Geoffrey Denis Smith (23 March 1928 – 27 February 2009) was a professional

gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

, broadcaster, writer and

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

. He was the presenter of '' Gardeners World'' from 1980 to 1982 and a number of other

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

series in the early 80s including ''Geoffrey Smith's World of Flowers'', ''Mr Smith's Flower Garden'', ''Mr Smith's Favourite Garden'' and ''Mr Smith's Indoor Garden'' all of which were accompanied by books.

Biography

Smith was born at Barningham Park, Barningham,

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire was a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point was at Mickle Fell at . From the Restoration it was used as a lieutenancy area, having b ...

(since 1974 in

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

), where his father was head gardener. He was sent to board at

Barnard Castle School Barnard Castle School (colloquially Barney School or locally the County School) is a co-educational private day and boarding school in the market town of Barnard Castle, County Durham, in the North East of England. It is a member of The Head ...

but hated the restrictive life there. After leaving school he spent six years helping his father at Barningham Park. Smith trained at the Yorkshire College of Agriculture and Horticulture, which brought him the prize for best all-round student. At the age of 26, he was appointed Superintendent at the Northern Horticultural Society Gardens. He worked as the Superintendent of

Harlow Carr Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upper Stort Valle ...

gardens in

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

from 1954 to 1974 where he was known for growing plants which experts had labelled unfit for the northern climate. In 1972 he was made an Associate of Honour to the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

, for services to gardening, and in 1988 he received an honorary master's degree from the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

. He won the

Garden Writers' Guild The British Garden Media Guild (formerly The Garden Writers' Guild) is a trade organisation for professional garden writers, journalists, photographers, broadcasters and members of allied trades. The Guild was established in to improve the qu ...

Lifetime Achievement Award for 2006 at the age of 78. He made appearances on

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios ...

's ''Gardening Club'' which were followed, in 1976, by his first BBC series, ''Mr Smith's Vegetable Garden''. He had a distinctive voice and sharp wit which were well known to radio listeners as he became a regular panelist on Radio 4's ''

Gardeners' Question Time ''Gardeners' Question Time'' is a long running BBC Radio 4 programme in which amateur gardeners can put questions to a panel of experts. History The first programme was broadcast in the North and Northern Ireland Home Service of the BBC at ...

''. Smith was a prolific writer, contributing to '' The Lady'', ''Garden News'' and ''The Garden''. His many books became gardening best sellers, among them ''Mr Smith's Flower Garden'', ''Gardening (Sure & Simple)'', ''A Passion for Plants'', ''The Book of Primroses'', ''Shrubs and Small Trees for Your Garden and The Joy of Wildlife Gardening''. Geoffrey Smith lived in the heart of the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales are a series of valleys, or Dale (landform), dales, in the Pennines, an Highland, upland range in England. They are mostly located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, but extend into C ...

and his hobbies included fell-walking, photography, fly fishing and a passionate interest in all things pertaining to the countryside.

Quote

Personal life

Smith was a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

.Obituary: Geoffrey Smith , Television & radio , The Guardian
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References

External links

Obituary in ''The Times''

Obituary in ''The Guardian''

Obituary in ''The Scotsman''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Geoffrey 1928 births 2009 deaths BBC people English gardeners English radio personalities English television presenters English garden writers People from Startforth Rural District People educated at Barnard Castle School English Baptists 20th-century Baptists