The Spectator’s Notes | 7 January 2012

Alan Titchmarsh says that ‘Gardening is more important than politics. It has a consistent point of view. And that is: that a piece of ground should be cherished.’ He is right, but he may not be fully aware that, in speaking as he does, he is expressing a political opinion. He is saying something conservative. One of the clever tricks that conservatism plays is to help people feel that things which, in reality, change often, are immemorial. Sure enough, Mr Titchmarsh goes on to say, ‘If you live in the countryside and look out of the window, you will see there is no ostensible difference between this year and 200 years ago.’ This is almost always untrue. Even if you leave aside blatantly visible technological developments such as pylons and wind turbines, the view from the rural window has been altered by the effects of barbed wire and tractors and nitrogen-based fertilisers and better drainage.