I should also have mentioned Jamie Butterworth, l enjoyed his visit to Scampston and his interaction with Rachel de Thame. He reminded me a little of Chris Beardshaw.
I loved the last episode and watched it twice on iPlayer. The use of a drone when Francis, Adam and Rachel came together at the beginning was genius. Next to the episode with Francis a few weeks ago, it can’t be topped.
They seem to use a different camera concept. It’s like a film.
Don’t get me wrong, I like watching and listening to Monty, but GW is ready for a change. If you look back how many bother to comment here, you will find many overwhelming comments about the episode with Francis on her own and this Friday’s episode. Hardly anyone comments when there is a Monty Longmeadow episode.
My intention is not to hurt, but to describe what I noticed in the recent months.
I enjoyed finding more out about Frances I think that the BBC may be promoting her up the ranks a bit, I remember when she was one of Alan Tichmarshe's helpers.
I really enjoyed the last GW too, best one for a long time. Lots of flowers, filmed well and a variety of gardeners presenting it made it more interesting.
At the risk of sounding petty I would just like to point out that Frances with an es is the spelling for a female and Francis with an is is the spelling for a male.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
@punkdoc Maybe there is another concept possible where the private garden of the presenter is less involved ?
They tried that, developing a garden from scratch from a field, with Toby Buckland and (I think) Joe Swift as the main presenters. I've nothing against either of them but the garden itself came across as soulless, just a string of projects, clearly not a real, lived-in garden. No house to base it around, they built walls as needed. And if I remember rightly, Berryfields (probably not its real name, the GW garden during Monty Don's first stint as main presenter) wasn't Monty's garden, but was a real privately-owned garden that GW rented. That worked better for me but that model must depend on finding a suitable garden.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I watched these episodes from the 90s on youtube and agree with @JennyJ.
But the mix with 3 presenters last Friday was stunning. If that works if it’s repeated, I don’t think so, but a brighter mix is more attractive than seeing one garden, imo.
I wonder if there are viewers records from each of the episodes shown this year. I might be totally wrong with my assumption and the majority prefers Monty’s concept.
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I ♥ my garden.
What I noticed with that episode was a change in camera work and music to a kind of story-telling concept rather than "here is a pot, here the soil".
I ♥ my garden.
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
At the risk of sounding petty I would just like to point out that Frances with an es is the spelling for a female and Francis with an is is the spelling for a male.
@punkdoc Maybe there is another concept possible where the private garden of the presenter is less involved ?
I ♥ my garden.
And if I remember rightly, Berryfields (probably not its real name, the GW garden during Monty Don's first stint as main presenter) wasn't Monty's garden, but was a real privately-owned garden that GW rented. That worked better for me but that model must depend on finding a suitable garden.
I ♥ my garden.