Gardeners' World's Joe Swift reveals top hedge planting tips and personal garden plans

Joe Swift has dished out his best tips for Brits with a knack for , advising on the strategic timing of planting hedges.

According to the green-fingered TV expert, late autumn and winter are the prime seasons for embedding certain varieties in your backyard. He imparted his wisdom to The Times: "We're fast approaching the best time to plant bare-rooted hedging and topiary plants (November to March), which works out much cheaper than pot-grown."

Joe also shared his own botanic predicaments, no longer sowing box due to its susceptibility to disease: "I don't plant box any more as the dreaded box caterpillar and box blight is everywhere."

A long-standing face on Gardeners' World since 1998, the celebrity gardener disclosed plans for the green space surrounding his own abode.

Catering to the natural landscape, Swift, 59, seeks to augment his garden's allure by adding: "In my new garden I'm looking to grow some large, low, soft mounded shapes to tie in and mimic the soft shapes of the hills beyond, which will help connect the garden to its surroundings."

His choice of shrubbery reflects both aesthetics and economy; he is leaning towards hornbeam to achieve a pleasing harmony with the countryside: "I've been mulling over my options but think I'll go for hornbeam, as I love its autumnal tones and can get cheap bare-rooted whips (I'll need hundreds, spacing them about 40-50cm apart and paying about £1 each) in the winter months," reports .

In an unexpected twist of his horticultural tale, Swift let slip a domestic discord stemming from his garden design preferences during a podcast with Gardener's World Magazine.

It emerged that his wife isn't too keen on his colour veto a fact he divulged while talking about a RHS commission for a bee-inspired, pollinator-friendly garden.

During the podcast, Joe disclosed his aversion to a specific colour in his garden palette. He confessed that this shade is "demanding" and steers him towards a gardening "route" he'd rather not take.

Joe shared: "I basically said to the nursery guys, 'Just get me anything you can in flower that's great for bees that I can get in flower for the Chelsea Flower Show', because I wasn't being judged.

"It didn't have to be 100 percent horticulturally correct, apart from soft pinks was the only colour I avoided, but this doesn't quite show how much colour there was in their garden."

On his decision to shun soft pinks, Joe elaborated: "I've got a thing about soft pinks. My wife hates me for it, but I like strong pinks."