I am certain MANY of you are familiar with Monty Don, the British gardening guru, garden writer and yes…television personality.
When did I “meet” him? It must have been after my first garden visit to England, after visiting Sissinghurst, that I totally fell in love with all things that combined both British and gardens!
I have spoken about him in a fairly recent post.
If you are NOT familiar with him then you are in for a treat. His weekly television series, “Gardeners’ World,” is broadcast in England each week during the season. But it was almost impossible to view outside the UK: something to do with licensing rights from the BBC. After watching one full season, and several of Monty’s specials, I (and so many others!) was suddenly deprived. And so it went for about two years. Until this year. Now, my friends, you too can watch and enjoy any of the programs. They are all accessible on YouTube and also on Britbox if you are a subscriber (I recommend it!)
Enough.
Here is one of the latest episodes. This one has a section all about Hellebores which I know many of you grow and love.
But click on over to YouTube to see all that is available.
I love his travel videos: France, Italy, South Africa. They are all wonderful: both educational and so entertaining with this master.
I love the dogs.
But I always wonder just how he can garden with no gloves..ever! Really hard on the hands…
Take a look at the video above and you will be a fan. Promise!
Monty is a British national treasure, to be sure! I never miss an episode of Gardeners’ World. You can also find many of his TV specials on YouTube. Look for Monty Don’s Italian Gardens, Monty Don’s Around the World in 80 Gardens, and more recently, Monty Don’s Paradise Gardens.
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I’m just so glad it’s all available now. Yes, I tune in every week. Everything about that show is delightful!
Did you know that he used to be a well-known costume jewellery designer back in the 1980s? I remember his jewellery well.
Yes, I had seen that! But I’ve never seen any of his pieces: will scour the internet now.
Greetings Libby. It’s Kate Weiner here.
In addition to your YouTube suggestion may I also suggest a hugely horticulturally informative program on BBC Radio Four called ‘Gardeners’ Question Time’. If I’m not mistaken it’s been running weekly for about forty years. The program travels around the UK and invites the local garden club to be the audience. Gardening questions are then posed to the panel of experts — professional gardeners. Now that things are so modern and up to date at Radio Four you don’t even need to tune in for the actual broadcast as I once did for years. Now you can just click on and listen to the latest program (I should probably say programme!) at your convenience.
From the main Gardeners’ Question Time page on the BBC website you can navigate to the latest program; or to programs of the past (the subjects are easy to check). Also nowadays, they offer a written recap of each show so you don’t miss the passing references to crucial plants, as in the old days. I remember years ago I’d have to sit there at some awkward time of the day (because it was only live) listening to the program with my notebook before me, scribbling like some fevered amanuensis hoping I’d got the name of the plant right for look-up later. Now it’s easy-peasy.
I’ve gotten more useful information about plants from Gardeners’ Question Time over the years than I can measure. It’s a terrific way of initially learning of something so that one can then do much greater, in-depth research on it.
Here’s a link to the main Gardeners’ Question Time page on the BBC Radio Four website.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09z688q
May I suggest to everyone reading this that BBC Radio Four is one of the jewels in the crown of Britain. It’s a station that all talking; but the level of discourse on whatever subject is under discussion is so wonderfully high. There are also comedy programs as well. Any subject you might imagine and also quite wonderful drama programs. Really first-rate. I listen to Radio Four on my computer all the time. (Also, Radio Four is not to be confused with The World Service, which is something else entirely.)
That’s my two-cents. I’d be very interested to hear what you make of Gardeners’ Question Time generally.
Regards.
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Kate: Thank you SO much for that wonderful reply!!!! No, I didn’t know about Gardeners’ Question time or Radio Four, but I do now. What a gem. I will begin tuning in. Oh, I do love social media and the way we can all communicate and learn. Thank you for taking the time to write all that for me, and all of us. Much appreciated. And how is your garden doing???? My tulips are now over but my snaps have fully recoved from the winter and I think just may bloom this week!!!!
I’ve been watching this series for some time, although I’m behind on this year’s episodes. Thanks for the reminder! Alan Titschmarsh has a wonderful series called ‘Love Your Garden’ on YouTube last year but it wasn’t available any more the last time I checked :(