Monty Don's French Gardens - Page 2

I enjoyed the first programme in the series. We have been to Diane du Poitiers garden, don't know how to spell the name of the garden, it was better in real life than on the tv. Not a style I particularly like but you have just got to admire the grandeur and scale. I am looking forward to this weeks show. We have also been to Villandry, it's wonderful, the way they use vegetables in amongst the flowers, formal, but it works.

Monty does it for me. I think his garden at Long Meadow is influenced by the French garden style. He likes tall clipped hedges and lots of box. Not my cup of tea, but gardens should be about what you enjoy seeing and growing. Everyone is different.

I am in awe of those French gardens as structures but for plant/garden interest I'd have to go somewhere else

From today's Radio Times....

I'm with obelixx on this ,Monty does like his hedges tho' and he has shown some gardens I would like to visit.But he is not a patch on Toby Buckland or the late Geoff Hamilton for practical gardening and what happened to Joe Swifts alottment and all his freebies,still we have Carol Klein to look forward to.Having said all this I still wach Gardeners World and just put up with Monty. 

As long as I don't see the gardening army wives again I'll be happy

Love the presenter (didn't you know?!) but really wasn't taken by the formality of the French gardens at all. Too chou-chou and pretentious for me. That was thw whole point of them, I know, but give me an Italian garden any day of the week...preferably on Isola Bella....aaaah....recalling the beauty of the Italian gardens programme Monty prsented last year - on my wish list to visit them some day.

Like the show, but not into formal gardens really, too posh and a lot of clipping of hedges.

Joe Swift got rid of his allotment gave it up not fair I was just getting into watching him growing veg, people put that on the link below.

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbgardening/NF2759004?thread=8303395  that was the dig-in forum, but not no more now they closed it.

This weeks show will be good I hope - vegetables and flowers, I enjoy watching all the gardening programmes, so good there is one on tonight http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qm1dk

Allotment in tonight's programme, I like to grow flowers with veg - do you?

Joe Swift isn't really a vegetable gardener and his allotment lasted only as long as the filming.  There's quite a lot of info and comment here, including from people with allotments on that site - http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,58912.0.html

I'm looking forward to tonight's programmes on potagers or, as the schedule says, the gourmet garden.    Right up my street along with gardens full of colour and perfume and wildlife.  Can't see there being a lot of buzzing in all those hedges in the very formal hedge and topiary gardens he so likes.. 

Thanks obelixx that's proberly the website I saw before - I knew there was something about taking all the stuff away, could not remember what the website was, watched the clip and still looks a bit formal box edging 

I don't think there would be much buzzing if garden too formal

I don't know how he does it but he managed to make even potagers seem "weary, stale and unprofitable".   Far too much time wasted in that flipping 2CV and tasting food in markets which could have been better spent actually talking to the gardeners about how they grow their fuit and veg and make it tasty and attractive too.    He also missed a trick not asking the oinion man how he manages to grow healthy onions year after year on the same ground without being infested with disease and pests.  I'd have liked more depth on the Potager du Roi and a lot less faffing. 

He had the usual effect on me last night. soporific, woke up just after 10. So will attempt to watch it again. we visited an amazing potager in France but i don't think he featured it. If you go to France there really are very few 2CV about.  Well will watch and attempt to stay awake

I really liked the very relaxed and dreamy tone of the program. It seemed like a dose of Summer holiday plonged down in the middle of Winter.

Monty wasn't trying to lecture us on some obscure aspect of technique, but, more importantly, he was conveying something of the feel of the place and the people, and their relationship to plants, soil and food.

I always think he's a bit idealistic whatever he is doing.

Yes, to the point of naivety.  Lyon G - i'm all for a sense of place but thought he could have done more to communicate how to achieve that chez nous.

See one Potager seen them all, would not be seen dead in a 2CV.
I like Monty in his own garden but chewing strawberries and making a face that says yum does nothing for me.
I too wanted to know how they grow one crop on the same land for years, dare we mention Chemicals "oops" sorry.
The best bit was the obviously staged visit to the allotment and that lovely French Lady, that did look much as we would recognise a garden, the rest left me cold and Monty very wet, not the best programme.

Frank.

I just loved last nights programme with Monty when he visited the Kitchen Gardens  and allotments of the French gardeners, especially the  excited french lady who gave Monty a goody bag. I could have stayed with her all day on her little piece of heaven, even though I dont speak french. What a star she is, so pleasent and committed, such a difference from the pomp and ceremony of the lavish and wasteful designs of the other gardens shown. Hope we get to see the more intimate gardens of the average french gardeners and not just the larger ones.

I agree with Rosa,time for a new down to earth presenter or two,we all like to see how the other half garden, perhaps Its the BBC Idon't know.We need need new and old ideas  based on affordability even if it upsets some of us.