Latest news with #BBCGardeners'World
Daily Mirror
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Monty Don despairs for his children as they 'can't afford' garden
Monty Don, who has become a firm favourite on our screens as a presenter on BBC's Gardeners' World, admitted he realises how "lucky" he was to have had a garden at a young age Monty Don has opened up about feeling "lucky" to have his own garden, acknowledging that his own children "can't afford" one. The 69-year-old BBC Gardeners' World presenter started honing his green-fingered skills as a teenager in Hampshire, where he and his brothers were often found mowing the lawn or picking strawberries from their family's garden. Before making his mark in the UK, Monty ventured to France, immersing himself in the art of gardening in Aix-en-Provence, only to return for further studies at the University of Cambridge. It was there that he crossed paths with his future wife Sarah and the pair eventually made their home in London. In the capital, Monty and Sarah nurtured an impressive garden, something that Monty now describes as "very unusual" for the time. His remarkable garden didn't go unnoticed and attracted the attention of a photographer, leading to magazine features and Monty's initial steps into the limelight. Reflecting on those days, the Gardeners' World presenter feels fortunate to have been part of a generation where owning a garden as a young person was within reach, reports Yorkshire Live. Back in the 1970s, the average house price in London started at about £4,480, the equivalent to roughly £60,500 in today's money, and rose to around £19,925 by 1979, approximately £96,600 now. Fast forward to 2025, and the average London home stands at a staggering £556,000, with semi-detached properties hitting the £714,000 mark. Speaking on the V&A Dundee podcast, Monty shared that his adult children - Adam, Tom, and Freya - are unable to afford the same privileges he had in his youth. Monty said: "I don't really feel that I suddenly got inspiration, in so much that I realised, as I got older, between the age of 17 and 27, that increasingly other things than being in the garden, were in the way of being in the garden, and I needed it. I don't want to sound precious about it but I really needed it. "It wasn't a question of feeling inspired to go be creative, it was a question of going to the garden to save my mind. I was really lucky because I am of a generation where we could afford, in our twenties, to buy a house or rent a house and live on our own and have a garden. My children can't afford to do that. "I had a garden of my own at the age of 25 and so I think that now, we must find out what it is, if you love plants then grow plants. I personally love planting and making spaces, and what plants I use are less interesting than the overall effect." After relocating from London, Monty settled at Longmeadow in Herefordshire in 1991, which despite its initial neglect has become the beloved backdrop for Gardeners' World. There, Monty shares with viewers how he has cultivated the two-acre garden. With a welcome return to our screens, Monty is set to host the RHS Chelsea Flower show coverage on BBC Two starting at 8 pm tonight (May 21). This year, he is also presenting his first-ever dog-centred garden at the show in collaboration with BBC Radio 2.
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Bogs and dogs: Chelsea flower show puts practical gardens in spotlight
Frisbees, solar panels and a toilet are among the rather unorthodox stars of the Chelsea flower show, as horticulturalists attempt to show how gardens can be practical as well as beautiful. The event, now in its 112th year, usually tends toward showcasing peonies and roses over human waste. But the Garden of the Future, designed by Matthew Butler and Josh Parker, features a lavatory that creates a biochar compost perfect for growing vegetables. 'It converts the solids into a biochar and then the liquids into a water that is safe to use on the ornamental planting,' Butler said. Brandishing a small pot of the substance, he added: 'That's from the toilet. So it's like a light friable soil. There's a little drawer next to the toilet, you pull it out, and the contents can be used on the garden to help improve the crops.' His garden also prominently features a ground-mounted solar panel, which powers an irrigation pump. This year has been very hot and sunny, with areas of the UK experiencing early stages of drought, making irrigation especially important. In response to weather extremes brought on by climate breakdown, the garden features drought-friendly crops that can be grown in home vegetable patches. 'Our chickpeas have been growing well,' Butler said. 'We both grow them at home ourselves too, and sweet potatoes, which are becoming a more common crop in the UK; farmers [are] growing sweet potatoes in lots of parts of the south.' Lucy Hutchings of She Grows Veg , who is exhibiting her perfect vegetables in the Great Pavilion at the show, has also been experimenting with drought-friendly crops. 'We are based in East Anglia, and it basically hasn't rained in a month and a half,' she said. 'Leafy greens tend to bolt in these conditions, and some have, so we are experimenting with drought-friendly varieties like amaranth.' The drought isn't all bad news though; while they can still be irrigated, it will be a brilliant year for tomatoes, Hutchings said. 'We're having to make sure that we water them, obviously, but they'll ripen quicker,' she said. 'It's going to be a fantastic season for tomatoes, and that little bit of drought actually really intensifies the flavour.' Frisbees and tennis balls are not usually a feature of the genteel event but Monty Don of BBC Gardeners' World brought both to his dog-friendly garden. Ned, the golden retriever, chased his toys around Don's creation, which features a special 'robust lawn' made for canine companions, flowers that are non-toxic to pets, and a pond for dogs to splash around. The BBC Radio 2 presenter Jo Whiley also brought her dog, which played on the lawn with Ned. Gesturing to the lawn, Don said: 'You can see it's looking quite trashed already. What it'll be like for the end of the week, I don't know, but it's a real lawn, and it's for dogs to play in.' Ned also helped him design the garden by creating pathways through the flower borders, Don revealed: 'If you look closely in the border, there are paths where the dog has weaved through.' He said a fox had already enjoyed these crumpled spaces, sleeping among the poppies on Sunday night. Queen Camilla, a dog-lover, was due to visit Don's garden along with her new terrier, Moley, which was adopted from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, where the garden will be relocated after the show. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion Though dogs are being celebrated at Chelsea, cats are not welcome in the SongBird Survival Garden. Susan Morgan, chief executive of the charity SongBird Survival, which sponsored the garden, said trees with spiky thorns were selected to put cats off climbing them and disturbing birds. 'Look at it – a cat wouldn't like climbing up that,' she said, pointing out a broad-leaved cockspur thorn. The garden is designed to welcome and support songbirds, which are in drastic decline in the UK. The garden is full of plants that produce berries for birds to eat, including blackcurrant and alpine strawberries, as well as pollinator-friendly flowers that attract insects, which are prey for birds. 'We also planted thick yew hedges, which are perfect for them to nest in,' Morgan added. She hasn't seen any songbirds using the garden yet, but there is evidence they have already been enjoying it. 'It's a bit busy here during the day, but there has been bird poo on the plants – we think they come at night. There's a blackbird on site we are hoping to attract when it's a bit quieter,' she added. Celebrities enjoying the gardens on the show's press day, which takes places the day before it opens to the public, included Cate Blanchett, Carol Vorderman, David Tennant and Judi Dench. The RHS Chelsea flower show is on from 20 to 24 May in the Royal Hospital gardens.
South Wales Guardian
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Monty Don prepares to unveil dog-friendly garden at Chelsea Flower Show
The horticulturalist and BBC Gardeners' World presenter has teamed up with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) for his first – and 'I hope my last' – garden at Chelsea filled with features for dogs including a lawn, water to wallow in and trees to cast shade. Don defended the inclusion of plants that can be toxic to dogs in the garden, such as alliums and foxgloves, saying they were blooms he had alongside his pets without problem in his own garden. The RHS and Radio 2 dog garden, which will not be judged, will be relocated to nearby Battersea Dogs & Cats Home after the world-famous event at the Chelsea Hospital, west London, and Don said they would remove any plants the charity did not want to have as part of the planting. The horticulturalist, who has presented on Chelsea since 1990 and has covered the show for the BBC without a break for more than a decade, also said creating the garden had been a 'humbling' process that made him 'hugely' respect designers and makers of gardens at RHS Chelsea. Speaking onsite where his garden is being kept under wraps as it is constructed, he told the PA news agency: 'It doesn't matter what kind of garden or how good or bad it is, it's an almost unimaginable amount of work because of the detail you have to attend to.' He said he was looking forward to getting back to presenting coverage for next week's show after his stint as a designer, which he described as 'moonlighting'. 'I now have real insight into the whole process. I didn't know I needed that and I do, it's humbling.' Don, who was originally approached by the RHS to design a dog-friendly garden, said he did not want the project, created with horticulturalist Jamie Butterworth, to have any message except for being about dogs. 'I wanted to see a garden at Chelsea that didn't have a message, that didn't set itself in an exotic situation, was absolutely set fair and square in 2025 in England and that was full of plants that either I did have or everybody could buy from their local garden centre, and with trees or shrubs that were native or long adapted to this country.' The lawn is central to the plot, surrounded by planting which can create shifting paths for dogs to take around the garden, and a large open-fronted 'dog house' with an old sofa for the animals to retreat to. The garden also features long meadow grass for dogs to lie in, while Radio 2 presenter Jo Wiley suggested an area of water for dogs to wallow in, based on experience with her pets, Don said. There is a playfulness to the garden, with use of dogwood, round-headed alliums evoking balls dogs love to play with, and terracotta pots have been created with pawprints of Don's dog Ned who can regularly be seen following him around his garden on Gardeners' World. But while the lawn has been created to look like it has been used by dogs and people, the team have stopped short of having holes dug in it or 'pee rings'. And Don said: 'There are plants in the garden that are technically poisonous to dogs. 'However, there are no plants that I don't have in my own garden and I've always had dogs. 'My view on this is actually the main plant I worry about is yew and we don't have that in the garden. 'In my experience dogs are sensible and owners are sensible.' Don added: 'We have a brief to make a beautiful garden for Chelsea. The only dogs that are going to be allowed on here are mine or others specifically invited and on a lead and under control. 'When it goes to Battersea it will not have any plants Battersea doesn't want to be there, we will remove any that they feel has any toxicity to their dogs,' he said. 'We're not saying these are plants that are perfectly safe, what are you making a fuss about? What I am saying is in my experience I've not had any problems with these plants, and I've had dogs for the last 65 years.' Many everyday activities from cutting with knives in the kitchen to driving a car or crossing the road were more dangerous than these plants were to dogs, he said. And he added: 'Just be sensible, don't get hysterical, but at the same time don't dismiss it.' He also said dog owners who are keen gardeners should not expect a perfect lawn because 'that's not compatible with dogs', and encouraged those who did not want their animals to be crashing through the flower beds to create low fences or hedging on borders or corners to stop them. An RHS spokesperson said the dog garden was 'primarily designed to bring joy and delight'. 'However, as RHS Chelsea is also a great place to inspire and educate, with some people perhaps not realising that a number of common garden plants could be harmful to dogs if eaten, the RHS and Monty are encouraging people to be aware, but also to be sensible, about dogs in their gardens at home. 'The garden raises awareness to keep an eye on pets amongst plants. Don't let them eat or dig up plants in borders and, as with anything, if you see them eating something in the garden and you see changes in behaviours or are worried or have doubts, call the vets.' They added: 'The garden will live on at Battersea, where experts from the charity will carefully select dog-friendly, non-toxic plants to live on where rescue dogs can enjoy them for years to come.'
Powys County Times
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Powys County Times
Monty Don prepares to unveil dog-friendly garden at Chelsea Flower Show
Monty Don has urged dog owners to be 'sensible' about plants which could harm their pets as he prepares to unveil his dog-friendly garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. The horticulturalist and BBC Gardeners' World presenter has teamed up with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) for his first – and 'I hope my last' – garden at Chelsea filled with features for dogs including a lawn, water to wallow in and trees to cast shade. Don defended the inclusion of plants that can be toxic to dogs in the garden, such as alliums and foxgloves, saying they were blooms he had alongside his pets without problem in his own garden. The RHS and Radio 2 dog garden, which will not be judged, will be relocated to nearby Battersea Dogs & Cats Home after the world-famous event at the Chelsea Hospital, west London, and Don said they would remove any plants the charity did not want to have as part of the planting. The horticulturalist, who has presented on Chelsea since 1990 and has covered the show for the BBC without a break for more than a decade, also said creating the garden had been a 'humbling' process that made him 'hugely' respect designers and makers of gardens at RHS Chelsea. Speaking onsite where his garden is being kept under wraps as it is constructed, he told the PA news agency: 'It doesn't matter what kind of garden or how good or bad it is, it's an almost unimaginable amount of work because of the detail you have to attend to.' He said he was looking forward to getting back to presenting coverage for next week's show after his stint as a designer, which he described as 'moonlighting'. 'I now have real insight into the whole process. I didn't know I needed that and I do, it's humbling.' Don, who was originally approached by the RHS to design a dog-friendly garden, said he did not want the project, created with horticulturalist Jamie Butterworth, to have any message except for being about dogs. 'I wanted to see a garden at Chelsea that didn't have a message, that didn't set itself in an exotic situation, was absolutely set fair and square in 2025 in England and that was full of plants that either I did have or everybody could buy from their local garden centre, and with trees or shrubs that were native or long adapted to this country.' The lawn is central to the plot, surrounded by planting which can create shifting paths for dogs to take around the garden, and a large open-fronted 'dog house' with an old sofa for the animals to retreat to. The garden also features long meadow grass for dogs to lie in, while Radio 2 presenter Jo Wiley suggested an area of water for dogs to wallow in, based on experience with her pets, Don said. There is a playfulness to the garden, with use of dogwood, round-headed alliums evoking balls dogs love to play with, and terracotta pots have been created with pawprints of Don's dog Ned who can regularly be seen following him around his garden on Gardeners' World. But while the lawn has been created to look like it has been used by dogs and people, the team have stopped short of having holes dug in it or 'pee rings'. And Don said: 'There are plants in the garden that are technically poisonous to dogs. 'However, there are no plants that I don't have in my own garden and I've always had dogs. 'My view on this is actually the main plant I worry about is yew and we don't have that in the garden. 'In my experience dogs are sensible and owners are sensible.' Don added: 'We have a brief to make a beautiful garden for Chelsea. The only dogs that are going to be allowed on here are mine or others specifically invited and on a lead and under control. 'When it goes to Battersea it will not have any plants Battersea doesn't want to be there, we will remove any that they feel has any toxicity to their dogs,' he said. 'We're not saying these are plants that are perfectly safe, what are you making a fuss about? What I am saying is in my experience I've not had any problems with these plants, and I've had dogs for the last 65 years.' Many everyday activities from cutting with knives in the kitchen to driving a car or crossing the road were more dangerous than these plants were to dogs, he said. And he added: 'Just be sensible, don't get hysterical, but at the same time don't dismiss it.' He also said dog owners who are keen gardeners should not expect a perfect lawn because 'that's not compatible with dogs', and encouraged those who did not want their animals to be crashing through the flower beds to create low fences or hedging on borders or corners to stop them. An RHS spokesperson said the dog garden was 'primarily designed to bring joy and delight'. 'However, as RHS Chelsea is also a great place to inspire and educate, with some people perhaps not realising that a number of common garden plants could be harmful to dogs if eaten, the RHS and Monty are encouraging people to be aware, but also to be sensible, about dogs in their gardens at home. 'The garden raises awareness to keep an eye on pets amongst plants. Don't let them eat or dig up plants in borders and, as with anything, if you see them eating something in the garden and you see changes in behaviours or are worried or have doubts, call the vets.' They added: 'The garden will live on at Battersea, where experts from the charity will carefully select dog-friendly, non-toxic plants to live on where rescue dogs can enjoy them for years to come.'
ITV News
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ITV News
Monty Don prepares to unveil dog-friendly garden at Chelsea Flower Show
Monty Don has urged dog owners to be 'sensible' about plants which could harm their pets as he prepares to unveil his dog-friendly garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. The horticulturalist and BBC Gardeners' World presenter has teamed up with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) for his first – and 'I hope my last' – garden at Chelsea filled with features for dogs including a lawn, water to wallow in and trees to cast shade. Don defended the inclusion of plants that can be toxic to dogs in the garden, such as alliums and foxgloves, saying they were blooms he had alongside his pets without problem in his own garden. The RHS and Radio 2 dog garden, which will not be judged, will be relocated to nearby Battersea Dogs & Cats Home after the world-famous event at the Chelsea Hospital, west London, and Don said they would remove any plants the charity did not want to have as part of the planting. The horticulturalist, who has presented on Chelsea since 1990 and has covered the show for the BBC without a break for more than a decade, also said creating the garden had been a 'humbling' process that made him 'hugely' respect designers and makers of gardens at RHS Chelsea. Speaking onsite where his garden is being kept under wraps as it is constructed, he told the PA news agency: 'It doesn't matter what kind of garden or how good or bad it is, it's an almost unimaginable amount of work because of the detail you have to attend to.' He said he was looking forward to getting back to presenting coverage for next week's show after his stint as a designer, which he described as 'moonlighting'. 'I now have real insight into the whole process. I didn't know I needed that and I do, it's humbling.' Don, who was originally approached by the RHS to design a dog-friendly garden, said he did not want the project, created with horticulturalist Jamie Butterworth, to have any message except for being about dogs. 'I wanted to see a garden at Chelsea that didn't have a message, that didn't set itself in an exotic situation, was absolutely set fair and square in 2025 in England and that was full of plants that either I did have or everybody could buy from their local garden centre, and with trees or shrubs that were native or long adapted to this country.' The lawn is central to the plot, surrounded by planting which can create shifting paths for dogs to take around the garden, and a large open-fronted 'dog house' with an old sofa for the animals to retreat to. The garden also features long meadow grass for dogs to lie in, while Radio 2 presenter Jo Wiley suggested an area of water for dogs to wallow in, based on experience with her pets, Don said. There is a playfulness to the garden, with use of dogwood, round-headed alliums evoking balls dogs love to play with, and terracotta pots have been created with pawprints of Don's dog Ned who can regularly be seen following him around his garden on Gardeners' World. But while the lawn has been created to look like it has been used by dogs and people, the team have stopped short of having holes dug in it or 'pee rings'. And Don said: 'There are plants in the garden that are technically poisonous to dogs. 'However, there are no plants that I don't have in my own garden and I've always had dogs. 'My view on this is actually the main plant I worry about is yew and we don't have that in the garden. 'In my experience dogs are sensible and owners are sensible.' Don added: 'We have a brief to make a beautiful garden for Chelsea. The only dogs that are going to be allowed on here are mine or others specifically invited and on a lead and under control. 'When it goes to Battersea it will not have any plants Battersea doesn't want to be there, we will remove any that they feel has any toxicity to their dogs,' he said. 'We're not saying these are plants that are perfectly safe, what are you making a fuss about? What I am saying is in my experience I've not had any problems with these plants, and I've had dogs for the last 65 years.' Many everyday activities from cutting with knives in the kitchen to driving a car or crossing the road were more dangerous than these plants were to dogs, he said. And he added: 'Just be sensible, don't get hysterical, but at the same time don't dismiss it.' He also said dog owners who are keen gardeners should not expect a perfect lawn because 'that's not compatible with dogs', and encouraged those who did not want their animals to be crashing through the flower beds to create low fences or hedging on borders or corners to stop them. An RHS spokesperson said the dog garden was 'primarily designed to bring joy and delight'. 'However, as RHS Chelsea is also a great place to inspire and educate, with some people perhaps not realising that a number of common garden plants could be harmful to dogs if eaten, the RHS and Monty are encouraging people to be aware, but also to be sensible, about dogs in their gardens at home. 'The garden raises awareness to keep an eye on pets amongst plants. Don't let them eat or dig up plants in borders and, as with anything, if you see them eating something in the garden and you see changes in behaviours or are worried or have doubts, call the vets.' They added: 'The garden will live on at Battersea, where experts from the charity will carefully select dog-friendly, non-toxic plants to live on where rescue dogs can enjoy them for years to come.'
