All Podcasts / Dig It with Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball / 80: Monty Don: Bare Bum, Begonias and British Gardens
Dig It with Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball
Dig It with Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball

80: Monty Don: Bare Bum, Begonias and British Gardens

April 01, 2026 • 34m

Summary

⏱️ 8 min read

Overview

Zoe Ball and Jo Wiley welcome the legendary Monty Don to discuss his new book 'British Gardens,' exploring what makes a garden distinctly British, from horticultural excellence with easy charm to the democratic nature of gardening that transcends all boundaries. The episode also covers practical gardening advice for cosmos and tomatoes, hilarious stories about garden mishaps with livestock, and announces Kellogg's Club Breakfast rave event.

What Makes a Garden British

Monty Don explores the essence of British gardening, highlighting gardens like Woollerton Old Hall that exemplify the British style. He describes the unique combination of wonderful plants, subtle color design, and high-level horticulture that appears natural and effortlessly thrown together while hiding intense work beneath the surface. He argues that gardening, along with football and dogs, is one of only three things in British life that truly cuts through all social barriers.

  • Woollerton Old Hall exemplifies British gardening with its mix of interesting plants, subtle color use, and skilled horticulture that feels natural
  • British gardens have an element of easy charm hiding intense work underneath, like mad paddling beneath the water
  • Gardening is one of only three things in British life that cuts through race, class, and creed - the others being football and dogs
  • While snobbishness exists in gardening, it encompasses all human frailty and isn't limited to any particular class
" I reckon there are only three things in British life that do that. It's gardening, football and dogs. And those are the three absolute lingua francas. "
" It's that element of easy charm hiding a mad paddling underneath the water that's gone on and does go on. And I think other countries, with honorable exceptions, never quite get that. "

The Garden Gnome Story

Monty shares a fascinating historical tale about Sir Charles Isham of Lamport Hall in Northamptonshire, who introduced garden gnomes to Britain in the 1840s. Sir Charles genuinely believed the gnomes were alive, spending 50 years caring for them, providing them work, and even mediating when they went on strike. After his death, his daughters held a party where guests shot all the gnomes except one, which survived and is now insured for a million pounds.

  • Sir Charles Isham was the first person to introduce garden gnomes to Britain, bringing them from Germany in the 1840s
  • He built a vast rockery with his own hands and absolutely believed the gnomes were alive
  • After his death in 1902, his daughters held a party and shot all the gnomes except one that fell behind rocks
  • The surviving gnome is now insured for a million pounds and kept under lock and key
" He absolutely believed they were alive. I mean, no, they were living. They were alive. And he spent the next 50 years looking after them, and he provided them work and he fed them and he's got pictures that they went on strike and so he had to sort out the strike. "
" So I asked to see it and they came out. It's this little thing. I mean, it just looks like a little garden gnome. And it's insured for a million pounds. "

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