Monty Don’s garden ailing after foul weather

THE host of Gardeners’ World, Monty Don, has revealed that months of foul weather have turned the show’s filming location into a “quagmire”, setting back plans for the programme.

The presenter, who films from his own garden in Herefordshire, said work on developing the huge plot had been delayed or interrupted as a result of the conditions.

Don also told how he has had difficulty sharing Longmeadow – his rambling estate – with other presenters on the show.

He returned to the show two years ago after a spell away following a stroke in 2008 and was temporarily replaced by Toby Buckland. With his comeback, the programme was uprooted from its base at Berryfields in the West Midlands to the garden which Don has tended for more than 20 years.

Speaking about his battle with the elements, the 57-year-old said: “I cannot stress how difficult the conditions have been this year. The garden is, essentially, a quagmire.

“I always like to go with the rhythm and the flow of the seasons, and this has meant our plans have been delayed or interrupted.”

Don has built up 24 small gardens within the grounds of his property, enclosed by more than 1,400 trees and hedges. And he said he had found it a challenge to relinquish control of the garden to other members of the programme team, although he has come to terms with sharing the property with his viewers.

“When other presenters want to come in, I find it difficult,” he said. “It would be nonsensical to say I didn’t, but I accept it’s part of what happens.

“It’s hard to remember that we live here, it is attached to our house and for some days a year, it’s as if we live above the shop, but we have two decades of private history that resides there. I accept the fact that there is an element of people thinking it is their garden.”