Project 161018: You had to have green fingers to be a Blue Peter presenter.

Blue Peter first started gardening items in 1974 and television gardener Percy Thrower was asked
to be Blue Peter's head gardener, who would show the presenters and in turn the programmes viewers various aspects of gardening. A small area of green space next to the BBC canteen was commandeered by the production team and this became the Blue Peter garden.

The Italian sunken garden Summer 1978.

In the spring of 1978, after four years of showing us how to grow flowers and vegetables. Percy decided it was time to be a bit more adventurous. His idea was to build an Italian sunken garden complete with fish pond. Over the next three months Percy along with presenters John Noakes, Lesley Judd and newcomer Simon Groom worked to complete the garden. Towards the end of the project Percy, the presenters and pets all placed their hands, feet and paws into concrete for posterity.

Presenters and pets imprints John Noakes, Lesley Judd, Simon Groom,
Shep, Goldie, Jack, Jill and Freda at The relocated garden Media City
March 2012.

Once the pond was filled, water plants and fish added and flowerbeds planted up. The garden looked beautiful. It was Blue Peter's gardening items that first got me interested in gardening and I pestered my parents to have a pond in our garden. Finally in 1982 we built a rockery at my parents home complete with pond and waterfall.

Sadly the Blue Peter garden was vandalised three times, once during the building of the Italian sunken garden in 1978, again in 1980 and worst of all in 1983. On this occasion pots and urns were smashed, plants uprooted and trampled and fuel oil was poured into the fish pond.
That days programme was a sombre affair, as Janet Ellis and the rest of the team reported the damage to viewers. Many people laugh about this now, and some say it was a little pompous, but to many the Blue Peter garden was important, and Janet defends the coverage. Many volunteers helped with the clean up operation including members of 33 Squadron from RAF Odiham. It was at this time that Petra's statue was moved from the front of TV Centre to the Blue Peter garden.

Goldie, Peter Duncan, Janet Ellis, Percy Thrower and Simon Groom
after the clean up operation Summer 1984.

Percy continued gardening on Blue Peter until he became poorly in 1987. Percy died the following year, but not before a tribute programme, when presenter Mark Curry visited Percy in hospital and presented him with a gold Blue Peter badge.

Since Percy there have been three other Blue Peter gardeners, Chris Crowder, Claire Bradley and Chris Collins.

In 2004 when it was announced that the BBC children's department would be moving to Manchester
and TV centre would be sold, everyone wondered what would happen to the Blue Peter Garden.
One suggestion was a roof garden. In September 2011 when the first programme from Media City
was aired, the garden was not mentioned.

In February 2012 it was reviled that the Italian Sunken garden had been carefully dug up and rebuilt
in the public space at Media City in Salford known as the piazza. Gardener Chris Collins oversaw the
the project, and said it was like fitting a giant jigsaw puzzle together.

HRH The Princess Royal officallt reopens The Blue Peter Garden

February 2012.

The Blue Peter Garden was officially reopened by HRH The Princes Royal on 23rd February 2012, and I have visited the garden many times since. The garden and the piazza are now often used on the programme especially in the Summer months.