Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don has lifted the lid on “the most stupid thing anyone can ever say about a garden” as he shared his wealth of experience from the gardening world
Robin Cottle Assistant Editor Trendswatch
03:00, 10 Nov 2025Updated 07:06, 10 Nov 2025
Monty Don shares ‘the most stupid anyone can ever say about a garden'(Image: PA)
Gardening icon Monty Don has revealed what he thinks is the “the most stupid thing anyone can ever say about a garden”.
The 70-year-old has been Gardeners’ World’s lead presenter since taking over from the legendary Alan Titchmarsh in 2003, only leaving the show between 2008 and 2011 due to illness.
The expert knows a thing or two about what makes a great garden, and takes pride in his personal garden Longmeadow, which he manages with his wife Sarah.
Speaking to BBC Gardeners’ World podcast though, the biggest mistakes green-fingered Brits can make is to think a garden is “finished”.
He said: “The thing I love about gardens is they don’t stay the same, ever. The most stupid thing anyone can ever say about a garden is ‘oh we’ve finished it,’ or ‘it’s done’.
“Because, a) it’s not true and b) it means you don’t begin to understand what a garden is. It’s like saying a river is finished, or a cloud has finished.
Monty Don first became Gardeners’ World’s lead presenter in 2003(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
“It’s a completely moveable, fluid, variable, changeable thing, so Longmeadow is great today and I hope it’s great tomorrow.”
Longmeadow is Monty’s pride and joy. He and his wife Sarah started creating the garden when they moved to their home in Ivington, Herefordshire, in 1991.
The garden was a field of rough grass, nettles, and brambles when he bought the property, which he has since transformed into his famous two-acre garden.
He refuses to take all the credit for the incredible garden as he insists “Sarah and I have always gardened together”.
Speaking to the podcast, Monty said: “Longmeadow is not my garden, Longmeadow is our garden and she and I did it together.
“By and large I do design and structure, and most of the physical planting, and she is much better at detail than me and colour and I’ve learned colour from her.
“She has perfect pitch when it comes to colour, which is quite a rare thing. The other thing that is really annoying. I remember doing this, I planted a hedge.
Monty Don spoke passionately about his gardening experience (Image: Getty Images)
“She was out and came back and I said: ‘I’ve planted this hedge, what do you think. She’ll go: ‘It needs to be moved one foot that way.’ And she was right.
“So I dug the whole hedge up and planted it one foot that way. That sort of rigour is good. You need someone to give you a kicking every now and then.”
Despite his long connection with Gardeners’ World, Monty admits he hasn’t always watched the programme.
The TV star said he didn’t watch the show when he was in his 20s, nor did he read Gardeners’ World Magazine or was a member of the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society).
He added: “The two things I did do were I visited gardens obsessively. All kinds of gardens from the most conventional to the most extreme, and I’d recommend that to anyone.
“And I looked for people who were slightly on the edge of gardening.”
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