Monty Don

Montagu Don is a garden writer and broadcaster. Born in 1955, he was bought up in Hampshire and educated at a variety of schools and at Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Beginning in 1980, he and his wife Sarah set up and ran a costume jewellery business. This enjoyed a flurry of mid eighties success but went bust in 1990, not least because he was always so much more interested in gardening than jewellery.

Since 1988 he has written a great deal of gardening journalism and was The Observer’s gardening columnist  from 1994 to 2006.

His first book, The Prickotty Bush was published in 1990 and there have been 11 more since - two with his wife Sarah - all on gardening or food.

He first appeared on television in 1989 on Granada’s “This Morning” and has worked continually on television since, including the lead presenting role on Ch 4’s “Real Gardens”, “Fork to Fork” and “Lost Gardens” and for 5 years the BBC’s “Gardeners World” as well as many travel programmes, the most recent of which was the 10 hours of “Around the World in 80 gardens”. He is fronting a new series out now called ‘My Dream Farm’. He will also be on BBC2 at 9 p.m. for six weeks from next month with another new series, Mastercraft.

He lives, gardens and farms in the Welsh Marches.