Monty Don

Monty Don, gardener, writer, speaker, and broadcaster.

Monty Don was born in Germany, brought up in Hampshire and graduated from Cambridge in ’79. Since 1988 he has worked full-time as a gardening author and journalist.

His television career began on Granada’s This Morning and continued with Channel 4’s Real Gardens, Fork to Fork, Lost Garden and Dom Roaming. He presented Around the World in 80 Gardens and Gardeners’ World from 2003 to 2008. Away from gardening he has presented Tomorrow’s World, Painting Flowers and filmed around 70 items for Holiday, Summer Holiday and Holidays Out all for BBC Television.

He has enjoyed presenting RHS shows from Chelsea, Hampton Court and Tatton Park for Channel 4. Guest appearances include a University Challenge Celebrity Christmas Special and the ancestry show Who Do You Think You Are?.

Monty has written for The Observer (1994-2006), has writes a column for the Daily Mail, writes for Gardeners’ World magazine and for Amateur Gardening. Since the publication of his first book, The Prickotty Bush, in 1990 he has written more than fifteen more!

Alongside his television and writing work, he has appeared seven times at Hay Literary Festival, as both speaker and interviewer. He has also spoken at Edinburgh Literary Festival, the Cheltenham Literary Festival, and Dartington ‘Way With Words’.

In January 2018 he presented a two-part BBC series Paradise Gardens, travelling across the Islamic world and beyond considering the place of gardens in the Qur’an. Recently Monty has presented Monty Don’s Japanese Gardens in 2019, Monty Don’s American Gardens in 2020, and in 2022 the three-part Monty Don’s Adriatic Gardens visiting Venice, Corfu, Croatia, and Athens.

Monty actively supports and is dedicated to the charities Thrive, specialising in providing gardening opportunities to people with a range of mental health problems, and, The Soil Association. He is currently a patron of the Bees for Development Trust.

Contact Monty Don via Specialist Speakers for speaking and presentation in both in-person and virtual settings. Call 01455 633289 to speak to an agent.

Photo: jo-h via Creative Commons 2.0