Post by monic on Oct 23, 2024 12:08:02 GMT
23 October 2024, 11:46 BST
Beechgrove Garden presenter Jim McColl has died at the age of 89, it has been announced.
He hosted the BBC Scotland's gardening programme since it began in 1978, retiring after 41 years on screen in 2019.
Hugely popular with fellow gardeners across Scotland, he described the pastime as "part of the fabric of our lives".
Colleagues on the programme have paid tribute to him, describing him as "a local hero first and a Scottish national treasure next."
The Beechgrove Garden began after a BBC Scotland producer took inspiration from a similar programme in Boston, USA.
The original garden, which was planned, tended and managed throughout the year, was based at the corporation's Aberdeen headquarters on Beechgrove Terrace.
The programme offered a stark contrast to other TV gardening shows, thanks to the challenges of the northern growing season
Together with his co-presenter George Barron, McColl led the transformation of the site from scratch in 1978.
Jim was like a friendly grandpa with a sense of humour, he once said something along the lines of “and now over to George who is doing a wee jobbie in the greenhouse”. No not the toilet but completing a task if it was proper English rather than Scottish patter.
Beechgrove Garden presenter Jim McColl has died at the age of 89, it has been announced.
He hosted the BBC Scotland's gardening programme since it began in 1978, retiring after 41 years on screen in 2019.
Hugely popular with fellow gardeners across Scotland, he described the pastime as "part of the fabric of our lives".
Colleagues on the programme have paid tribute to him, describing him as "a local hero first and a Scottish national treasure next."
The Beechgrove Garden began after a BBC Scotland producer took inspiration from a similar programme in Boston, USA.
The original garden, which was planned, tended and managed throughout the year, was based at the corporation's Aberdeen headquarters on Beechgrove Terrace.
The programme offered a stark contrast to other TV gardening shows, thanks to the challenges of the northern growing season
Together with his co-presenter George Barron, McColl led the transformation of the site from scratch in 1978.
Jim was like a friendly grandpa with a sense of humour, he once said something along the lines of “and now over to George who is doing a wee jobbie in the greenhouse”. No not the toilet but completing a task if it was proper English rather than Scottish patter.
Anymore to come?
