Gardeners' World's Monty Don shares struggle at Longmeadow in 'depressing' update

Renowned gardener Monty Don has shared his exasperation about the impact of climate change,not just on his garden but the world as a whole.

The Gardeners' World presenter lamented how dry this year had been as he reflected on the state of his beloved Longmeadow garden, which he has tended since 1992.

Writing in the BBC's Gardeners' World magazine, Monty spoke about the state of Longmeadow before going on to his experiences filming Monty Don's Rhine Gardens in Europe.

On Longmeadow he wrote: "This year, 2025, is by far the driest I have known. We have had no significant rain since March, and our heavy Hertfordshire clay loam is powdery down to 3ft.

"This is undeniably a trend. At the time of writing... this last spring was the hottest and driest on record. There is no sane denial of climate change."

However, whilst Monty, 70, said things were bad in the UK, he claimed they were "much worse" in mainland Europe. He said the severity of the situation was evident on his flight home.

He explained: "Flying back from Zurich to London in July, the landscape below me was parched and brown, and I swear I did not see a blade of grass the entire way.

"In a way this is depressingly familiar. We are the frog in the pan, slowly, inexorably, being brought to the boil."

This isn't the first time Monty has warned about the damage climate change and global warming are doing to our society.

Last year he told the Radio Times magazinemagazine that whilst gardening was now more popular than it had ever been, gardeners today were having to deal with more unpredictable situations.

He said: "It's all connected to the [Gen Z] link to the natural world, which is more precarious so needs to be looked after. Climate change is a huge worry for that generation, as it should be. In practical terms, it means we're having to deal with very extreme situations.

"I could easily give you a list of plants for very wet or very dry conditions, but there would be hardly any overlap, whereas now our gardens are becoming both very wet and very dry at different times. It's new territory."

Despite the current global situation with regard to the impact of climate change on gardening, Monty will be on hand to guide gardeners through it when Gardeners' World airs tonight (August 29) at 8pm on BBC Two.