Gardening whizz Jamie Butterworth, widely regarded as Monty Don’s protégé, has disclosed a secret he’s been hiding from the Gardeners’ World presenter. The young horticulturalist, who scooped gold at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2022, had the chance to collaborate on a garden project with his hero Monty this year.
At first, Jamie turned down the invitation to design a feature garden for the prestigious show. But when he discovered that respected gardener Monty, Queen Camilla, and BBC Radio 2 host Jo Whiley were all part of the project, he simply couldn’t say no.
“Well, what else was I supposed to do,” he joked to The Times, reports the Express. Collaborating on the RHS and BBC Dog Garden with Monty proved to be “one of the best experiences of his life”, Jamie revealed.
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He disclosed that aged just nine, Monty’s influence prompted him to purchase 1,000 cornflower seeds with plans to flog them for £1 apiece. He admitted: “I thought it looked quite fun. It didn’t work, embarrassingly.
“Don’t tell Monty.” This early disappointment didn’t put Jamie off, though.
By 16, he’d made it to the finals of BBC Three’s Young Gardener of the Year and subsequently trained at RHS Garden Wisley. Now, Jamie operates his own enterprise, Form Plants, which started life as a shipping container on an industrial estate.
Jamie Butterworth designed an RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden with Monty Don -Credit:undefined
As his business expanded, he discovered he needed to move to bigger facilities. He’s since built up a celebrity clientele with “luxury brands” and high-profile personalities including Nigel Slater and Tony Blair making trips to his nursery.
Jamie said gardening is the “greatest leveller” and insists that “anyone can garden”, regardless of their background. Among his esteemed clients is King Charles, who upon encountering Jamie at the Chelsea Flower Show remarked, “I know Jamie,” before reminding him of an impending delivery.
While many might feel nervous about working for the King, Jamie discloses it was teaming up with Monty that left him “really worried.” He confessed he was initially wary that the BBC presenter would receive all the acclaim while leaving Jamie to manage the strenuous work.
However, he observes that Monty “got really stuck in” during the garden planting process. “They say you shouldn’t meet your hero, but if your hero is Monty Don, I cannot recommend it enough,” Jamie added.
In addition to collaborating on the garden with Monty, Jamie presented BBC coverage of the competition. He made his first appearance on Gardeners’ World in 2023 and now regularly contributes to Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh.
Jamie also frequently features on BBC Radio London and Talk Radio discussing gardening matters. He once referred to participating in the Chelsea Flower Show coverage as a “life ambition”.
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