Monty Don has revealed it’s ‘pointless’ to plant magnolias at his Longmeadow home in Herefordshire as he gears up for a major transformation of The Jewel Garden.
The gardening guru, best known for hosting Gardeners’ World, is putting all his efforts into revamping the space that hasn’t seen a full uplift in over a decade.
Labelled the “physical and spiritual centre of the entire garden”, The Jewel Garden is high on Monty’s agenda, but plans to enrich it with magnolias have been thwarted.
Due to severe late frosts, magnolias haven’t thrived there, and Monty, speaking to BBC Gardeners’ World magazine, said: “Our propensity for sharp late frosts means that no magnolia has ever been happy at Longmeadow – and I have long learned that it is pointless to persevere with any plant that does not want to be with you, regardless of its suitability on paper.”
Monty was speaking to the Gardeners’ World magazine
(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
These vibrant blooms typically flower from early spring to late summer, but Monty finds himself more accustomed to tending the garden in chillier times.
He notes that while other areas burgeon with springtime growth, The Jewel Garden often stays barren until April or May.
Monty Don’s expressions of deep affection for his Jewel Garden were evident on his website as he described it: “The Jewel Garden is the physical and spiritual centre of the entire garden. Everything revolves around it,” reports the Express.
He added: “It was made as a celebration of all the good things relating to our jewellery business in the 1980’s and all the colours are jewellery or metallic in some way and the tone just like the 1980’s – brash, extravagant and high maintenance!
“This means that it is rich and intense and that is intensified by the extraordinary vigorous growth of plants in our wonderful Herefordshire loam.”
Fans can look forward to exploring more insights as Monty Don’s British Gardens makes its return to BBC Two tomorrow (January 17) at 8pm.