The first ever Waitrose gardening TV channel launched yesterday, featuring tips and advice from the UK's favourite gardening celeb and new Waitrose brand ambassador, Alan Titchmarsh.
Much of the content for Waitrose TV (www.waitrose.tv) will be filmed in a garden at Longstock nursery, part of the supermarket's 4,000 acre Leckford estate. The garden is being created by the Waitrose Head Gardener and his team to showcase a series of 'rooms', including a cottage garden, vegetable plot and wildlife area. Visitors to Waitrose TV will be able to watch videos filmed in the garden and presented by TV gardener, Matt James, which are designed to inspire homeowners to recreate the look in their own back gardens. A series of 12 short 'how to videos' will also launch fortnightly from July till October this year.

The launch of the new gardening TV channel and Waitrose garden comes in the same week as Waitrose' first television advert featuring Alan Titchmarsh makes its debut. The gardening guru and former B&Q brand ambassador came on board at Waitrose earlier this year to help raise the profile of British agriculture and horticulture. His role is to offer expert gardening tips and tell the story of Waitrose produce, said the company.

The new advert focuses on the great British seasonal favourite; strawberries and tells the story of Waitrose's 'sweeter strawberry'.

Waitrose marketing director Rupert Thomas said: "We've always known that our customers enjoy gardening. Horticulture is a key area for growth within our business and we have expanded the range of plants and gardening tools in our shops and online.

"Alan's authority and knowledge really comes to the fore through this new channel, which will provide trustworthy advice to seasoned gardeners and horticultural novices alike."

Alan Titchmarsh said of the news: "I'm really excited to be involved in the launch of Waitrose Gardening TV and the new Waitrose garden. It's a great opportunity for me to share my gardening knowledge with Waitrose customers. It's a unique idea for a supermarket to launch its own garden and it really gives me the freedom to show how a garden changes throughout the year with the seasons."