Greenfingers… The Alan Titchmarsh Column

He’s a brilliant presenter, accomplished gardener, talented novelist, and all-round horticultural inspiration. This month, Alan Titchmarsh discusses the uniqueness and the survival of our gardens.

I always try to impress on people the fact that whether your garden is some elaborate flourish of colour and texture and shape, or just a bit of grass and some simple shrubbery, absolutely everything about it is unique.

After all, that space has its own unique history - for some, the flowers in it are a present; they may even come from another country; they might remind us of a special occasion or an event or story. We may just have spotted them in the garden centre and gone from there.

The point is everything we have is full of memories and stories. The things we put in our gardens remind us of times in our lives, and when that garden is in full colour and full blossom in May, or in its full richness in autumn, or at some other point in the year, it creates and stimulates memories.

After all, gardening is private – it’s intimate. Simply decide what you’d like to grow – perhaps something you want to eat, or smell, or just look at. Buy the seeds and do it. Don’t even worry about the process, just try it out.

When it succeeds, do it again; and most importantly, when it fails, do it again too!

When it comes to Easter feasts, you can always look to Italy for a sublime celebration of food, family and faith. This recipe for Gennaro Contaldo’s Easter leg of lamb is the perfect dish to serve to your extended brood over the long weekend.

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/ gas mark 6. Slash the lamb with a sharp knife and rub all over with salt, pepper and a little extra virgin olive oil. Push half the olives and four anchovies into the slashes. Place in a roasting dish together with wine, garlic, shallots, rosemary and remaining anchovies.

2. Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C/gas mark 2 and roast

the lamb for 1 hour 30 minutes. If necessary, cover with tin foil halfway through cooking. Baste throughout and if necessary, add a glass of hot water.

3. About 10 minutes before the end of cooking time, add the peas.

4. Remove from the oven, leave to rest for 5 minutes, place on a board, carve and serve with the vegetables and juices.

(serves 4)

1.2kg leg of lamb

Salt & pepper

Sprig of rosemary

A little extra virgin olive oil

150ml white wine

300g baby onions or shallots

100g black olives, pitted

8 x anchovy fillets, roughly chopped

2 x garlic cloves, left whole, crushed

320g fresh or frozen peas

• If using fresh peas be sure to weigh them after they have been shelled and cleaned.

• Keep an eye on your lamb while it is in the oven to ensure it doesn’t dry out. Resting is also essential to maintaining the tenderness and moistness of your meat.