Monty Don, the celebrated gardening expert and presenter of Gardener's World, has dismissed the notion that he is a flawless gardener, calling it 'nonsense' and admitting to a recent sweetcorn blunder. Speaking to the i newspaper, the 71-year-old revealed that he makes errors 'literally every day' and that failure is a crucial part of the learning process.
Monty Rejects 'Perfect Gardener' Myth
Don addressed a common misconception about himself, stating: 'This myth that I am somehow the perfect gardener is nonsense. I make mistakes all the time. Literally every day.' He shared a specific example involving sweetcorn, a crop he has grown for decades. 'I've grown sweetcorn all my life. I know how to do it – I've done it hundreds of times with success. Last year, they were fantastic. This year, they've not germinated. I don't know why, because they were perfectly good seeds. But something has gone wrong.'
Learning from Failure: Insights from Veteran Gardeners
Don reflected on his research for a book he wrote 45 years ago, where he interviewed around 20 head gardeners, all in their eighties. He noted a consistent theme: 'They all said the same thing: they didn't really begin to get good at gardening until they'd had some serious failures. Because if you succeed at something, you stop working out how you do it. Whereas if you fail, you really have to think: what am I doing wrong?'
Common Gardening Pitfalls to Avoid
In a July blog post, Don also warned against leaving grass clippings after mowing, which can damage plants. He advised: 'All Spring-flowering bulbs should have completely died back so that long grass can be cut without affecting their display next year.' At his own garden, Longmeadow, he often waits until August to cut the meadow, but recommends doing so by the end of July for most wild flower meadows. 'The important thing is to remove all the grass, raking up every last piece to compost so that it will not enrich the grass and thus limit next year's wild flower display,' he added.
Another common mistake is mowing the lawn while it is wet. According to BBC Gardener's World magazine, 'Mowing when the ground is sodden can lead to compaction, the mower will smear and rut the soil, and wet grass clippings will clump and smother the lawn below.'
