From the rigid uniformity of the 17th-century garden, where man’s control over nature was paramount, to the sweeping landscapes of Capability Brown, Alan explores a showpiece garden each week that is a prime example of a key movement in gardening history.

Revealing the story behind their creation, he meets the people that maintain these gardens today and learns the secret of their success.

Alan also visits other great gardens and talks to gardeners that have taken these groundbreaking ideas and developed them further. He then rolls up his sleeves and demonstrates how to achieve the effects of the master gardeners at home.

The new four-part series, Alan’s Garden Secrets, Alan visits some of Britain’s most spectacular showpiece gardens that usually remain hidden from public view and discovers the big moments and the master gardeners that shaped our landscape.

Each week, Alan visits a different garden, from spectacular Regency showpieces to small intricate jewel-box gardens, to discover how the garden was inspired and influenced by the leading garden designers of the era before demonstrating how we can achieve a little piece of the spectacular in our own back yards. There will be tips to suit all budgets and all scales of garden.

Alan says: “I’m delighted to be returning to BBC Two for what promises to be a really special new series. Not only will I be able to share some of my favourite gardens from across the country but I’ll be getting my hands dirty, passing on some hints and tips to viewers so they can create some of the same magic in their own gardens.”