Monty Don, who hosts Gardeners’ World, has opened up about his family life and being a father to his three children
Matt Jackson Trendswatch Content Editor and Natalie King
19:00, 13 Jun 2025
Monty Don has opened up about his family life(Image: Ben Montgomery, Getty Images)
Monty Don has candidly spoken about feeling rather “blasé” regarding his approach to family life, a stark contrast to the strict upbringing he experienced.
The beloved gardening expert, who has graced our screens for over two decades as the host of BBC’s Gardeners’ World, regularly gives viewers a peek into Longmeadow, the beautiful garden of his home that he and his wife Sarah have grown since purchasing in 1991. There they raised their children, Freya, Adam, and Tom.
Monty’s status as a household name in gardening circles contrasts with his more humble beginnings; Monty was born on a military base in Germany and moved back to England, where he describes his relationship with his father Denis as “distant and pretty straight”.
His parents ingrained a solid work ethic in Monty and his siblings, but he admits he has a much more laidback attitude towards parenting his own children, reports Gloucestershire Live.
Monty Don and wife Sarah have lived at Longmeadow since the early 90s(Image: undefined via Getty Images)
In conversation with an AI version of Michael Parkinson, Monty revealed: “I think because my own relationship with my father was pretty distant and sort of strict. I think I both wanted it to be closer and more informal but wasn’t terribly good at it, I had to learn to be a father and I made mistakes, my guess is every parent makes mistakes.”
Monty also communicated his scepticism of modern parental pride, explaining: “I also never quite bought into that modern theory where you get a lot of people being asked what the greatest achievement of your life is and they say, ‘Being a father’, well I was more blasé about it.”
Monty, famous for leading Gardeners’ World after Alan Titchmarsh’s departure, shared candid thoughts about his parental role during the interview. He said: “I was much more work-oriented and my parents drummed into us the importance of working hard and I was always very involved with work. My children were just part of the household really and I have a very good relationship with them.”
Reflecting on his bond with now-adult children, he mentioned: “As adults we get on really well, we never got on badly, but I never went out of my way to be a good father. I love them, I did my best by them, and we muddled through.”
Monty, who became the first self-taught horticulturalist to front Gardeners’ World when he replaced Alan Titchmarsh, has previously spoken about his “traumatic” childhood. Monty explained that his dad suffered with “deep depressive fits”.
He revealed to The Times: “He was an army heavyweight boxing champion and a commando and had been through the war. He had killed people. He was not in any way aggressive but there was a latent… He was a scary man.”
Monty Don and wife Sarah have lived at Longmeadow since the early 90s(Image: undefined via Getty Images)
He elaborated further, revealing: “You didn’t mess with him. He had these deep depressive fits when he wouldn’t talk to anyone.”
Kicking off his TV success with a gardening segment on This Morning in 1989, which netted him £100 per episode, Monty truly made a name for himself as he began leading Gardeners’ World from a rented plot. Returning to the show after a stroke in 2011, he brought viewers into his own Longmeadow garden in Herefordshire, enriching the series with a personal touch.
Gardeners’ World is back at 8pm on BBC Two this evening (Friday, June 13). Monty will be accompanied by Rachel de Thame, Adam Frost, Arit Anderson and Ashley Edwards as they venture to the annual live event in Birmingham.
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