Gardening icon Monty Don has issued a “really important” garden warning after sharing the “pretty big disaster” that he oversaw at his beloved Longmeadow garden.
As one of Britain’s most esteemed gardening experts and the lead presenter of BBC show Gardeners’ World since 2003, Monty knows a thing or two about creating a beautiful green space.
But that doesn’t mean he gets it right every time, as he detailed a “pretty big disaster” that struck his famous Herefordshire garden.
He told how the garden suffered from something called box blight, a fast-spreading fungal disease that attacks the leaves and stems of box plants.
While Monty says he doesn’t think it was his fault as “everything had a box hedge”, it did teach the esteemed presenter how to “avoid disasters”.
Speaking to BBC Gardeners’ World podcast, he said: “I don’t try and grow anything that doesn’t want to be there. I think that’s really important.
“Sarah and I always say, we don’t want anything in our garden that doesn’t want to be in our garden. What that means in practice, it needs a very sandy soil, and we have a heavy clay soil, or it needs mild dry winters, we have wet cold winters, or it needs very alkaline soil or very acidic soil.
Monty described a “pretty big disaster” that happened at Longmeadow -Credit:Getty Images
“We have pretty neutral soil. On the whole, that means we can grow more plants that need alkalinity rather than acidity. Therefore, camellias, rhododendrons, pyrrhus, they’re never going to do well for us.”
It comes after Monty expressed his relief that Gardeners’ World has ended filming at Longmeadow this year.
The TV star said that while he is used to the timetable, he is relieved to be able to work away from the scrutiny of the cameras.
Writing in the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine, Monty explained that film crews won’t return until the spring and the “lack of pressure” is a welcome boost.
Monty Don -Credit:Getty Images
Monty said: “Should we be filming all of this? Probably. I would not mind at all, but there is no doubt that filming would make it all take twice as long, and add a level of scrutiny and pressure that we are happy to do without for a few winter months before the filming circus returns all too quickly next February.”
The presenter admitted the changing schedule can annoy some of the show’s more loyal viewers. He added: “This timetable has remained constant for the past 20 years or so, although I suspect that most viewers would like us to carry on throughout winter.
“However, the commissioning and scheduling of programmes moves I mysterious ways so it is unlikely to change in a hurry.”
With the regular show on hiatus until 2026, catch the first Gardeners’ World Winter Special from 8pm to 9pm on BBC Two tonight (Friday, November 28).
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