Dame Mary Berry on her love of gardening and why she has no plans to retire

Dame Mary Berry on her love of gardening and why she has no plans to retireJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleEleri GriffithsBBC WalesGetty ImagesDame Mary received the Bafta fellowship at the annual television awards in MayDame Mary Berry says her love of gardening began in childhood during wartime, when she was often unable to leave the house.The TV cook and former Great British Bake Off judge, who was born in Bath, has released her first gardening book, My Gardening Life.Speaking at Hay Festival with comedian and former host of The Great British Bake Off, Mel Giedroyc, Dame Mary recalled picking strawberries with her father and playing in the garden as a child.She also revealed she "failed every subject at school" and authored the book with the help of a writer.Dame Mary, 91, recalled how, during wartime, her father grew practical crops such as potatoes, sweet peas and celery to feed the family."You had to dig for victory," she said. She said she had her own small patch where she grew radishes and lettuce, while learning the importance of patience for gardening."When I was little it was wartime - you didn't have theme parks and we couldn't actually go to the park in parts of the war because we weren't allowed out of the garden," she said."We enjoyed the garden and since then I've always enjoyed the outdoors."To me the garden is a sanctuary. The first thing I do when I get home is open the back door, the dogs follow me out and I check whether my husband has done the watering and if not, I'll do it."TV chef Mary Berry 'proud' to be made a dameDame Mary Berry 'honoured' by Bafta recognitionDame Mary said her first garden as a married woman was at a home on Farmer Street in Notting Hill, west London.Although they loved the house, she recalled the garden being small and in "total shade"."I planted all my favourite plants and nothing happened," she said...