He wrote: “I am writing this in the days before Christmas…the concept of recording or writing something weeks or even months ahead of transmission is becoming distant.
“In my fixed gardening calendar, the pruning of vines is a January job. Always has been. Good for a nice frosty day in the new year outside, or a wet one inside. So I found myself not doing it, because January was still a week or so away.”
Beyond advising gardeners that January presents an excellent opportunity for pruning, he offered reassurance that tackling it slightly early isn’t catastrophic
Referencing wisdom from Christopher Lloyd, he continued: “The best time to prune practically anything is when you remember to do so and have a pair of secateurs in your hand. The worst that can happen is that you may cut off flower buds and, heaven forfend, delay flowering by a few weeks.”
Monty also offered a philosophical perspective on failure in gardening. He suggested that it “means you have to think for yourself and challenge all the things you have diligently learned from others. And that is when things get interesting”.
He also discussed the shifting weather patterns and their impact on gardening schedules in his column. Climate change, global warming, and their effects on gardens are subjects Monty has explored in recent years.
In the same publication last year, he lamented the dry conditions of 2025 and their effect on his cherished Longmeadow garden.
He stated: “This year, 2025, is by far the driest I have known. We have had no significant rain since March, and our heavy Hertfordshire clay loam is powdery down to 3ft.
“This is undeniably a trend. At the time of writing…this last spring was the hottest and driest on record. There is no sane denial of climate change.”
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