Gardeners’ World star Monty Don and his long-term wife Sarah have since turned their situation around after facing serious financial difficulties
Samantha Masters Content Editor
10:49, 07 Nov 2025Updated 10:53, 07 Nov 2025
Monty Don has since turned his life around (Image: BBC)
Monty Don said he and his life Sarah once found themselves completely “penniless” after a devastating business collapse. Before finding television stardom, the Gardeners’ World presenter and his partner operated a successful costume jewellery business in London.
During this period, the pair had 20 staff members and stocked in prestigious retailers such as Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
However, by the close of the 1980s, mounting financial difficulties meant they were left with no alternative but to “sell everything”.
Reflecting on the lessons his renowned Jewel Garden had provided, the 70-year-old explained: “It began as a kind of celebration and sort of to confront a situation whereby Sarah and I had a jewellery business in the 80s. At the end of the 80s, the business collapsed because of huge interest hikes.
“We lost dollars in America and so we wound it down and in order to wind it down, we basically had to sell everything we had, and I mean everything we had.
Monty Don and his wife Sarah(Image: Getty)
“So, we were penniless and eventually, for a combination of circumstances, we got enough money to buy a ruin and an empty field which is Longmeadow.”
Following that pivotal moment, Monty explained that he and Sarah focused on transforming the property into a home while creating a garden they could truly appreciate.
Reflecting on what happened once they achieved this, he said on BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine podcast: “We thought we should celebrate what was great about the jewellery business and there were a lot of good things, you know, we did a lot of stuff with pop music, rock, film and opera and it was… the 80s in fashion was a a very sort of interesting, exciting time.
“So, we began this garden and we explored the idea. That’s what taught us about colour and colour schemes and how when you’re gardening you need to have defined parameters with colour, you can’t just chuck everything [in] it looks terrible!”.
Discussing how he and Sarah crafted their ideal garden as a team, he revealed that he primarily handles the “design, structure and physical planting” aspects, while his wife has expertise in the finer details.
Monty Don in his garden at Longmeadow (Image: BBC Studios)
“I’ve learnt [about] colour from her,” he revealed. “She has perfect pitch when it comes to colour which is quite a rare thing.
“So, she can see a colour of any sort and go into another building and if there are thousands of swatches of fabric, she’ll choose exactly that colour and it’ll match.”
Thanks to this talent, Monty explained it has enabled them to cultivate a desirable colour scheme with their plants – as seen on the BBC programme.
However, Sarah’s precision can prove “really annoying,” Monty quipped. “I planted a hedge, you know a socking great hedge, and she was out and she came back and I said, ‘What do you think?’ and she looked and she does this thing where she’ll go, ‘It needs to be moved one foot that way’. And she was right.”
Gardeners’ World airs tonight at 8pm on BBC Two.
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