Gardeners’ World star Monty Don has unveiled the shocking aftermath of a “major flood” at his Herefordshire home. The 70-year-old shared multiple photos and video footage of the flooding results to his social media on November 15 and 16. “There has been really bad flooding in this part of the country and homes and businesses have suffered very badly, so we are lucky that it is just the fields and garden that is wet here,” he penned to Instagram on Sunday with a photo of the high water levels engulfing the tree trunks outside.
Monty lives in Herefordshire with his wife, Sarah, and his two dogs, Patti the Yorkshire terrier and a golden retriever named Ned. The couple’s home, called Longmeadow, features on the BBC television series, Gardeners’ World. “We are right next to a river and water meadows so we are used to floods – and they have a transformative beauty,” the gardener explained in another post of the same view, showing off the lush green trees that the flooding hadn’t reached.
Monty first posted a photo of the recent flooding earlier that day, showing that the grass in his garden was covered in water. “A little wet in the garden this morning after yesterday’s storm that dropped a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours,” he said. But despite the water levels, his dog Ned seemed to be having a blast. Monty shared a video of the golden retriever running through the water to retrieve a ball. “The small matter of a major flood is not going to stop Ned retrieving his ball!” Monty captioned the clip. The star took to his Instagram Stories to re-share a video of the flooding damage from the recent Storm Claudia, where areas in England and Wales have experienced heavy rainfall and wind levels of up to 60mph.
© Instagram/ @themontydonMonty Don shared photos of the aftermath of flooding at his home
© Instagram/ @themontydonThe Gardener’s World star’s garden was also flooded
The property has experienced flooding before
The Gardener’s World star has experienced flooding on his property before – including just earlier this year. “I live in Herefordshire. We live on a flood plain, so flooding has always been part of life there,” he said in January. “But it’s definitely got worse. It’s definitely got more frequent.” The star and his wife got trapped in their home in January due to the flooding. “My wife and I couldn’t get out of the house or garden. We were flooded in,” he said. “No one could come in, no one can go out. That’s fine [but] I have a 97-year-old neighbour. If anything had happened to him, it would have been a helicopter time, I guess.”
Writing to his blog last year in January 2024, the star said: “It has barely stopped raining for the past three months and as I write this the fields as far as the eye can see are underwater as is sections of the garden. He continued: “Mostly all this rain just means mud, slippery paths and the frustration of not being able to get on with much work in the garden without making a terrible mess.”
The garden and home took 10 years of work
© InstagramMonty Don’s home, Longmeadow, in Herefordshire
Monty and his wife bought Longmeadow in October 1991. According to their website, when they bought it, the garden was a two-acre abandoned field. The couple spent 10 years restoring the Tudor home and surrounding gardens. “When we bought this house, it was a ruin – no roof, electricity, running water or sanitation,” Monty told The English Home. “It took 10 years to finish the initial building work, but it has been a privilege and joy to restore.” The exterior of the home has pruned box hedges, while the house itself contains a cosy country sitting room, a large farmhouse kitchen and a potting shed.”
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