Matt James interview

If no one has seen your shows before, could you describe your style of gardening for us?
"I hope my gardening is approachable and informative at the same time, and able to convey that I'm passionate about what I do. I really hope people get inspired.

"I don't think that there are barriers out there for people who want to learn about gardens and gardening. Perhaps the only barriers are the knowledge that you might need to learn, and the fact that there are Latin names out there that are difficult to get your head around.

"But these things shouldn't stop people from doing it - like anything, if someone perseveres at something they'll be ok. Gardening isn't about keeping up with the Joneses, it's about you getting enjoyment out of it. It's a personal thing.

"Gardens are places to relax, and gardening is a way to get 'dirty hand creative', as I like to call it. And get back to Mother Nature, which sounds like a cliché, but it's what I get out of it".

You've done a lot presenting for us recently, so tell us about the recent Matt James's Eco Eden series...
"Myself and many other gardeners are concerned about the environment and how our gardens fit into that, and what we can do within our gardens to help along the way. Many people think that being outside and gardening is a good thing, but that on its own may not be necessarily enough.

"The aim of the show is to communicate the factors that effects our gardens from an environmental point of view. We were looking at water conservation, sourcing and the origin of materials and the importance of lessening the reliance of chemical pesticides and fertilisers, and we're looking at picking the right plants for the right place, plus composting.

"Making changes is very easy. Take water conservation. There may be more of an extensive hose pipe ban next year, so you can do various things to help - you can pick plants that originate from hotter climates (as long as your micro climate is right for them), you can use polymers or gels that absorb water and goes in hanging baskets and needs less water, because the water gets soaked up by the gel; you could mulch beds and borders with a three-to-four inch layer of organic matter around the base of plants to conserve water.

"These things are so simple to do and the techniques have been around for a while".