Gardening legend Alan Titchmarsh has told how his career ambitions "died" after his mother was robbed in her own garden.
The Gardeners' World icon, 75, told the story about how he grew mint in his garden as a lad growing up in Yorkshire.
He sold any surplus herb the family didn't use, but when dodgy neighbour decided to take liberties, potentially derailing a young Alan's career ambitions.
He told the September issue of BBC Gardeners' World magazine: "When I was a nipper the only herb that grew in our garden was mint - vital as an accompaniment to the roast lamb on a Sunday.
"It grew in a dry, impoverished piece of earth alongside the privet hedge that flanked that gate of our Yorkshire back garden.
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"I endeavoured to sell it to a few neighbours and put up a handwritten sign to that effect: 'corncrake nursery - mint a penny a bunch.'
"The old man at the bottom of the street came to call while I was at school. He gave my mother a large copper penny and went to gather his mint.
"She did not see the garden fork he had behind his back. He dug up and made off with the entire clump. Any commercial aspirations I might have had in the world of horticulture died that day. My enthusiasm for herb growing did not."
Alan Titchmarsh was the main presenter on Gardeners' World from 1996 to 2002. He has been the host of ITV gardening show Love Your Garden since 2011.
He recently warned British gardeners why they should 'never water the lawn and let it go brown' for one simple reason.
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He says you should in fact never water your lawn. That is despite hose pipes and sprinklers being a common sight in gardens up and down the country during the summer months.
Alan says plants should not be watered if there is moisture “two or three inches down”, even when conditions are dryer. He says this is because the roots will head up to the surface.
These he says should be watered with a sprinkler for around half an hour to an hour when they look like they could start to wilt. He however warns gardeners not to water their lawn during exceptionally dry weather.
Speaking on the Gardeners’ World podcast, Alan said: “Do not water your lawn, let it go brown. Those roots that are right near the surface with a lawn will dry out, but the resting buds of the grass are there to recover once the rain has come.
“It is a waste of water, watering a lawn. I know it will look brown, believe me, it will come back during the first shower.”
