Geoff Hamilton

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Bust of Geoff Hamilton at his garden, Barnsdale, Rutland

Geoff Hamilton (15 August 1936 – 4 August 1996) was a gardener and broadcaster, born Geoffrey Stephen Ham ^[1] just a few minutes before his twin brother Tony, in Stepney, East London, England.

Hamilton's passion for gardening strengthened and during the school holidays Geoff expanded his knowledge by helping out in local nurseries, mainly at the Van Hage nursery at the end of his road. He went on to Writtle Agricultural College in Essex where he passed the National Diploma in Horticulture with distinction.

In 1975 he joined the Garden News magazine team. After two years he took over as editor of Practical Gardening magazine, where he began his crusade informing everybody about the joys and benefits of organic gardening.

He was given a regular spot in the BBC television programme Gardeners' World in 1979.

As the presenter of Gardeners' World for 17 years and the creator of numerous other gardening series, he was popular with gardening fans in the UK. Gardeners' World was broadcast from Hamilton's own garden at Barnsdale in Rutland.

His practical hands-on experience, down-to-earth approach and desire to share his failures as well as his successes with his audience combined with a gentle humour were some of the keys to his success.

Readers of Amateur Gardening magazine nominated the presenter Gardener of the Millennium.^[2]

He died on a charity bike ride in Wales in 1996.