Yorkshire Terrier The Yorkshire Terrier (often shortened as Yorkie) is one of the smallest dog breeds of the terrier type and indeed of any dog breed. The breed developed during the 19th century in Yorkshire, England. Don is also known for writing and presenting his own series. In 2005, he set up a

smallholding A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

in Herefordshire so a group of young drug offenders could work the land. The project was documented for the BBC series ''Growing Out of Trouble'', airing in 2006. This was followed by the ambitious BBC series ''

Around the World in 80 Gardens ''Around the World in 80 Gardens'' is a television series of 10 programmes in which British gardener and broadcaster Monty Don visits 80 of the world's most celebrated gardens. The series was filmed over a period of 18 months and was first broadc ...

'' in 2008, where Don visited 80 gardens of a variety of styles worldwide. In 2010, Don presented ''My Dream Farm'', a Channel 4 series which helped people learn to become successful smallholders, and ''Mastercrafts'', a BBC series which celebrated six traditional British crafts. ''

Monty Don's Italian Gardens ''Monty Don's Italian Gardens'' is a television series of 4 programmes in which British gardener and broadcaster Monty Don visits several of Italy's most celebrated gardens. Steve Wilson composed the title and theme music on the series. A book b ...

'' aired on the BBC in 2011, which was followed by ''

Monty Don's French Gardens ''Monty Don's French Gardens'' is a television series of three programmes in which British gardener and broadcaster Monty Don visits several of France's most celebrated gardens. A book based on the series, ''The Road to Le Tholonet: A French Ga ...

'', in 2013. Later that year, Don presented an episode of ''

Great British Garden Revival ''Great British Garden Revival'' is a British documentary television series that was first broadcast on BBC Two on 9 December 2013. The series was presented by Monty Don, Carol Klein, Joe Swift, Rachel De Thame, James Wong, Tom Hart Dyke, C ...

''. In 2014, Don became the lead presenter for the BBC's flagship Chelsea Flower Show coverage, again replacing Titchmarsh. In 2015, Don presented the four-part BBC series ''The Secret History of the British Garden'', charting the development of British gardens from the 17th to the 20th century. Since 2014, Don has presented three series of ''Big Dreams, Small Spaces'', where he helps amateur gardeners in creating their own "dream spaces" on a domestic scale. Don's next series was '' Monty Don's Paradise Gardens'' in 2018, travelling across the Islamic world and beyond in search of paradise gardens and considering their place in the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

. This was followed by ''Monty Don's Japanese Gardens'' in 2019, ''Monty Don's American Gardens'' in 2020, and ''Monty Don's Adriatic Gardens'' in 2022.

Writer

Don has described himself primarily as a writer, "who happens to have lots of television work." By the early 1990s, Don had written two unpublished novels, ''The Clematis Affair'' and ''An Afternoon in Padua''. He later described them as "excruciatingly bad". In January 1994, Allan Jenkins, then editor of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'', invited Don to write a weekly gardening column for the newspaper. The column began in February of that year and lasted until May 2006; Jenkins was his editor for seven years. In a piece from 2004 to commemorate the tenth year of the column, Don wrote: "It has been more life-changing than any other work I have done in my adult life." Don has written articles for the '' Daily Mail'' and Mail Online since 2004. In 2005 the book ''The Jewel Garden: A Story of Despair and Redemption'', a joint autobiography and the story of their home and gardens at Longmeadow, by Don and his wife Sarah, was published by

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

. In 2016 Hodder Books published an

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

of Don's ''Nigel: My Family and Other Dogs'', read by the author.

Style and reception

Between 2008 and 2016 Don was President of the

Soil Association The Soil Association is a British registered charity. The organisation activities include campaigning – against intensive farming, for local purchasing and public education on nutrition – and certification of organic foods. It was establ ...

. He is currently a patron of Bees for Development Trust and the Pope's Grotto Preservation Trust. Don had never received formal training as a gardener. In 2006 he commented, "I was – am – an amateur gardener and a professional writer. My only authority came from a lifetime of gardening and a passion amounting to an obsession for my own garden." Don is a keen proponent of organic gardening, becoming "officially" organic in his own garden in 1997. The practice of organic techniques often features in his published and broadcast work. The organic approach is most prominent in his 2003 book ''The Complete Gardener''. This has led him into some controversy with those advocating non-organic techniques, with some criticising his position of influence presenting ''Gardeners' World'' and exclusion of non-organic solutions to pests and diseases in the garden. Don's sartorial style in the garden has been the subject of some critical attention, with

Richard D. North Richard D. North (born 1946), is a UK conservative commentator. He worked for ''The Independent'' newspaper as its first environment correspondent (1986–1990) and then as environmental columnist for ''The Sunday Times'' (1990–1992). His bo ...

commenting, in 2013: In 2005, Don himself dedicated a whole column to this subject, commenting: In June 2020 '' Prospect'' magazine declared Don "the nation's gardener". Comedian

Joe Lycett Joe Harry Lycett, also known by the self-given moniker Mummy, is an English comedian, painter and television presenter. Known for his sardonically camp style, whimsical public stunts and elaborate set designs, Lycett has been described as one ...

has described Monty Don as a

gay icon A gay icon is a public figure who is regarded as a cultural icon of some members of the LGBT community. The most widely recognized gay icons are often actresses and singers who garnered large LGBT fanbases, such as Judy Garland, Madonna, Diana Ros ...

Personal life

Family

Don married Sarah Erskine in 1983. They have two sons, Adam and Tom, and daughter Freya. The couple lived in Islington, north London, while Don pursued postgraduate study at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

and worked as a waiter at Joe Allen restaurant in Covent Garden and later as a binman. The couple then moved to the

De Beauvoir Town De Beauvoir Town is a neighbourhood in east London and is in the London Borough of Hackney, north of the City of London. The area was a part of the Hackney; the Ancient Parish and subsequent Metropolitan Borough that was incorporated into t ...

area of Hackney where they made their first garden. In 1989, they relocated to The Hanburies, a country house in Herefordshire. The making of the garden there, and the subsequent loss of the house in the aftermath of the crash of their jewellery business, was the subject of Don's first book, ''The Prickotty Bush''. In 1991, the Dons bought a home in

Ivington Ivington () is a village in the county of Herefordshire, England, approximately 13 miles (21 km) north of Hereford. It is about 2 miles (3 km) south-west of its post town Leominster. The population as of the 2011 census was included wit ...

, Herefordshire where they started to create a new garden named Longmeadow. The home was unfit to live in at the time of purchase, so while they refurbished it they rented a home in

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster i ...

that was infested with rats and had no heating. They moved into their Ivington home at the end of 1992.

Nigel and other dogs

Don has owned many dogs throughout his adult life. Three that he currently own are Nellie and Ned,

Golden Retrievers The Golden Retriever is a Scottish breed of retriever dog of medium size. It is characterised by a gentle and affectionate nature and a striking golden coat. It is commonly kept as a pet and is among the most frequently registered breeds ...

, and Patti, a

Yorkshire terrier The Yorkshire Terrier (often shortened as Yorkie) is one of the smallest dog breeds of the terrier type and indeed of any dog breed. The breed developed during the 19th century in Yorkshire, England.Gardeners' World ''Gardeners' World'' is a long-running British gardening programme, first broadcast on 5 January 1968. The 2022 series is the 53rd. Its first series was presented by Ken Burras and came from Oxford Botanical Gardens. Up until 2020 most of its e ...

'', sometimes with Nellie. The dog was chosen as a seven-week-old puppy from a litter in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

on 1 July 2008 and was popular with viewers who were concerned when he disappeared from the programme in September 2012. He had injured himself after twisting sideways when jumping to catch a tennis ball and had ruptured an intervertebral disc in his spine. Nigel recovered and resumed his television appearances. Don said that he had chosen Nigel because the

domestic dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is Domestication of the dog, derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's n ...

signifies the good and bad in human relationships with nature; humans can prioritise fluffy animals over others. In September 2016 an autobiographical book entitled ''Nigel: my family and other dogs'' was published, telling the story of Nigel and the other dogs in Don's life, including the female golden retriever, Nellie. On 11 May 2020 Don announced, through his

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and Instagram pages, that Nigel had died, six days before his 12th birthday. Don told the BBC Radio 4 ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

'' programme that Nigel had been more than a companion and had helped him with his struggles with depression. He said, "He was a bear of slightly limited brain, what he had was this absolute sense of purity. He exuded a kind of unsullied innocence and we all love our dogs, everybody thinks their dog is special, I've had lots of dogs and there was something special about Nigel." As with Don's other dogs, Nigel is buried in the garden at Longmeadow.

Health

Don has suffered with depression since his mid-twenties. He first wrote about his experiences with it, and its effect on his personal life, in a piece for ''The Observer'' in 2000. His editor recalled that it "changed the way that people saw him" and Don himself said the article generated "a very immediate response" from readers. Don recalled "great spans of muddy time" in his life and realised that gardening "heals me better than any medicine". This quote served as the inspiration for William Doyle's 2021 album ''Great Spans of Muddy Time''. At one point, Don's wife threatened to leave with their children if he did not seek help. After receiving cognitive behavioural therapy and taking

Prozac Fluoxetine, sold under the brand names Prozac and Sarafem, among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is used for the treatment of major depressive disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorde ...

for a short time, Don quit both when he realised his depression was mostly seasonal, which he attributed to

seasonal affective disorder Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a mood disorder subset, in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year exhibit depressive symptoms at the same time each year. Common symptoms include sleeping too much, having li ...

, and found relief with a

lightbox A lightbox is a translucent surface illuminated from behind, used for situations where a shape laid upon the surface needs to be seen with high contrast. Types Several varieties exist, depending on their purpose: * Various backlit viewing d ...

. In August 2007, Don suffered from a bout of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part o ...

, an abdominal infection. His wife had found him unconscious on the floor and he was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. In February 2008, Don suffered a minor stroke at home. He had been feeling unwell since the previous Christmas, owing mostly to exhaustion from travelling to film ''Around the World in 80 Gardens''. When his symptoms did not improve, a

brain scan Neuroimaging is the use of quantitative (computational) techniques to study the structure and function of the central nervous system, developed as an objective way of scientifically studying the healthy human brain in a non-invasive manner. Incr ...

weeks later revealed a temporary blockage in one of the arteries to his brain. In May 2008 he put his career on hold to recover. In 2015 Don said that years of gardening had left him with sore knees, one of which causes constant pain and needs replacing. In May 2022 it was reported that Don had

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

and had been bedridden for four days.

Other

In July 2006 he appeared on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'', choosing an eclectic mix of pop and classical records;

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' " A Hard Day's Night" was his favourite disc, his book choice was ''Collected Poems'' by

Henry Vaughan Henry Vaughan (17 April 1621 – 23 April 1695) was a Welsh metaphysical poet, author and translator writing in English, and a medical physician. His religious poetry appeared in ''Silex Scintillans'' in 1650, with a second part in 1655.''Oxfo ...

and his luxury item the painting
Hendrikje Bathing
' by Rembrandt. Shortly before he fell ill with his stroke, Don had launched the Monty Don Project, a charity to help persistent offenders and drug addicts heal themselves by working the land.

Honours

Don was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the

2018 Birthday Honours The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

for services to horticulture, to broadcasting and to charity. In May 2022 he was awarded the

Victoria Medal of Honour The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society. The award was established in 1897 "in per ...

by the council of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

Publications

Books

DVDs

* ''

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2011) * ''

'' (2013) * ''Monty Don's Real Craft'' (2014) * ''The Secret History of the British Garden'' (2015) * '' Monty Don's Paradise Gardens'' (2018) * ''Monty Don's Japanese Gardens'' (2019) * ''Monty Don's American Gardens'' (2020)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Don, Monty 1955 births Living people People from Iserlohn 20th-century English non-fiction writers 21st-century English writers Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge English garden writers English people of Scottish descent English television presenters English gardeners People educated at Malvern College People from Herefordshire Officers of the Order of the British Empire Organic gardeners

Early life and education

Career

Jewellery business

Television

Early career

''Gardeners' World''