Monty Don: Birthday Blooms for Britain’s Garden Guru
This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast:
July 8, 2019
On this day, we toast the illustrious Monty Don on his natal anniversary! One cannot help but wonder if the flowers in his garden stand a touch taller today, as if paying homage to their most devoted chronicler.
For those living under a particularly dense shrub, Mr. Don is England's preeminent television presenter, writer, and horticultural virtuoso, having captivated the nation's gardening enthusiasts as the face of the BBC's beloved Gardeners' World. His gentle authority and genuine passion have turned even the most reluctant among us into eager observers of seasonal change.
This past year has seen our birthday gentleman venture beyond the manicured hedges of British tradition, as he penned the magnificent Japanese Gardens: a journey by Monty Don and Derry Moore, serving as the literary companion to his BBC2 series. One imagines the manuscript pages fluttering like cherry blossoms across his desk as he composed it.
In this deeply personal and lyrical exploration of both traditional and modern Japanese garden design, Don invites us on an intimate promenade through centuries of Eastern horticultural philosophy. His narrative weaves through stone gardens and mossy retreats, revealing how these spaces transform through Japan's spectacular seasonal ballet.
The disciplined restraint of Japanese gardens presents a fascinating counterpoint to the exuberant cottage gardens so cherished in Britain.
Perhaps there is wisdom to be found in both approaches—the wild abandonment of an English border and the contemplative stillness of a raked gravel sea. Don, ever the thoughtful guide, illuminates these contrasts with his characteristic eloquence.
Should you find yourself with secateurs in hand today, consider snipping an extra bloom in honor of Mr. Don.
After all, what better tribute to a man who has taught us that gardens are not merely collections of plants, but rather expressions of our deepest connections to the natural world?
As we mark his passage around the sun once more, we extend our gratitude to this most genial gardening companion.
May his spade remain sharp, his knowledge ever-expanding, and his enthusiasm as perennial as the gardens he tends.
