Bamboos can go from shining health to shabbiness in weeks. The problem is too much wind, too little water and tired compost. — Monty Don Flower Copy Share Image
When you plant something, you invest in a beautiful future amidst a stressful, chaotic and, at times, downright appalling world. — Monty Don Beautiful Copy Share Image
In my teens I wanted to be a rock star, I really did. At that time there was nothing I wanted more. — Monty Don Copy Share Image
I always see gardening as escape, as peace really. If you are angry or troubled, nothing provides the same solace as nurturing… — Monty Don Angry Copy Share Image
We undervalue food in this country, yet Britain has beautiful food and beautiful growing conditions. It is astonishing the range we can… — Monty Don Beautiful Copy Share Image
Many gardens are hijacked by their plants and end up looking like a room overstuffed with furniture. — Monty Don Copy Share Image
Pulmonarias need splitting every two or three years, as they rapidly develop into a doughnut with an empty centre that quickly gets… — Monty Don Copy Share Image
Trees are complicated, fascinating things, usually older and more beautiful than any of us. — Monty Don Beautiful Copy Share Image
Any British household with a scrap of land has always grown herbs for the kitchen. From the superb monastic herb gardens down… — Monty Don Copy Share Image
My basic philosophy is never do anything with the word 'celebrity' attached to it. Without being overly pompous, if you have worked… — Monty Don Copy Share Image
People are increasingly realising that what they eat is important. You can't put junk food in your body and be healthy. All… — Monty Don Diet Copy Share Image
The British have such an odd relationship with food - and the land. I want the public and the Soil Association to… — Monty Don British Copy Share Image
No apple is reliably self-fertile, so each tree needs a pollinator. A neighbour may well have an apple that will do that… — Monty Don Copy Share Image
I have been growing vegetables since I was a boy. When I was about 17 I was the only one of five… — Monty Don Children Copy Share Image
My father was an army officer who left the forces when I was six and never really fitted back into civilian life.… — Monty Don Army Copy Share Image
We don't value food in Britain, so therefore the cheaper it is the better it is. We all eat far too much,… — Monty Don Copy Share Image
Some plants become weeds simply by virtue of their success rather than any other factor. You merely want less of them. — Monty Don Flower Copy Share Image
Gardening is inevitably a process of constant, remorseless change. It is the constancy of that process that is so comforting, not any… — Monty Don Copy Share Image
You get older, you slow down. Failure feels like less of a humiliation and more of a balanced return. — Monty Don Failure Copy Share Image
In the end, color combinations come down to our personal preferences, which we must discover through observation and experiment. — Monty Don Beauty Copy Share Image
I have always felt that the best gardens aspired to coppice and that the best woods have all the elements of the… — Monty Don Copy Share Image
Gardening is easy. Stick it in the ground the right way up and most plants will grow perfectly well. — Monty Don Copy Share Image
A healthy plant is one that adapts best to the situation in which it finds itself. There is no objective measure of… — Monty Don Copy Share Image
I loathe nowheres - airports and bland hotels. I would rather be in an unpleasant, uncomfortable place rather than one just adrift,… — Monty Don Copy Share Image
The farm uses up a lot of my creative urges. It's a sort of rough and ready space, I don't film there. — Monty Don Copy Share Image
I am always more interested in people than plants. Nature doesn't make gardens, people make gardens. And the story of a garden… — Monty Don Flower Copy Share Image
What I love about French gardens is the combination of formal elegance and intellectual questioning. — Monty Don Beauty Copy Share Image
The truth is that wreaths have never really been part of my creative life. I like them and want them and know… — Monty Don Creative life Copy Share Image
I feel ashamed if my hands are too clean and untouched. It's a measure of how much time I've spent travelling and… — Monty Don Copy Share Image
I'm a great believer in trying things, so I've eaten witchetty grubs, a mountain frog, ostrich and alligator. I like tongue, I… — Monty Don Copy Share Image
When our jewellery business went into receivership we avoided bankruptcy by selling our houses and possessions. — Monty Don Business Copy Share Image
Coppice management depends upon the chosen tree being cut when the shoots are straight, vigorous and, critically, not shading out new growth. — Monty Don Being Copy Share Image
Ground elder, introduced by the Romans as a vegetable, is difficult to get rid of because it regrows from the smallest trace… — Monty Don Copy Share Image
I think we put far too much interest in trying to get ten to 20 year olds interested in gardening. I think… — Monty Don Age Copy Share Image
I had a difficult relationship with my parents, who died young, but they instilled self-discipline and a sense of honour and loyalty… — Monty Don Accountability Copy Share Image
Daffodils, blossom and tulips jostle to the front of the stage in April. I love these early perennials: they may be more… — Monty Don April Copy Share Image
Blackthorn has wicked spikes that are highly brittle and tend to snap off under the skin and then fester horribly. This means… — Monty Don Blackthorn Copy Share Image
For every gardener there is a minimum level of engagement that is needed to sustain and develop the relationship. There is no… — Monty Don Engagement Copy Share Image
I use the period between Christmas and New Year to potter about, think and completely change my mindset. In that easy no-man's-land… — Monty Don Change Copy Share Image
Once you engage with the simple enough business of feeding yourself, of soil and water, weather, season and harvest, it becomes personal.… — Monty Don Business Copy Share Image
