Beloved UK gardener's dog lends a paw at top flower show
Don has designed a unique garden for the show to delight both man's best friend and his master (or mistress).
The lawn is for dogs to run and play, and roll and rest, set with a wooden bench and comfortable cushions.
Even before some 140,000 visitors were expected at the five-day show organised by the Royal Horticultural Society, there was due to be a special visit from the country's top canine-lovers, King Charles III and Queen Camilla, on Monday.
The green-fingered Monty Don, 69, has become a national celebrity, beguiling television audiences for the past 22 years presenting the popular BBC programme "Gardeners' World".
Each week the self-taught horticulturist shares his knowledge, gentle words of wisdom and tips and tricks to keep UK gardens blooming through each season.
Padding faithfully at his side have been his dogs, including golden retriever Ned, delighting audiences with his antics as Don walks the 8,000 square metres (two acres) of his garden in Longmeadow, close to the Welsh border.
Simple
And since he has always gardened with a dog by his side, Don said it was natural that he would lean on Ned for inspiration when he was asked to design a dog-friendly garden for the Chelsea Flower Show.
Ned was let loose a few weeks ago at a plot packed with plants so the designers could copy the routes he took as he followed his nose and tracked interesting smells.
"We had imagined that Ned would create sweeps and curves through the planting. However, every time he ran off, he returned to Monty via the same route, and as such we have changed the design accordingly," said landscape gardener Jamie Butterworth.
At the Chelsea garden, there's a frisbee on the lawn, and a little stream where dogs can wade to cool off after a boisterous game of fetch. They can flop on the bench, or head for some calm in a little house.
"I wanted it to be a very simple garden," Don said. "There's no message, there's no hidden back story. It is what it is. What you see is what you get."
On Sunday, a fox even snuck in for a snooze.
It is the first time Don has been asked to design a garden for the prestigious show, run by the Royal Horticulture Society since 1913.
Tousled lawn
The lawn is replete with dandelions, daisies and clover - a far cry from the neatly cropped grass usually favoured by the Brits.
Don aimed to keep things simple with hazelnut trees, hyacinths and spring flowers.
Brick pathways inspired by his garden at Longmeadow are inscribed with the names of dogs, including Camilla's beloved terriers Bluebell and Beth, who were adopted from a dog shelter.
Beth died from a tumour in November, and the royal family announced the passing on social media.
Camilla even had the dogs' silhouettes embroidered in gold thread on her coronation dress in May 2023.
Monty Don's garden won't be judged among 30 others as part of the competition at the Chelsea Flower Show. But he knows he will be judged by public opinion, and confessed to feeling nervous.
After the show, Ned's garden will be donated to London's Battersea Dogs and Cats Home to continue delighting four-legged friends.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
2 days ago
- Euronews
'Day of the Jackal' author Frederick Forsyth dies aged 86
Frederick Forsyth, the British author of "The Day of the Jackal" and other bestselling thrillers, has died at the age of 86 after a brief illness, his literary agent said on Monday. Jonathan Lloyd, his agent, said Forsyth died at home early Monday surrounded by his family. "We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers," Lloyd said. Born in Kent in 1938, Forsyth served as a Royal Air Force pilot before becoming a foreign correspondent. He covered the attempted assassination of French President Charles de Gaulle in 1962, which provided inspiration for "The Day of the Jackal," his bestselling political thriller about a professional assassin. Published in 1971, the book propelled him into global fame. It was made into a film in 1973 starring Edward Fox as the Jackal and more recently a television series starring Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch. In 2015, Forsyth told the BBC that he had also worked for the British intelligence agency MI6 for many years, starting from when he covered a civil war in Nigeria in the 1960s. Although Forsyth said he did other jobs for the agency, he said he was not paid for his services and "it was hard to say no" to officials seeking information. "The zeitgeist was different," he told the BBC. "The Cold War was very much on." He wrote more than 25 books including "The Afghan," "The Kill List," and "The Dogs of War" that sold over 75 million copies, Lloyd said. His publisher, Bill Scott-Kerr, said that "Revenge of Odessa," a sequel to the 1974 book "The Odessa File" that Forsyth worked on with fellow thriller author Tony Kent, will be published in August. "Still read by millions across the world, Freddie's thrillers define the genre and are still the benchmark to which contemporary writers aspire," Scott-Kerr said. Bosques de Agua has planted over 400,000 native Polylepis Australis trees to help regulate the water cycle and restore biodiversity. The project also protects land as natural reserves and helps local communities and volunteers reconnect with nature and inspires long-term conservation. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
France 24
6 days ago
- France 24
Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds become co-owners of Australia SailGP team
The actors, who are close friends, join Olympic gold medallist and driver Tom Slingsby at the helm of a team which was rebranded the "Flying Roos". "We're incredibly excited to set sail together in this new adventure," the Australian Jackman and Canadian-American Reynolds said in a statement. "Hugh brings a deep love for and pride in his home country, as well as being an avid fan of sailing. "He will also be bringing his overly clingy emotional support human along for the ride. Apologies in advance to Australia." Jackman and Reynolds starred together last year in the blockbuster movie "Deadpool & Wolverine". Reynolds also owns Welsh football club Wrexham along with fellow actor Rob McElhenney. SailGP stages regattas close to shore with identical high-performance, foiling, multi-hull boats that can reach speeds of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). It was launched in 2019 by American billionaire Larry Ellison and champion New Zealand yachtsman Russell Coutts. Australia, skippered by Slingsby, have won three of the four editions so far. "This is an incredible milestone for us and for our sport, having global icons Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds come on board as co-owners of our team," said Slingsby. "They bring unmatched star power, a love for storytelling and a sharp sense of humour that fits perfectly with our team." The new-look team will make its debut this weekend in New York, the sixth leg of the season.
Local France
02-06-2025
- Local France
French Phrase of the Day: Sur un coup de tête
Why do I need to know sur un coup de tête? Because sometimes this is the best way to make a decision. What does it mean? Sur un coup de tête - roughly pronounced sir uhn koo duh teht - translates as 'on a headbutt', the violent physical action that some Brits may know as a 'Glasgow kiss'. For instance, if you were paying attention to French sports in 2006, you might have seen headlines about the famous Coup de tête de Zidane (the Zidane headbutt). But when used with ' sur ' it means to do something spontaneously or without much reflection. Most of the time, you would use this expression to describe something done on a whim. For example, you might say Il s'est inscrit au marathon sur un coup de tête (He signed up for the marathon on a whim). In terms of the origins of sur un coup de tête - according to Linternaute , it has to do with the contrast between the words coup and tête . People use their heads to think and reflect, while coup describes a quick, punctual action (like a kick), so making a decision sur un coup de tête would mean doing something without thinking of the consequences. Advertisement It is similar to the French expression sur le coup , which means 'in the moment' or 'at the time'. If you are looking for a synonym, though, you can opt for either impulsivement (impulsively) or sans réflechir (without thinking). Use it like this Il y a 30 ans, j'ai décidé de commencer à peindre sur un coup de tête. Je ne l'ai jamais regretté. - I decided to start painting on a whim 30 years ago, and I have never regretted it. Sur un coup de tête, il achète des billets de train pour rendre visite à son pote à Bordeaux. - On a whim, he bought train tickets to visit his friend in Bordeaux.
