening writer to help him out. From that moment, he never looked back. He had found his niche, and used his knowledge of what people wanted (this was why his businesses failed--this quality overrode sensible business decisions time and again) to become a household name. With contributions from Geoff's family and many friends, the authors (his twin brother and a former co-presenter) succeed in drawing a warm, loving portrait of a man sorely missed...not only by them, but by a nation.Read More