Monty Don's French Gardens - Page 3

Hi All, interesting comments i hope the presenters read them But did you see dem dar tommys da did look good much better than them asda,s perfectly round and just so rubbish real grub as dad udes to say good luck all ,i heard we are going to have a heatwave next week just for us gardeners mind you iv been wrong before

Alan4711

My point exactly Bunny.What happend to that garden in Bum I think it was ,they spent a fortune building walls, sheds, greenhouses etc all working from scratch ,could have been great,but poof its gone along with a presenter Toby in the same vein as The much missed Geoff Hamilton,BBC missed an opportunity and wasted a shedload of cash.I get the Idea Toby would not sing the tunes he was told too.If thats the case we all lost out.Going to find my shades now ready for the heatwave!!

Good point Leggi,I found abook last year in a secondhand bookshop in Yorkshire on the correct pronunciation of plant names it's great,some say clematis some say clem-atis etc

Well I used to like the Brum show but must admit some of it needed refining not scrapping but BBC didn't seem to make much effort with the presenters, I liked Toby B philosophy about the programme.

Hey Ho

obelixx wrote (see)

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. 

My thoughts exactly.  All I can remember about the programme is the unasked question of how onions are grown on the same land for generations..

My most favourable memory from the show, were the tall lime green cypress(?) underplanted with Lavender-yummy combination!

I would have liked to know the onion growers secret too!

"Oh Dear" Toby in the same breath as Geoff Hamilton? he could not lace Geoff's boots and if he came back that would be me gone, my memory is tools thrown down and left, plants half planted and never watered after, rabbit huts with frightened rabbits getting a green roof and a rickety shed also getting a green roof, they had to hold it up for the final shots and none of when it promptly fell down. And that stupid pool.
The one thing it did prove was throwing money at a garden does no work without the hard work that goes with it, by people who know how to use the old tools gardeners have always used.

Frank.

In my eyes he was still a breath of fresh air Paliaisglide and as close to Geoff as we have at the moment, allot better than Monty,I still await to see who's next in line ,I dont hate Monty he has his moments,Its just my preferance.Vive la difference mon amie. 

Geoff Hamilton is still my hero but MD will do OK.

Bunny could not agree more with what you say my father knew very few of the Latin names he called the plants by the old names which incidentally have change twice in my lifetime.
If I saw a teacher giving blatantly bad examples of how to do something I would stop them because the young minds he is teaching do not know if he is right or wrong and Toby was quite often so wrong, Alice got up my nose but did know her stuff and Monty is good although at times boring, he does at least show exactly what he wants you to do and finishes off each job when did Toby ever do that?
If Toby is the standard you wish to set yourself well fair enough but if he does ever come back I am gone, I cannot watch bad workmen making a mess.

Frank.

I loved Geoff Hamiltons approach to gardening, he made everything look achievable by amateurs, he had such any easy style, but unfortunately he is no long with us.

I have enjoyed Monty Dons series so far, this week more so than last, mainly because we have visited some of the gardens featured and for the beautiful french scenery. As many of you have said, it is lacking in growing information, but I have enjoyed it for what it is, a pleasant hour of relaxation.

I liked the potager programme better than the first one. I'm not really a fan of formal French gardens, I prefer loose and flowing, flowers and colour, more Christopher Lloyd style. But I did like the more informal potagers and the chatty little French lady. Living in France, I've met enthusiastic people like her in their veg gardens. I didn't like Villandry that much, too formal and what a waste of vegetables. I wonder why Monty didn't show the lovely potagers at Cheverny and Chenonceau with their beautiful mixture of flowers, roses and vegetables. The flowers are used for arrangement in the chateaux and the veg for the restaurant.

Maybe Monty didn't get too technical with the onion grower because his french isn't up to more than the basics? I like Monty's approach and manner and am enjoying the programmes and particularly liked the potager de roi. The ornamental potager where none of the food gets eaten is in my opinion utterly disgraceful...

I too miss Geoff Hamilton and the way he presented any of his gardening programmes, and the down to earth way he showed all of us how to garden. Carol Klien is another of my favourites too she is very easy to listen too and very much a lover of everything that grows including creatures in the garden. I often watch my Geoff Hamiltons gardening dvds when i have a spare hour if the weather is bad, and every time he spures me on to get out into the garden to do a bit, whatever the weather. We lost a gud one there.

I agree about Villandry being a waste and think that, with a bit more effort and research, he could have shown us productive and beautiful potagers such as those mentioned by Busy-Lizzie.    I say again it's not enough to see the thing.  I want information about how it's done by the best.    If his French is no longer  good enough there are interpreters available.  

 Gardening is, after all, a very practical activity and gardeners are practical people who love to share tips and plants and produce.   This programme is missing that spirit - with the exception of the lady on the allotment. 

Well said obelixx,I just wished I had payed more attention to my dads gardening.He wasn' neat and tidy but grew fantastic stuff,  flowers and veg won many a show.his pholsophy was I grow it to please myself but if it pleases others job done.So I watch any gardening  programes to fill this thirst for info about gardening he started.