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The Complete Gardener: A Practical, Imaginative Guide to Every Aspect of Gardening
Even great gardeners like Monty Don are always learning and always experimenting. This extensively revised new edition of his Complete Gardener, first published in 2003, brings you right up-to-date on how Monty gardens today - and his recommendations for you. The most comprehensive, practical, and highly illustrated book Monty has ever written, it covers what he believes are the most important aspects of gardening. Organic techniques have always been at the core of his practice, but this new edition picks up on another key the need to provide habitats in your garden for local wildlife. Over half of the photographs in this new edition will be new, taken over a year in his Long Meadow garden, and he is going through the text with a fine-tooth comb to ensure everything he says reflects his latest approach.
440 pages, Spiral-bound
Published May 4, 2021
51 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Monty Don
32 books53 followersMontagu Denis Wyatt Don OBE VMH (born George Montagu Don) has been gardening on TV for over 25 years for ITV, Channel 4 and the BBC, and since 2003 has been the lead presenter on BBC TV's Gardeners' World which from 2011 has been filmed in his own garden in Herefordshire - Longmeadow.
He is a longstanding organic gardener and was President of the Soil Association from 2008 to 2017.
A prolific journalist and author, he was gardening correspondent for the Observer from 1994 to 2006 and has written a weekly gardening column for the Daily Mail since 2004. He has published 18 books, including his recent Sunday Times bestseller, Nigel: My Family and Other Dogs.
He is a longstanding organic gardener and was President of the Soil Association from 2008 to 2017.
A prolific journalist and author, he was gardening correspondent for the Observer from 1994 to 2006 and has written a weekly gardening column for the Daily Mail since 2004. He has published 18 books, including his recent Sunday Times bestseller, Nigel: My Family and Other Dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 5, 2024
What a gorgeous book. The complete gardener, indeed. I’d never heard of Monty Don before receiving this book as a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law. At 440 pages, it’s not exactly a light read, so it languished for a few months on the coffee table. Then, in mid-June, right at the start of peak gardening season, I decided to give it a go. I soon fell in love with the world of Longmeadow, Monty’s multi-acre, multi-themed garden, star of the BBC show “Gardeners’ World”.
“The Complete Gardener”, as its title would suggest, is stuffed with practical gardening advice. From Mediterranean herbs and fruit trees, to spring ephemerals and showy perennials, Monty has tried his hand at all. I treated this book much like my personal bible, and it might as well be: much of Monty’s gardening adages double as pithy life advice. I soon broke out a pen and found myself underlining multiple passages on every page.
“…nothing is more detrimental to wildlife than officious tidiness. Leave long grass, fallen leaves, windfall fruit, rotting wood, patches of weeds, grass growing in the cracks, moss on the stone. These are all important habitats for wildlife and there is no reason why they cannot be gently tweaked to look beautiful as well as be useful.” (p. 17)
Even more than the specific guidance on how to grow damson plums (apparently very easy to do!), mulching your beds properly, and pruning effectively, I simply enjoyed spending time with Monty and his gardens. My favorite part of the book was “The gardens”, in which Monty takes us on a tour of the theme, rationale, and design behind each of the “rooms” at Longmeadow. The Paradise Garden, for instance, is high-maintenance and filled with color. The Herb Garden is conveniently (and intentionally!) located just outside the kitchen. The Writing Garden features white flowers and an old shed where, you guessed it, Monty writes about gardening in the garden.
Monty Don is apparently considered quite the national treasure in England, and reading this, it’s easy to see why. He is a gentle and thoughtful soul, and he gardens for personal and deeply understandable reasons: To improve his mood; to interact with the natural world; to coax disproportionate beauty out of a small area he can call his own.
I will be using “The Complete Gardener” as a reference book & source of inspiration for years to come.
“The Complete Gardener”, as its title would suggest, is stuffed with practical gardening advice. From Mediterranean herbs and fruit trees, to spring ephemerals and showy perennials, Monty has tried his hand at all. I treated this book much like my personal bible, and it might as well be: much of Monty’s gardening adages double as pithy life advice. I soon broke out a pen and found myself underlining multiple passages on every page.
“…nothing is more detrimental to wildlife than officious tidiness. Leave long grass, fallen leaves, windfall fruit, rotting wood, patches of weeds, grass growing in the cracks, moss on the stone. These are all important habitats for wildlife and there is no reason why they cannot be gently tweaked to look beautiful as well as be useful.” (p. 17)
Even more than the specific guidance on how to grow damson plums (apparently very easy to do!), mulching your beds properly, and pruning effectively, I simply enjoyed spending time with Monty and his gardens. My favorite part of the book was “The gardens”, in which Monty takes us on a tour of the theme, rationale, and design behind each of the “rooms” at Longmeadow. The Paradise Garden, for instance, is high-maintenance and filled with color. The Herb Garden is conveniently (and intentionally!) located just outside the kitchen. The Writing Garden features white flowers and an old shed where, you guessed it, Monty writes about gardening in the garden.
Monty Don is apparently considered quite the national treasure in England, and reading this, it’s easy to see why. He is a gentle and thoughtful soul, and he gardens for personal and deeply understandable reasons: To improve his mood; to interact with the natural world; to coax disproportionate beauty out of a small area he can call his own.
I will be using “The Complete Gardener” as a reference book & source of inspiration for years to come.
October 5, 2024
What’s not to love about a Monty Don book? This one will be a constant reference for my garden. This was one of my favorite gifts ever (thank you, Joe!) ❤️
September 20, 2024
3.5 stars
It’s a huge book, but reads like an extended episode of Gardener’s World. It covers every tree, shrub, grass, flower, herb and veg that grows at Longmeadow. The pictures are lovely, but the text can get tedious at times and there is need of a dictionary unless you already know words like glaucous and ericaceous. The book is more of a reference book than something to read straight through, but the chatty nature of each section’s text makes it hard to find specific information if you wanted to grow a certain plant.
I enjoyed the detailed glimpse into the seasons at Longmeadow, but didn’t find it as useful as a couple episodes of Gardener’s World.
It’s a huge book, but reads like an extended episode of Gardener’s World. It covers every tree, shrub, grass, flower, herb and veg that grows at Longmeadow. The pictures are lovely, but the text can get tedious at times and there is need of a dictionary unless you already know words like glaucous and ericaceous. The book is more of a reference book than something to read straight through, but the chatty nature of each section’s text makes it hard to find specific information if you wanted to grow a certain plant.
I enjoyed the detailed glimpse into the seasons at Longmeadow, but didn’t find it as useful as a couple episodes of Gardener’s World.
April 17, 2025
The best kind of picture book for grown ups! I took away lots of good ideas and advice, even though Monty's weather more closely matches Washington state than my upstate New York. The only odd thing about this book is that there was no conclusion. As soon as you finish reading about pruning grapes the book is over! I enjoyed it thoroughly and it makes waiting for the weather to warm up that much more bearable.
November 5, 2024
If you’ve seen enough of Monty’s TV shows on gardens and gardening, you’ll hear his voice in the text of this book. Part tour of his own well-known garden, part personal history, part encyclopedia of gardening. Remember that he’s gardening in the UK—so some parts may not apply where you live. Thoroughly enjoyable and deserving of its spot on the garden reference shelf.
August 17, 2024
Fabulous!
April 27, 2025
Wishful reading
February 3, 2026
Lots of precious gardening advices from the horticultural expert, easy read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews