Hodder & Stoughton has acquired world rights for The Gardener’s Almanac: A Treasury of Garden Knowledge and Inspiration Through the Year by Alan Titchmarsh through Luigi Bonomi at LBA. It will publish in October 2022. The gardener and presenter said that instead, they should listen to the “natural sounds of the earth”. Alan Titchmarsh said: ‘This is the sort of book I’d have on my bedside table if it had been written by anyone else! It’s been great fun to write and, I hope, will inspire and make folk smile.' Steve Chilton is a passionate and knowledgeable garden expert with several years of experience within the field. As the director of LeisureBench, an industry-leading garden furniture company, Steve has developed strong expertise for all things nature and plants. Steve is a keen educator and loves to share this knowledge with others. He strives to simplify complex garden practices and encourage eco-friendly gardening. Titchmarsh, 74, writing in BBC Gardeners World magazine, made a plea for other gardeners not to use noisy power tools on Sundays.

Titchmarsh added that he was recently asked what time power tools are acceptable on a Sunday, writing: “I was worried I would sound holier-than-thou when I explained that I never use power tools on a Sunday. He added that he never uses power tools or mows his lawn on a Sunday because he “profoundly believes” at least one day should be reserved for quietness. Publisher Rowena Webb said: ‘This is a feast of a book for every gardener, drawing on Alan’s extraordinary knowledge and contagious passion for gardens and nature.’

I put Classic FM on every morning while I shave, and Pavarotti singing Puccini’s Nessun Dorma pops up quite often which is quite appropriate: “None shall sleep.” Perhaps in this age of mobile phones, when it’s rare to come across anyone perambulating the streets of town and city without a pair of earphones bunged into their aural orifices, the natural sounds of the earth have been superseded by a man-made cacophony.” A long time ago, my first proper girlfriend, Rosemary, and I had A Groovy Kind of Love by the Mindbenders as our song. She was very pretty, with red hair, and I was totally besotted for a good six months when I was 15. Years later, I was doing an autobiography signing in Yorkshire, looked up, and someone said: “Hello”. I hadn’t seen her for 40 years. It was a magical moment. I heard a couple years ago that she died, which was terrible because she was younger than me. I hear the song now with such affection, because it reminds me what falling in love is like.

He added that the “jet-powered age” meant that the “natural sounds of the earth” had been forgotten. Alan Titchmarsh has said gardeners should not mow their lawns on Sundays as power tools are too noisy. He wrote: “It’s clear to me the rarest thing in any garden is silence, it appears to be the one commodity money can’t buy.” The nation’s favourite gardener brings us a treasure trove of gardening knowledge, seasonal advice and inspiration. With Alan’s own delightful illustrations, there is also a month by month cornucopia of floral facts, along with wildlife to spot, projects to do, gardens to visit, poems to inspire, and much more besides. It will be the perfect Christmas gift for every gardener, and a rich resource for enjoying every day, month, and year in the garden.