Only just heard the awful news(well I have been busy - Christmas etc). How has this disaster happened? Toby and Alys were such a joy to watch. Why would I want to watch Monty who is so dreary and miserable? I looked foward to GW with Toby and recorded every one to watch. I won't bother if monty is back. Why is he back?
I am sorry that Toby will not be presenting Gardeners world. I liked Monty and Alan and Geoff- that should give you an indication of how long I have been watching> My weekly moans and groans have not centred around the presenters but rather around the filming and the dumbing down of gardening! Established and new gardeners need explicit details with camera work focusing on the plants and soil rather than on the presenter - so come on - stop focusing on the presenter and start showing that you really are a gardening programme which wants fellow gardeners to benefit from the weekly programme.
In the wake of the financial climate we decided not to buy any Christmas presents.Imagine my surprise when I received one smashing present from the BBC in the form of Monty Don. I am so happy,yes I am in my fifties and Monty is just great. I also can't wait to see his beautiful garden. I do admit I am sorry to see Toby go,please BBC give him his own programme. Alys is just to quirky for me, Rachel for a bit of elegant glamour is just perfect. So,can't wait until March and to all gardeners out there 'Be nice...'
What wretched news. Toby was a gardener I could relate to, and his style was well judged. He'll be missed, as will Alys Fowler. Let's hope some other channel snaps them up.
It's a great pity the BBC is revisiting the past - it could have redeemed itself by looking forward with someone with real expertise, like Chris Beardshaw. It's a personal view, but I find M Don unwatchable: patronising, pompous, opinionated and uninspiring.
Two more viewers lost, I'm afraid. Not that the BBC will care.
Oh me miserum - how can the BBC wreck what is so good and make it so bad ? Why remove such an excellent pair of good gardeners and revert to the old bad one. I like my garden presenters to have a sound knowledge base in their subject. I am not too sure that a bit of business experience in costume jewellery quite cuts the mustard when it comes to gardening. I note that most of those in favour of the expresenter Monty comment that "like" him - not respect him. I respect Toby - clever chap and honourable too. More than you can say for the BBC - or indeed Monty who should have had better grace than to double back on a new man. Bad form that. Then to most who say that Rachel is either glamorous or elegant (which she is) I would say again that I look for more than that in someone giving me gardening advice.Alys is a delight and very well qualified in gardening. I loved her quirkyness. Most academics I know are quirky and when I look for knowledge it is from them that I seek it - not the pretty assistant. When the BBC become aware that their garden content is just all for show then perhaps they can put on a programme for real gardeners who want more than "bling". I will forget about TV gardening until then.
I am 65 and have gardened since I was a child. Both my parents were keen, practical gardeners too, so I have a fairly sound understanding of what I have to do to make plants grow well but I am always learning. Some viewers might think that Monty Don is a good presenter, but he isn't a qualified professional gardener. I only returned to watching Gardeners World when he left. I found he lacked substance and real knowledge. Too much of a prima donna for my taste.
I think Toby is a true professional and I learned much from him. I am very sorry to see him leave.
Could we have Toby in a programme for the people who want a real gardener and Monty Don for those who belong to the his fan club and would watch anything he presented?
I can't say I'll miss Alys. Very sound background but too fey for my taste. But strange to get rid of her if the BBC wants to appeal to younger people. Give me Carol every time. And Alan Titchmarsh too. They are both gardeners down to their toes and excellent presenters.
I'm really pleased Monty is returning, and also that the programme will come from a 'real' garden. Somehow the Greenacre site just hasn't rung true and I was beginning to lose interest.My only regret is that I really liked Alys and am sorry that we shall no longer see her on the programme. At least it will be returning to its 'roots'!
Apologies: I was unfair to Monty in my post. Wrong target.
The BBC are the body I should have criticised. They seem to be floundering over what Gardeners' World is, and who it's for. So they're chopping and changing like a clueless football club chairman. What they've done looks to me like a retrograde step - unfair to the team they've kicked out and utterly unimaginative.
Sadly, it looks to me as though the programme's great days, with expert presenters like Geoff Hamilton, Alan Titchmarsh and their colleagues, are firmly in the past. It's a great shame, but the end of the programme's long run is probably not far off.
Posts
It's a great pity the BBC is revisiting the past - it could have redeemed itself by looking forward with someone with real expertise, like Chris Beardshaw. It's a personal view, but I find M Don unwatchable: patronising, pompous, opinionated and uninspiring.
Two more viewers lost, I'm afraid. Not that the BBC will care.
I note that most of those in favour of the expresenter Monty comment that "like" him - not respect him. I respect Toby - clever chap and honourable too. More than you can say for the BBC - or indeed Monty who should have had better grace than to double back on a new man. Bad form that.
Then to most who say that Rachel is either glamorous or elegant (which she is) I would say again that I look for more than that in someone giving me gardening advice.Alys is a delight and very well qualified in gardening. I loved her quirkyness. Most academics I know are quirky and when I look for knowledge it is from them that I seek it - not the pretty assistant.
When the BBC become aware that their garden content is just all for show then perhaps they can put on a programme for real gardeners who want more than "bling". I will forget about TV gardening until then.
Some viewers might think that Monty Don is a good presenter, but he isn't a qualified professional gardener. I only returned to watching Gardeners World when he left. I found he lacked substance and real knowledge. Too much of a prima donna for my taste.
I think Toby is a true professional and I learned much from him. I am very sorry to see him leave.
Could we have Toby in a programme for the people who want a real gardener and Monty Don for those who belong to the his fan club and would watch anything he presented?
I can't say I'll miss Alys. Very sound background but too fey for my taste. But strange to get rid of her if the BBC wants to appeal to younger people. Give me Carol every time. And Alan Titchmarsh too. They are both gardeners down to their toes and excellent presenters.
The BBC are the body I should have criticised. They seem to be floundering over what Gardeners' World is, and who it's for. So they're chopping and changing like a clueless football club chairman. What they've done looks to me like a retrograde step - unfair to the team they've kicked out and utterly unimaginative.
Sadly, it looks to me as though the programme's great days, with expert presenters like Geoff Hamilton, Alan Titchmarsh and their colleagues, are firmly in the past. It's a great shame, but the end of the programme's long run is probably not far off.