So many different sorts of garden and such a variety of taste, makes gardening so interesting and gives us such a lot to look at. Monty grows a lot of very tall plants, maybe by the end of the season they look a bit tatty but does it matter? They give him so much pleasure and I like to see that.
It isn't all my taste, some is, but I like looking at it all and seeing the progress throughout the year.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
I always feel that Longmeadow needs a good tidy up. However I do like Monty and his presentation style. I have really enjoyed the visits to Adam Frosts garden and prefer the style of his garden to Longmeadow however they are both large gardens which most of us do not have.
I'm another in the 'love it camp'. I really like exuberant, full planting, loads of plants jostling against each other. Makes me think there's plenty of microhabitats and food sources for wildlife. And I just like being surrounded by plants! I think a really manicured garden looks artificial and sterile, personally.
I like wild, can't stand neat and tidy. Ideally, I would love a well designed garden where the wild feel would be balanced by using a colour scheme or other techniques to make it look intentional, maybe some contrast of wild and neat areas. But I have a small garden and can't have it all, so I go for the wild look and for growing whatever I want to grow. It's also a form of therapy for me to learn to let it go and be natural, without trying to control every bit.
I can't say I love Longmeadow but I really like some areas and don't care about others. I see it as a large gardening sandbox to try and showcase different styles and plants.
I would call it organized chaos, he knows just where and what he has, where to plant anything new or to transplant. I don't like neat and tidy so I love Monty's garden. He is inspirational. Adam's garden is nice too, but it reminds me of Victorian Walled gardens, a little too formal for me, however we use ideas from both gardeners in our garden.
No, I don't think Longmeadow looks a mess. It's like mine, a large private garden, in which not everything can look good all of the time. I enjoy watching the different areas peak at their time, like the Writing Garden, the Spring Garden, Jewel Garden etc. And it's interesting to see how things have evolved in his garden over years, rather than the done-in-a-day rush jobs we see on other programmes. There are gardening programmes I find I just can't watch because the presenter puts me off, but Monty Don is easy to listen to, knowledgable, friendly, and above all he can put across his love of plants and gardening, and for me that is important. He is also honest about his failures, which I like. In this hectic world I personally welcome a more relaxed approach to gardening.
Couldn't agree more @Mossbank - Monty does "real" gardening, no quick fix, no or very little hard surfaces, and a natural approach to a relaxing past time for most of us.
Monty's garden is a dream for me - though, as WE says, it's a bit formal. I'm not into topiary, yew hedges, paradise gardens or avenues. But as others say here - it's his personal, home garden and he can do what he likes. It always feels to me like an honour for him to share with us his private space; I would hate that. I adore his meadows, bees, orchard, veg and fruit beds, white garden, jewel garden and the rest. The wildlife and compost areas have to be a major inspiration for thousands. I have based a lot of my small garden on ideas from his - area for bees, a micro pond, log piles everywhere, nectar rich plants for pollinators and others, raised beds, vegs beds, composting areas, native hedging. I don't have anyone around to teach me about gardening from scratch, so I have learnt everything from Monty and this forum. Long may they reign.
Posts
So many different sorts of garden and such a variety of taste, makes gardening so interesting and gives us such a lot to look at. Monty grows a lot of very tall plants, maybe by the end of the season they look a bit tatty but does it matter? They give him so much pleasure and I like to see that.
It isn't all my taste, some is, but I like looking at it all and seeing the progress throughout the year.
It's like mine, a large private garden, in which not everything can look good all of the time.
I enjoy watching the different areas peak at their time, like the Writing Garden, the Spring Garden, Jewel Garden etc. And it's interesting to see how things have evolved in his garden over years, rather than the done-in-a-day rush jobs we see on other programmes.
There are gardening programmes I find I just can't watch because the presenter puts me off, but Monty Don is easy to listen to, knowledgable, friendly, and above all he can put across his love of plants and gardening, and for me that is important. He is also honest about his failures, which I like.
In this hectic world I personally welcome a more relaxed approach to gardening.