Gardeners World

[Houseplanter]

Is it me or is this way past its best.

I want to know how to DO things.. what to plant, where, when. How to propagate.

Monty we don't have gardens big enough to leave to go wild and mow a path through..

I don't want to see endless videos of other peoples gardens either.

I've done BBC Gardeners World twice and a Chelsea special once (filming here, I mean). I've also been a botanical consultant on Channel 4 garden programmes, back in the day when there were such things.I always gossip chat with the gofers as there's lots of hanging around. The consistent chat is that Monty can be short if people are dithery and unprofessional, but is mostly kind and courteous. He is a one-take wonder in that he generally gets it spot on the first time. I find him knowledgeable and cultured which are qualities I admire. You may not, but it doesn't make him ignorant - he isn't. Nobody learns scripts-you think about what you want to say, listen to the director's suggestions, and go over it in your head before your take. It's how television works.
Having said that, my last GW was recorded a couple of weeks ago and it was not as good an experience one as previous occasions. Dreading it airing- don't want to watch!

Let’s hope it comes across better than you expect, MaxandMeg!

@GertrudeJekyllAndHyde I hope so too, but the director sort of imposed a narrative that was precisely the one I was trying to avoid. But hey-ho! I'm irritated but not really surprised. It was the most obvious angle so they took it. Lazy...

Argh. That must be very frustrating. Fingers crossed it pays off in increasing your visitor numbers, but perhaps you don’t need that?

Last year I met a garden hand tool sales rep who was friends with someone who used to write scripts for Gardeners World with reference being made to Monty Don. A further comment was made by the sales rep to me from their friend script writer who stated “he knows very little”

Monty Don does not have any horticultural training unlike Gardeners World presenters of old.

I'm RHS trained and have worked for the National Trust. Horticultural training only provides a structure of information and skills - all of which can be acquired from books and by getting your hands in the soil. Interestingly, a lot of what is taught to be 'the proper way of gardening' is based on the way of doing things in old country houses and a lot of that was only set down in order to keep the crowd of gardeners busy all year round.

Some of the most proficient and knowledgeable gardeners I have met in my 60 years have had absolutely no training. Passion and application are worth a hundred exam results. Carol Klein who is one of our most revered (by the RHS too) gardeners trained as an art teacher not a gardener. She has forgotten more than most RHS trained gardeners will ever know.

I've met Monty. He's a nice guy and knows his stuff. He made his garden with his bare hands.......anyone who has seen his garden would know that to say 'he knows very little' is untrue.

Churchview - My view exactly. There are diverse routes to knowledge and expertise, of which RHS training is only one.

@GertrudeJekyllAndHyde Great user name.

Thank you! Wish I’d thought of it sooner!

I enjoyed the Chelsea coverage, and last night's programme. Monty seems a bit more enthusiastic nowadays. Good to see Adam and Carol (Carol put up a new Insta post saying that while she was at Chelsea, her breast cancer consultant rang to give her the all clear 😀)

I liked the guy with the wild garden on the housing estate, he was really interesting, I'd like to see him do regular slots.

I enjoyed last night’s programme, too, and was delighted to see Carol’s post on Instagram.

Adam is the best of the current bunch, closely followed by Frances but Geof was outstanding. I learned so much from him. His gardens are reasonably local to us so we visit there and it brings back so many memories. They have a lovely plant nursery and do the best afternoon tea I've ever eaten so if you are in striking distance it's a good day out

I enjoyed last night's programme but it did seem a bit all-over-the-place. They seemed to be talking about flowers from three different seasons all at the same time. I think that if I was a novice I'd be a bit confused!
I'm so pleased to see Monty introducing a lawn. Are they finally coming back into fashion?

Such great news about Carol.

I don’t think lawns are fashionable, but they most certainly are functional, and that matters too. I think they could be clearer with the season when inserts were filmed . But it was a good show last night. I was feeling quite stressed and I felt it bringing my heart rate down.

They did say Carol's piece was filmed last September, but I don't think they mentioned the other segments. Adam must have been filmed back in April as he was walking through wild garlic.

I thought Monty was going to have a lot of watering for that grass seed at this time of year, although I guess it has rained a lot!

We lost interest in GW when one of the presenters decided to get an allotment and constructed triangular raised beds (against the advice of the old-timers) which, as predicted, were a disaster. Between his arrogance and the snobbery of both Alan and Monty, who talked about ‘small’ gardens that were approximately the size of a football pitch, we found nothing in it we could identify with.

Great news about Carol.
I really liked the bee/wild flower guy too.

I love the viewers' videos. Memorable ones for me were the German guy in Somerset wearing the home made traditional Somerset smock made by his late wife. The little boy with the elephant garlic. The Cloud Gardener with the high rise balcony and the plants with names. I follow him on facebook and see him pop up regularly on things like Chelsea flower show. I also like seeing ones abroad. There've been some good ones with indoor plant filled homes too.

I often see the book Joe’s Allotment that accompanied that part of Gardeners’ World program in charity shops and more often than not in unread condition.
Last week I saw a copy in a hospital second hand book shop.

I think Joe eventually gave up his allotment as it had mare's tail which he'd rotavated into every square inch of the place.

But from an age when the amount of chemical use recommended would be problematical to our ears.

Alan and Monty, who talked about ‘small’ gardens that were approximately the size of a football pitch One of the classic gardening books from the early 20th century said “no garden, no matter how small, should be without its quarter acre of nut trees”.

I haven’t been back to look at his books, and I may be doing him a disservice, but I feel Percy was of a vintage where the answers to any gardening problem were douse it in chemicals, kill it or douse it in chemicals in order to kill it. Times have changed.

MereDint - Was that one of Vita Sackville West’s books? I recall a similar lofty remark of hers, something on the lines of “a small vegetable patch of half an acre”.

I think they do make an effort to represent small gardens, balconies and indoor plant growers now.