WHY I’VE BOYCOTTED AVOCADOS

He may know how to create a beautiful border, but Alan’s got his gardening bugbears too. ‘I have a rant occasionally about rewilding,’ he says. ‘You suddenly get these big pushes saying, “Let your garden become a wilderness.” No, don’t! Rewilding needs management, otherwise you’ll justendupwithabramblepatch.a friend of mine did some research, and there was a greater diversity of insect life in his garden than there was in his wildflower meadow. If you don’t mowyourlawn,wherearethe blackbirds going to pull their worms out? Where are the woodpeckers going to fish for ants?’

And don’t get him started about avocados. ‘Rainforest is being felled togrowthem,’heargues.‘ittakesi don’t know how many litres of water for one fruit, and then they’re ferried to us, burning fossil fuel. Why is that a responsible thing to do? I don’t eat avocados.

That’s my little gesture.’