It’s finally happened. National treasure Monty Don is hanging up his TV garden shears and saying goodbye to Gardeners’ World after more than 20 years as the BBC show’s lead presenter. I’ve been a grower for more than a decade myself, and Monty has been a steady and wise omnipresence throughout my journey – especially as he’s been on the right side of contemporary gardening debates over the environment and wildlife, and the use of chemicals and peat in horticulture.
That is where the overlap between our worlds of growing end, though. My modest patch of a few veg beds at the end of a small, chaotic and mostly gravelled garden is a universe away from the two-acre dreamscape that is Longmeadow, Don’s garden at his home in Herefordshire. I suspect I’m one of millions who’ve looked longingly at Monty’s remarkable space and the impressive infrastructure (not to mention hired hands!) that make it so special, and cursed the fact that such an ideal garden will never be within reach of us ordinary folk. That’s not to say that it hasn’t been a glorious setting for Monty to share his abundance of plant wisdom from, but now that the search for his replacement is presumably on, perhaps this is an opportunity for a little reimagining.
A handful of times over the years, television production companies have asked whether I’d present a new show they were trying to get commissioned, which they hoped would capture the attention of the next generation of gardeners. Unfortunately, not one of them had an idea that wasn’t just a rehash of a makeover show, and that approach is the antithesis of my growing ethos. I’d want to persuade more gardeners to nurture their plots intentionally – so you wouldn’t catch me encouraging anyone to bring that unhinged (and mostly unsustainable) Changing Rooms-style energy to their outside spaces. As a format that honours the true nature of gardening – embracing the steady process of cultivation and not looking for quick results – Gardeners’ World has got the market cornered, and I hope it keeps going for many years to come.
And while I’m not notsaying the next Gardeners’ World presenter should be me (wink-wink), I do have some thoughts on who it could be. There are clearly potential successors waiting in the wings, all of whom have proved themselves worthy. The favourite appears to be Frances Tophill, who would be my first choice from the shortlist too. But what I’d really like to see are dispatches and insights from different gardeners in different regions.
The UK might not be the largest country, but its weather and climate vary massively. A gardener in Cornwall is going to encounter a very different set of conditions to a gardener in Cumbria. And as we face a future in which the seasons become less predictable, tried-and-tested gardening advice may well become moot. Wouldn’t it be wonderful and highly informative to instead see what is possible – and impossible – in different parts of the country, following a consortium of gardeners and their outdoor spaces throughout the growing season?
While I’m dreaming up my perfect show, let’s say that some – perhaps all – of those spaces should be ordinary gardens tended by ordinary gardeners. People who are time-poor, resource-light and chaotic in their execution, due to their many other responsibilities. I’m thinking of it being similar to Top Gear flinging family-friendly hatchbacks around its test track as well as luxury sports cars.
This may well be a pipe dream, and perhaps it’s only me who is interested in truly realistic gardens. But I think I’ve reached my personal saturation point with aspirational, unobtainable spaces wholly detached from my own growing reality. There’s so much to be learned from the ingenuity and scrappiness of those who succeed – as well as fail – at creating gardens filled with flourishing crops and blooms, when their space and wallets have limits and their lives are full.
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The one thing that I wouldn’t want to change, though, is how soothing Gardeners’ World can be. I know I’m not alone in finding the tone and the pace – even the ambient sound of bees buzzing past – to be a balm for the soul, and plenty of that can be attributed to Monty’s gentle screen presence. I’d wager that the upcoming generation of gardeners also have jangled nervous systems that could do with some calm – so let’s hope that whoever comes next understands the assignment and keeps the show sailing on a steady and serene trajectory.
