Monty Don facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Monty Don
OBE DL VMH
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Don in 2011
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| Born |
George Montagu Don
8 July 1955 |
| Nationality | English |
| Other names | Montagu Denis Wyatt Don |
| Alma mater | Magdalene College, Cambridge |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1989–present |
| Television | Gardeners' World |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Erskine (1983–present) |
Monty Don (born George Montagu Don on July 8, 1955) is a famous English gardener, TV presenter, and writer. He is most well-known as the main host of the BBC gardening show Gardeners' World.
Monty was born in Germany and grew up in England. He went to Magdalene College, Cambridge where he met his wife, Sarah. In the 1980s, they had a successful business selling jewelry. However, they faced financial difficulties after the stock market crash in 1987.
In 1989, Monty started his TV career on This Morning with a gardening segment. This led to more TV work and his own shows. He also began writing books, publishing his first one in 1990. For many years, he wrote a weekly gardening column for The Observer newspaper.
Monty became the main presenter of Gardeners' World in 2003. He took a break from the show between 2008 and 2011 due to illness. Since then, he has created and hosted many of his own gardening series, like Monty Don's Spanish Gardens in 2024.
Contents
Monty Don's Early Life and Education
George Montagu Don was born on July 8, 1955, in Iserlohn, West Germany. He is the youngest of five children. His father, Denis Thomas Keiller Don, was a soldier. His mother was Janet Montagu. When Monty was 10, he added his mother's maiden name, Wyatt, to his own, becoming Montagu Denis Wyatt Don.
Monty's family moved to Hampshire, England, when he was one year old. He attended several schools, including Malvern College. He worked on a building site and a pig farm while studying to retake his A-levels. As a teenager, Monty spent time in France, working as a gardener.
He later went to Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he studied English. There, he met his future wife, Sarah Erskine. Monty also took up boxing at Cambridge and became a "Half Blue" for the sport.
Monty Don's Career Journey
Starting a Jewelry Business
In 1981, Monty and Sarah started a business called Monty Don Jewellery in London. They designed and sold costume jewelry. Their business grew very quickly. Within five years, they had a shop in Knightsbridge and sold their jewelry in many stores across the UK. Even famous people like Boy George and Princess Diana were their customers.
However, the stock market crash of 1987 caused their business to almost go bankrupt. They lost their house and their business. This difficult time led Monty to start a new career in writing and TV.
Television Career
Early TV Work
By 1989, Monty had written several gardening articles. This led to him writing a gardening column for the Mail on Sunday. He also got a book deal and an invitation to try out for a gardening segment on the TV show This Morning. Monty got the job, and his first segment aired in October 1989.
After this, he got more TV work, including presenting shows like Holiday and Tomorrow's World for the BBC. In 1999, he and his wife presented Fork to Fork on Channel 4, a show about growing and cooking organic vegetables. He also hosted other gardening series like Real Gardens and Lost Gardens.
Hosting Gardeners' World
In 2003, Monty Don became the new main presenter of the popular BBC show Gardeners' World. He was the first self-taught gardener to host the show. Monty hosted the show until 2008 when he took a break to recover from an illness. He returned as host in 2011.
When he first started, Monty filmed the show in a rented garden. But when he returned in 2011, he began presenting from his own beautiful garden, Longmeadow, in Herefordshire. He often appeared on screen with his beloved Golden Retriever dogs.
In February 2024, Monty said he plans to continue hosting Gardeners' World for a few more years. He mentioned that he wants to do other projects too, but he still loves the show.
Monty Don's Own Series
Monty Don has also created and presented many of his own TV series. In 2005, he started a large garden project in Herefordshire, which was shown in the BBC series Growing Out of Trouble. In 2008, he presented Around the World in 80 Gardens, where he visited gardens all over the world.
He has also hosted shows like My Dream Farm (2010) and Mastercrafts (2010), which explored traditional British crafts. Monty has taken viewers on tours of gardens in other countries with series like Monty Don's Italian Gardens (2011) and Monty Don's French Gardens (2013).
Since 2014, Monty has hosted Big Dreams, Small Spaces, helping people create their dream gardens at home. He also presented The Secret History of the British Garden (2015), which looked at how British gardens have changed over time. More recently, he has explored gardens inspired by paradise in Monty Don's Paradise Gardens (2018), and visited gardens in Japan (2019), America (2020), the Adriatic region (2022), and Spain (2024).
Writing Books
Monty Don sees himself mainly as a writer. He has written many books about gardening and his own life. In 1994, he started writing a weekly gardening column for The Observer newspaper, which he continued for many years. He has also written articles for the Daily Mail.
In 2005, he published The Jewel Garden: A Story of Despair and Redemption, which tells the story of his home and gardens at Longmeadow with his wife Sarah. He also wrote Nigel: My Family and Other Dogs, an audiobook about his dogs.
Monty Don's Personal Life
His Family
Monty Don married Sarah Erskine in 1983. They have two sons and a daughter. They lived in London for a while before moving to Herefordshire in 1989. There, they created their first garden at a country house called The Hanburies. The story of this garden was in Monty's first book, The Prickotty Bush.
In 1991, the Dons bought a new home in Ivington, Herefordshire. They worked hard to fix up the house and create their famous garden, Longmeadow.
His Dogs
Monty Don loves dogs and has owned many throughout his life. His Golden Retrievers, Nigel and Nell, and his Yorkshire Terrier, Patti, have often appeared on Gardeners' World with him.
Nigel was a very popular Golden Retriever who appeared on Gardeners' World many times. He was chosen as a puppy in 2008. Viewers loved Nigel, and he became a big part of the show. Sadly, Nigel passed away in May 2020, just before his 12th birthday. Monty shared that Nigel was more than a companion and helped him through difficult times.
Nellie, another Golden Retriever, passed away in October 2023. Monty also has a Golden Retriever named Ned and Patti, a Yorkshire Terrier, who are often seen on the show. The graves of many of Monty's beloved pets, including dogs and cats, are in his garden at Longmeadow.
Health and Well-being
Monty Don has openly spoken about his experiences with depression since his twenties. He found that gardening helps him feel better. He once said that gardening "heals me better than any medicine."
In 2008, Monty had a minor health issue. He took a break from his TV career to recover. He has also mentioned that years of gardening have caused him some knee pain.
Awards and Recognition
Monty Don has received several honors for his work.
- In 2018, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). This award recognized his contributions to gardening, broadcasting, and charity work.
- In May 2022, he received the Victoria Medal of Honour from the Royal Horticultural Society. This is a very special award in the world of horticulture.
- In October 2024, he was appointed as a deputy lieutenant of Herefordshire.
