First of all, some names have Greek origins - clematis for example and many more - so the correct term is Botanical name and that is universal whereas common names can lead to misidentification.
Secondly, he is, as has been said, a presenter and author who happens to know a lot about gardening but is not trained as a horticulturalist or even as a professional gardener.
As for his garden, I find it not to my taste - too straight, square, claustrophobic and no grass to set off borders and plants - but he is good on veggies and wildlife and there are guest presenters and garden visits which show different styles, tastes and growing conditions. He does cover roses quite often but usually the old-fashioned kind and huge climbers and ramblers rather than the modern shrub roses people with less time and space tend to grow. For me there's also far too much time spent on moving plants in and out of shelter - how many modern suburban or town gardeners have endless space for storing bananas, cannas, dahlias etc and bringing them on till they're ready for display like he does?
I'm coming round to using GW as a relaxing 30 to 60 minutes rather than a source of new knowledge each week and I do always record it so I can FF the bits of no interest.
It won't be long till Beechgrove Garden is on air again and we can have both ends of the gardening TV spectrum.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I like his garden as it seem homely and comfortable to me. I personally can't stand manicured gardens with everything neat and tidy - plants just aren't like that.
And he is what he says he is, and non-professional gardener with a passion for communicating the joys of gardening to others. And I like his current push to encourage people to use less plastic so his heart is definitely in the right place. But I do pick and choose which bits of GW to watch as some of it is dull.
I applaud his drive to use less plastic, but I'm wondering what he's done with all the plastic labels and plant pots which he used to re-use. Surely it's plastic " waste " which is the problem, not plastic itself?
Hosta - he did say in the first programme that the best way to reduce plastic waste is to keep recycling the bits of plastic you already have - such as seed trays / pots etc
He did suggest avoiding buying flimsy plastic (such as the seed tray inserts) which only lasts one or two seasons - but I'd already reached that conclusion myself some years ago.
He will continue to use the solid plastic seed trays which "will give 4 or 5 seasons of use". I don't know what he does with his - but some of my plastic seed trays must be nearly 40 years old and are still going strong. Can't remember when I last bought a new one
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
I like some bits of his garden more than others but on a whole it is a good garden. The only garden I like in its entirety is the Beth Chatto garden but that is 7 acres to MD’s more modest 2.
To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.
I don't mind the botanical names, but I can't imagine myself ever being able to rattle the names off (I struggle with most of the common names). I live in the hope that presenters have to have them written on their cuffs or they're held up by assistants off-screen. However, I fear that rather like the incredible people on here who are able to rapidly answer our plant ID questions they actually do know these things off the tops of their heads. How do people learn these things without going to horticultural college? Is it just experience or do you study books each evening? It would be nice to have a guide of where to start, rather than just ploughing in and trying to learn all the botanical names of all the plants.
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill
I think his garden is inspirational - love that its a bit on the wild side. Never been one for the manicured look, me. Plus, his garden is in the middle of rolling countryside - it would jar if it was all bowling green lawns and regimented flower beds.
And I don’t care if he hasn’t been formally trained - he certainly has lots of experience to pass on, and the communication skills to do that well
I think the garden reflects the man, slightly scruffy round the edges, but with the lines laid out straight. I don't always find everything on the programme interesting but that's life, there is definitely something for everyone. (If I had a banana I don't think I would need to be reminded to put it away in autumn or to get it out in spring )
I agree, MD's garden fits the local landscape & he started as a farmer I believe. Interest sparks research for a hobby, I've only been gardening for 3 years but learnt the majority of information from reading comments here, as well as trial & error/gardening shows. I've always had a strong memory so I don't struggle too much with botanical names.. apart from the ever changing ones like the Sedums from last year. I like the imperfections in Monty's garden, seeing the scruffy patch of lawn that borders the path makes me feel better about my own clay soil and it's bare patches!
The colloquial plant names that Americans have a habit of using on other forums do cause confusion, as it makes giving advice difficult with seeing images.
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Secondly, he is, as has been said, a presenter and author who happens to know a lot about gardening but is not trained as a horticulturalist or even as a professional gardener.
As for his garden, I find it not to my taste - too straight, square, claustrophobic and no grass to set off borders and plants - but he is good on veggies and wildlife and there are guest presenters and garden visits which show different styles, tastes and growing conditions. He does cover roses quite often but usually the old-fashioned kind and huge climbers and ramblers rather than the modern shrub roses people with less time and space tend to grow. For me there's also far too much time spent on moving plants in and out of shelter - how many modern suburban or town gardeners have endless space for storing bananas, cannas, dahlias etc and bringing them on till they're ready for display like he does?
I'm coming round to using GW as a relaxing 30 to 60 minutes rather than a source of new knowledge each week and I do always record it so I can FF the bits of no interest.
It won't be long till Beechgrove Garden is on air again and we can have both ends of the gardening TV spectrum.
And he is what he says he is, and non-professional gardener with a passion for communicating the joys of gardening to others. And I like his current push to encourage people to use less plastic so his heart is definitely in the right place. But I do pick and choose which bits of GW to watch as some of it is dull.
He did suggest avoiding buying flimsy plastic (such as the seed tray inserts) which only lasts one or two seasons - but I'd already reached that conclusion myself some years ago.
He will continue to use the solid plastic seed trays which "will give 4 or 5 seasons of use". I don't know what he does with his - but some of my plastic seed trays must be nearly 40 years old and are still going strong. Can't remember when I last bought a new one
How do people learn these things without going to horticultural college? Is it just experience or do you study books each evening? It would be nice to have a guide of where to start, rather than just ploughing in and trying to learn all the botanical names of all the plants.
And I don’t care if he hasn’t been formally trained - he certainly has lots of experience to pass on, and the communication skills to do that well
The colloquial plant names that Americans have a habit of using on other forums do cause confusion, as it makes giving advice difficult with seeing images.