Colin Fernandez Environment Reporter 16 June 2024 22:06, updated 17 June 2024 00:58
Monty Don had resisted putting grass on his home in Longmeadow, Herefordshire, but finally gave in after watching his three grandchildren playing outside. He revealed he's been sowing 30 grams of grass per square metre on his lawn.
For years, gardening guru Monty Don resisted planting a lawn at his home in Longmeadow, Herefordshire.
The 68-year-old prefers to focus on vegetables and flowers rather than grass, leaving any greenery he does have growing in his garden long enough for wildlife to grow.
But after seeing his three grandchildren playing outside, Don finally relented and created a lawn in an area he called “The Long Walk.”
He said: “We've had really tough winters and springs on the Long Walk. We used to have an avenue of clipped boxwoods but last year the boxwood died and it suffered badly, so we cut the whole place down.”
He added: “And the aim of the Long Walk, from the start, has been to be a quiet, green space, dividing it into the Cottage Garden on one side and the Jewel Garden on the other.”
Monty Don is pictured on his Long Walk, where he recently planted a lawn for his grandchildren to play on. The 68-year-old presenter is standing in the jewel garden at his home in Longmeadow, Herefordshire. Monty Don replaced Alan Titchmarsh as head presenter of Gardeners' World in 2003.
“We wanted to maintain a sense of space between the two busy gardens, and after much discussion we decided to create a lawn.”
Don, who lives with his wife Sarah of 40 years in the village of Ivington, near Leominster, told BBC2's Gardeners' World: “Here in Longmeadow we haven't had any lawn for years.
“But the other day I was watching my grandchildren playing and I realised it's lovely to see them running around. It's a relief because they don't have to run into plants or do this or that.”
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His grandchildren are George, 5, Daisy, 3, and a third grandchild, born last August.
Don, who replaced Alan Titchmarsh as presenter of Gardeners World in 2003, said he sows lawns containing ryegrass at a rate of 30 grams per square metre.
He said the seed mix he uses contains a “repellent” that tastes salty to birds, so they won't be tempted to eat it.
Last year, the father of three said he doesn't like the sort of manicured grass his children play on.
He told the Radio Times at the time: “Growing grass is ultimately a fairly passive act, but it is probably the most effective thing you can do in a garden of any size to promote the habitat of animals, particularly insects, but also small mammals, invertebrates and reptiles.”
The horticulturist also suggested there was no need to keep the lawn “striped and tidy” and that it was simply a “concern”.
He added: “Mowing burns huge amounts of fossil fuels, produces dirty noises and is one of the most harmful practices to wildlife.”
Grandpa snuggles up: Monty Don with granddaughter Daisy, now 3 years old. Little green fingers: Don's 5-year-old grandson George.
…But will he try the “dead hedging” trend?
It might look like a pile of wood that you can ask the city council to remove.
But according to the Royal Horticultural Society, 'dead hedges' – made by turning dead trees into decorative screens – help encourage wildlife and are an essential part of a stylish garden.
The charity encourages gardeners to install dead hedges, along with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which has installed a giant hedge by designer Sam Southgate in its gardens in Wisley, Surrey.
Mr Southgate, who spent six months building “The Nest”, said its benefits included wind protection and privacy screening.
The Royal Horticultural Society, along with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, encourages gardeners to install dead hedges, and the Royal Horticultural Society has adopted designer Sam Southgate's giant example, “The Nest”, in a garden in Wisley, Surrey.
He said: “This shouldn't be called a dead hedge – it's a life-giving hedge – it will take your garden to a new level for wildlife.”
The RSPB said the dead hedgerows “provide greater benefits for wildlife” than fences and provide habitat for robins, grey thrush and wrens, while frogs have also been seen living in Wisley's hedgerows.
