- Title: The 3000 Mile Garden
- Date: 20th January 1995
- Summary: Roger Phillips, horticulturist and cook, swaps gardening tips and compares culinary notes with his American friend, food and gardening writer Leslie Land, in an exchange of letters across the Atlantic. It could be described as a culinary and horticultural version of 84 Charing Cross Road. Roger exudes enthusiasm for his home on Eccleston Square in London, whose gardens have an internationally admired collection of Camellias, an array of traditional roses and a herb garden. Its restored grandeur is due to the co-operative efforts of its residents. Leslie writes for publications including The New York Times and Food and Wine. Her home is in the north eastern state of Maine, although she spends a lot of time in New York. The duo met at a mushroom conference in the USA! The first programme opens with New Year scents and sights in the garden and seasonal flavours in the kitchen. Every year the plane trees shed tons of leaves in Eccleston Square. They are assembled into a heap of mulch which generates enough heat too cook a huge ham. Roger welcomes the New Year in the open air with the ham and mulled wine, despite the damp, misty environment of the Eccleston Square gardens. In Maine, Leslie entertains friends with a meal of Brandywine tomatoes, bottled in the summer, which taste good enough to eat on their own. A selection of potato varieties, and cold chicken complete a simple, American feast. In February, the Brandywine seeds make a lovely gift for Roger, who is keen to try them out in his window box in London. Apart from the Brandywines there is little else for Leslie to send Roger - all she can find in the deep snow are evergreen leaves and needles. By contrast, in London the first Camellias are already in flower, and Roger and gardener Arthur Hepple tend the azaleas, irises and roses. Skiing is the mode of transport in Maine, where Leslie glides over to see a friend about felling a dead hackmatack tree.
- Description:Between Eccleston Square,London,and Maine,USA,2 oddball gourmet gardeners correspond over a year. Development for treatment and co-producer.
- Broadcaster:Channel 4
- Collection: Channel 4
- Genre:Entertainment
- Producer:Hawkshead Ltd.
- Programme Episode:Episode 1
- Transmission Date:20/01/1995
- Rights:On Request
- Decade: 1990s