Gardeners' World presenter Adam Frost “shut himself away” during health battle following wife's illness

Much loved Gardeners' World presenter Adam Frost has opened up about his health battle which left him unable to “go anywhere or do anything”. The multi award-winning garden designer admitted “the wheels came off” after his wife had been ill in hospital.

The 55-year-old said it was during lockdown that he began to feel overwhelmed with life. His wife Sulina had been ill in hospital and his daughter had also been sick, then he contracted Covid and shut himself away in his room to quarantine.

“The wheels came off basically and 10 days later I was at the psychiatrist’s with burnout and depression,” says the seven times RHS Chelsea Flower Show gold medal-winner.

The TV presenter and RHS ambassador, who had been running his gardening school, filming TV series, writing, and appearing at gardening shows, said overwork and isolation during lockdown affected his mental health.

“I’d worked so hard since I was about 16 and here I was, a typical 50-year-old bloke, not really saying what I should have been saying and just carrying on. The loss of adrenaline (during the pandemic), because I couldn’t go anywhere or do anything, and being stuck with my own brain for 10 days ended up piling up on top of me.

“It was like somebody had removed my footings and we (he and his psychiatrist) slowly went through everything. Through that, we talked a lot about work and why I’m drawn to plants, people and places.”

It was then Adam and Sulina made the decision to downsize. They swapped a large house and three-acre garden in Lincolnshire to something akin to a “head gardener’s cottage”. Three years on, Adam admits the smaller space gave him an instant sense of relief.

The garden, who viewers might recognise from its appearances on Gardeners’ World measures 30m x 32m at the back and 10m x 30m at the front. Adam said: “I’m a working-class kid and I’ve done all right. But looking back, we were in a huge great house, huge garden, and I don’t think I ever felt that comfortable in it, whereas this house feels a bit more like a head gardener’s cottage which the 16-year-old me would have been quite made up with.”

Landscaping his new garden has culminated in a new book, For The Love Of Plants, in which he charts the garden’s progress, looks at the plants which have shaped his life and offers tips on how to add seasonal interest, as well as practical advice and information on plant care.

Adam still sees a psychiatrist once a month and his family monitors how much work they let him take on. Adam said: “We’ve all got an elastic band and once you can work out how much stretch there is in your elastic band you can read the signs.”

Embarking on a 14-date tour, An Evening With Adam Frost, this spring and another in the autumn, Adam will be discussing the book and the creation of this garden, which he says has helped his mental health.

“It’s partly because I can just go and garden in it. I can potter. With the other one, I was going at 300 miles an hour. Now, we can go away for a couple of weeks, come home, have a weekend in the garden and it’s manageable, which means you can enjoy it and you’re not chasing your tail.”

For The Love Of Plants by Adam Frost is published by DK, priced £22. Available now.