Gardeners’ World host Monty Don has been discussing the virtues of a climbing plant, as he opened up on a major change at his famous Longmeadow garden that he has come to regret
Monty Don has admitted that he regrets making a certain change to his Herefordshire garden(Image: Jeff Spicer, Getty Images)
Monty Don has confessed to regretting a particular alteration to his renowned Longmeadow garden, though he remains optimistic about reversing it. His remarks emerged while championing the merits of ivy, which can leave some individuals “agitated”, especially when it creeps up buildings.
Monty explained that many assume ivy “destroys the surface” of structures, which he acknowledged is accurate to “some extent”. He pointed out this happens with highly porous surfaces, though it only self-suckers during its initial growth.
He told the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast: “As it matures, it doesn’t. What you do get is roots. You get surface roots that come out of the stem and, to some extent, they attach themselves to the surface.”
Monty clarified that when surfaces are poorly rendered with cracks, ivy conceals them. Rainwater can subsequently get behind it. This means when the ivy is stripped away, it can pull the render off too.
Monty emphasised it’s “not the ivy” causing this, insisting the plant is actually securing it in place. He observed it had gained a “bad reputation” consequently and highlighted several of ivy’s benefits.
He said it can “look lovely” before disclosing he has some in his own garden, Longmeadow. In fact, he actively promotes its growth up trees and along the ground, noting it’s “fantastic for wildlife”. Later, Monty revealed he’d even come to regret tearing out ivy, stating: “So, I think we have this fetishisation that it is a terrible thing; it’s not.
“In its place, handled properly, it’s a wonderful plant, fabulous for wildlife, can look great, and, you know, I’ve got it growing on, you know…we’ve got it on various walls. And, in fact, we stripped a wall of ivy this last winter because it got out of hand.”
He went on to say: “We took it all off. I rather regret it now. It will grow back; we didn’t take the plant out. It will come back. But actually, I’m…you know, with hindsight, maybe we could have just pruned it hard.”
Elsewhere, fans of Monty have been revisiting his April 2024 blog, in which he highlighted key jobs to bear in mind as spring gets underway, stressing that the main focus should be getting things under control and avoiding the urge to “scalp your grass”.
During April, it’s advisable to mow as infrequently as possible, given that longer grass supports wildlife and can look equally appealing. Monty further suggested maintaining certain patches of shorter grass for leisure and practical purposes.
He commented: “Whatever your grass-cutting inclinations, resist the temptation to scalp your grass down to its midsummer height. Set the blades high and just trim the grass for the first few weeks as much to even it out as to reduce it.
“Then, as the weather gets warmer and the grass starts to grow more strongly, gradually reduce the height over a few weeks but always keeping it slightly on the long side. This will result in a much healthier, greener sward.”
Catch Gardeners’ World tonight (Friday, April 3) on BBC Two from 8am to 9am.
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