Gardeners' World's Monty Don says mother-in-law 'annoyed me' with remark about his garden
Monty Don shared his thoughts on the notion that a garden can never be truly "finished", recounting a story about his mother-in-law when she came to Longmeadow
Monty Don has revealed he once felt "quite rightly" annoyed when his mother-in-law made a remark about his garden.
In an episode of the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine podcast (May 2), Monty weighed in on the notion that a garden can never be truly "finished", claiming it's something "non-gardeners" say.
It prompted the beloved horticulturist to recount a story about his mother-in-law and a comment that she made about Longmeadow, Monty's impressive Herefordshire garden, which features on the BBC show.
Monty said: "It's what non-gardeners say. They say, 'When will it be finished', or it'll be lovely when...I mean, it's what my mother-in-law used to come...
"She used to come and look at Longmeadow in the early days; you know, the first five years or so and said, 'Well, it'll be nice when it's done'. And quite rightly, it used to annoy me because it's not...You know, 31 years later, it's not done and it never will be."
Monty also said that we're losing our connection to the "true rhythms of life" and they're becoming "artificial" before pointing out advances in technology, such as video calls, which he said would have previously been viewed as the "stuff of science fiction".
He then suggested that we need something in our lives that's "true" and "tangible", and he believes that gardens "do that very well indeed".
The German-born broadcaster, who replaced Alan Titchmarsh as the lead presenter of Gardeners' World in 2003, shares the Longmeadow garden with his wife, Sarah Erskine.
The couple, who have three grown-up children, have lived in their Ivington home for more than 30 years, with Monty purchasing the house back in 1991 when the garden was simply a field full of grass, nettles and brambles.
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However, Monty has since transformed his outdoor space to include a greenhouse and a veg patch, as well as The Cottage Garden, The Jewel Garden and The Paradise Garden.
This month, Monty shared a useful tip that will allow gardeners to enjoy their own homegrown salad over winter. He explained that winter salad plants can offer you fresh salad “every day from the end of October, and into April”.
However, it's important to remember that to grow "anything" over winter, you require "maximum light", which is best achieved with a greenhouse.
He told BBC Gardeners’ World: “The important thing is to clean the glass, as that means the light levels can be as good as possible. And you'll be surprised how influential that is. It's really important.”
