Monty Don has opened up about the financial ruin he and his wife Sarah faced before his gardening fame. The Gardeners' World presenter, now 70, ran a costume jewellery business in London during the 1980s, which stocked at high-end retailers like Harrods and Harvey Nichols. However, by the end of the decade, the business collapsed due to huge interest rate hikes, leaving the couple 'penniless'.
'We lost dollars in America and so we wound it down and in order to wind it down, we basically had to sell everything we had, and I mean everything we had,' Monty recalled. With the proceeds, they bought a ruin and an empty field in Herefordshire, which they named Longmeadow. From that point, they focused on turning the ruin into a home and creating a garden.
Reflecting on what the garden taught him, Monty said they wanted to celebrate the positives of their jewellery business, which included work with pop music, rock, film and opera. 'That's what taught us about colour and colour schemes and how when you're gardening you need to have defined parameters with colour,' he explained on the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine podcast.
Monty credited his wife Sarah with having 'perfect pitch' when it comes to colour, which has been instrumental in their garden's design. 'I've learnt about colour from her. She has perfect pitch when it comes to colour which is quite a rare thing,' he said. He noted that while her precision can be 'really annoying', it has contributed to their creative success.
As an example, Monty recalled planting a hedge and Sarah suggesting it needed to be moved one foot to the left. 'And she was right,' he added. The couple's teamwork has been key to the garden featured on Gardeners' World.
