Monty Don

Monty Don


Monty Don was born on 8th July 1955 in West Berlin where his father was a serving soldier. He was given the name Montagu Denis Wyatt Don and has a twin sister.

Monty Don's young life involved a strict upbringing. He attended 3 public schools before going on to attend a comprehensive school where he failed his A levels.

Monty had already found his love of gardening and farming as a teenager. Whilst he was resitting his A levels at evening classes worked on a pig farm and building sites.

Monty Don met wife Sarah whilst he was studying English at Magdalene College in Cambridge.

Monty Don has three children - Adam, Freya and Tom.


Branching out

His early careers included dustman, grave digger and waiter and a failed novelist.

Monty launched a costume jewellery company with his jeweller wife Sarah Don. 

This career move is his most quoted and it was during the flamboyant 1980s that Monty Don Jewellery was a success. 

You can find examples of Monty Don Jewellery on Pinterest and  for sale on eBay. 

The jewellery business eventually went bankrupt leaving them living with Sarah's parents.

During this time the start of what was to be a life long battle with depression and seasonally affected disorder (SAD) reared its head. 

He treated this with cognitive behavioural therapy, drug treatment and the use of a light box. 

Monty is a huge advocate to the healing power of gardening, the mud on your hands and the pleasure of watching the rewards grow.

“The real importance of gardening is the empowerment that it gives people, however small or seemingly insignificant their gardens might be. It is surprising how liberating it is, if you can grow anything at all.” – Monty Don

From Little Acorns

Monty's early passion for gardening started bearing fruit although never having any formal training.

Monty Don's garden Longmeadow is not open to the public.

Monty has a weekly gardening column in the Observer and has also wrote for the Daily Mail and Mail on line.

A gardening slot on this morning started what was to be the first of many and Monty Don has been a Gardeners World presenter since 2003.

Monty in his first appearance on Tomorrows World




British gardener Monty Don began his TV career as a presenter on the popular TV garden makeover show Real Gardens with Carol Klein and Ann-Marie Powell

Real Gardens was different from the usual format as helped the gardeners through out the season develop their own gardens. 



Monty Don was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2018.


Monty Don TV Shows


1998 - 2000

Real Gardens



Series 3 ?
I am not sure if this is Series 2 and series 3 from Episode 14? Pete Free 🌻

Episode 1: Stockport, Norfolk & Felixstowe

Episode 2: Harrow, Norfolk & Devon

Episode 3: Stockport, Norfolk & Felixstowe

Episode 4: Harrow, Norfolk & Devon

Episode 5: Stockport, Norfolk & Felixstowe

Episode 6: Harrow, Norfolk & Devon

Episode 7: Guernsey, Felixstowe & Stockport

Episode 8: Devon, Stockport, Guernsey & RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Episode 9: Harrow, Guernsey & Felixstowe

Episode 10: Guernsey, Islington & Devon

Episode 11: Huddersfield, Islington & Chulmleigh

Episode 12: Devon, Guernsey & Stockport

Episode 13: Huddersfield, Islington, Chulmleigh & RHS Hampton Court Flower Show

Episode 14: Liverpool, Burton-on-Trent, Portsmouth (from previous series)

Episode 15: Cotswolds, Huddersfield & Chumleigh

Episode 16: Guernsey, Cotswolds & Chumleigh

Episode 17: Huddersfield, Cotswolds & Chumleigh

Episode 18: Guernsey, Wiltshire & Cotswolds

Episode 19: Leicestershire, Wiltshire & Cotswolds

Episode 20: Leicestershire, Wiltshire & Cotswolds


Series 2 

Series 1


2001
Lost Gardens


2003 - present
Gardeners' World

2008
Around the World in 80 Gardens

2011
Monty Don's Italian Gardens

2013
Great British Garden Revival

2013
Monty Don's French Gardens

2014 - 2017
Big Dreams, Small Places

2014 Main Presenter
RHS Chelsea Flower Show

2015 
The Secret History of the British Garden



2019
Monty Don's Japanese Gardens
Copyright BBC.com







2020

Monty Don Books

1997
The Sensuous Garden

1997
The Weekend Gardener - Beautiful Gardens for Busy People

1998

Gardening Mad
(and Fleur Olby)

1998

Urban Jungle: The Simple Way to Tame Your Town Garden

1999
Fork to Fork
(and Sarah Don)

2003

From the Garden to the Table: Growing, Cooking, and Eating Your Own Food
(and Sarah Don, Simon Wheeler)

2005

The Jewel Garden: A Story of Despair and Redemption
(and Sarah Don)

2005

Gardeners' World: Gardening from Berryfields

2006

Growing out of Trouble

2006

My Roots: A Decade in the Garden

2008 
Round the World in 80 Gardens

2009

The Complete Gardener: A Practical, Imaginative Guide to Every Aspect of Gardening

2009
Extraordinary Gardens of the World

2009

The Ivington Diaries

2010

The Home Cookbook
(and Sarah Don)

2011 
Ten Poems About Gardens

2011

Great Gardens of Italy
(and Derry Moore)

2012

Gardening at Longmeadow

2013
My Dream Farm

2014

The Road to Le Tholonet: A French Garden Journey

2017

Down to Earth: Gardening Wisdom

2017

Nigel: my family and other dogs

2017

Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse
(and Ann Dumas)

2018
Paradise Gardens: the world's most beautiful Islamic gardens
(and Derry Moore)

2019

Japanese Gardens: a Journey
(and Derry Moore)

2020
My Garden World

2020
American Gardens
(and Derry Moore)

2021
The Complete Gardener: A Practical, Imaginative Guide to Every Aspect of Gardening 
Revised Edition

2022
Gardening at Longmeadow

2023
The Gardening Book

2024
Spanish Gardens
(and Derry Moore)


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