The Complete Gardener: A Practical, Imaginative Guide to Every Aspect of Gardening

by Montagu Don

Even great gardeners like Monty Don are always learning and always experimenting.

The Complete Gardener brings you right up to date on how Monty gardens today.

This extensively revised new edition covers what Monty believes are the most important aspects of gardening today. Whether you're a beginner or seasoned gardener, it's time to get your green-fingered hands dirty!

A comprehensive gardening guide that no gardener should be without:

- An introductory chapter that explains the essentials of organic gardening practice
- A structure chapter that shows you how to define space in your garden with hard landscaping and natural options, such as trees, hedges, and topiary
- Discover all different types of flowering plants explaining how to design with them, combine, plant, and care for them
- How to grow fruits and vegetables with in-depth crop-by-crop explanations and which tried-and-tested varieties to choose from


Packed with beautiful illustrations and practical gardening tips, Monty reveals the secrets of growing vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs while respecting the needs of the environment. He covers everything from planning the space and crop rotation to pruning fruit canes and staking peas.

Join Monty in his garden at Long Meadow! Over half of the photos included in this updated edition were shot at his renowned personal garden over the course of a year. Discover how he created this beautiful garden, and how you can do the same in your own.

Design Your Dream Garden

Although organic techniques have always been at the core of his practice, this new edition has a new emphasis on gardening for wildlife and the impact of global warming on the garden. This is a go-to guide for anyone seeking Monty's gardening advice and the perfect gift for any gardener, regardless of their experience or budget.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Reference, Nature, Horticulture, Plants, Science Nature

440 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Montagu 'Monty' Denis Wyatt Don is a German-born British television presenter, writer and speaker on horticulture, known for presenting the BBC television series Gardeners' World.

Reviews

[PamG · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Complete Gardener by Monty Don is the one of the most comprehensive gardening books that I have ever read. The introduction includes information on the evolution of the garden as well as on wildlife and weather. It then tackles structure including such items as design planning, water features and paths. A section on gardening basics will be extremely useful to novice gardeners and great refresher for more experienced gardeners.

After these chapters, the author concentrates on the gardens he’s developed at Longmeadow in Herefordshire, England near Leominster. The chapters give a history of how each garden has evolved over the years as well as the types of plants in them. Next up are chapters on the various types of plants with specific varieties used at Longmeadow. This is followed by chapters on growing vegetables, herbs, and fruit.

While the soil, weather, and temperatures are very different where I live, there is still a lot of information that is applicable. While items such as when to sow certain seeds or plant something needs to be adjusted for my climate, the task itself is the same. Monty also shares insights into life and how gardening is a positive influence on him.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and educational read. I will be using this as a reference book regularly. I’m looking forward to reading more of his books on gardens and gardening.

I purchased a physical copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this nearly 20 yrs ago and there’s not a year gone by when I don’t refer to this at some point. There are some wonderful photographs of the authors gardens, it’s the ideal January read, plenty of lovely images to dream about the year ahead. Half the book is about flower gardens and half about vegetables. Monty Don does not use chemicals, I can’t imagine why anyone would. This book talks a lot about biodiversity, composting, companion planting and working with nature rather than against it. There’s lots of information about recommended varieties, planting times, pruning and harvesting. Although anyone reading this will probably not have such extensive gardens there is so much inspiration here to create your own little piece of heaven. I loved looking at Monty’s garden and picture of his happy chickens and dogs pottering around.

[Marit Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has made me so obnoxiously happy and has filled me with joy. I have been cooped up in my room quarantining for the last week and this book has brought me immense comfort. The photographs are beautiful, Don's storytelling is immersive, and the sense of peace that I have felt while getting lost in this world is something that I will treasure.

This book is very informative and filled with vital information related to gardening, which one could say is not very relevant to me as I currently live in one of the biggest cities in North America and have no garden to speak of. But, I love plants. And I love learning from deeply passionate people like Don.

This was lovely. I will look back on this first read with gratitude. And I will surely reach for it again when I feel like revisiting his spectacular garden. Also, I will be grabbing it constantly when I actually have some land to plant some stuff in. Fingers crossed that this will happen, right?

[Jan Priddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book.

The truth is that I finished reading this book months ago (over a year ago?) and just didn't want to put it aside. I keep opening it to pages and admiring it over and over.

[Danielle Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I watched a season of Big Dreams, Small Spaces on Netflix, where Don supports amateur gardeners as they attempt to revitalized their home gardens. I enjoyed his approach enough to check my local library, and found this book. It's a lovely huge hardcover with mounds of photos, which I very much appreciated. Don is experienced and shares a lot of information and methodology, but never comes across as overly academic or strict, often encouraging the reader to take some risks in the garden and try new things. His writing style is descriptive and fluid. I enjoyed his introductory section deeply. I, of course, live in the U.S. and so his advice on gardening in England can't apply widely to my situation, but I feel sure that this would be a great gift for an English gardener.

[Rough Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect in every way - I'm obsessed with this man

[Filip Struhárik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pekné a masívne dielo, ale pre našich záhradkárov nie úplne vhodné. Mnohé rady sú totiž určené pre britský kontext a u nás neplatia. Najmä začínajúcich záhradkárov môže kniha pomýliť a zviesť na cesty, ktoré sú v našich klimatických podmienkach nereálne. Nehovoriac o odrodách, ktoré autor odporúča, no viaceré u nás len ťažko zoženiete. Avšak skúsenejší záhradkári, ktorí hľadajú inšpiráciu od populárneho autora s obrovskou 80-árovou záhradou, môžu byť s knihou spokojní.

[Tricia Hooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic resource I will return to again. (Already flagged dozens of pages!). Always enjoy Monty’s gardening books and shows. Love the detailed descriptions and beautiful imagery. It feels like he is talking to you directly thru the pages. Also appreciate that he mentions mistakes he’s made, plants he’s killed, etc…. No gardener is perfect!

[Kristina Seleshanko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would I give this book to a total garden newbie? No. Nor do I feel it is really "complete." But it is an interesting read, especially to me, as an American. The English, apparently, do things a bit differently. I also love the many photos of Monty's garden.

[Meynouw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Topboek! Als er 6 sterren waren geweest had ik die gegeven. Boordevol informatie op een fijne manier verteld

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Sarah Inman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monty always knows what to say.

[Whitney Stanfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Monty Don and this book was great. My only problem (my problem not the book's problem) is that it is geared towards English gardens while I am an Oklahoman and need a book more tailored to my region. Great book and beautiful so I definitely recommend it to any Monty Don fans out there!

[Budge Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I try to bring my back yard up to scratch I’m browsing a dozen gardening books for ideas and advice. These opening paragraphs will open every review of the dozen – the review of this specific book will appear at paragraph 5.
Can’t imagine any gardening book could be described as perfect – I live in Scotland, which might have a slightly colder climate than other places in the world. But gardening books are useful if you’re trying to bring a piece of land into productive use for yourself, family or community. Useful, to supplement what you may already know, useful to give you ideas and encouragement, useful to remind you of the essentials and the possibilities.
I’d caution against picking just one book – unless it covers a particularly narrow, specialist field. Browse half a dozen or a dozen books before and as you start your new project. Don’t necessarily buy new – pick up some second hand ones online or in charity shops. Seriously, gardening is not going to have changed much in the last 30 years, you don’t need to pay £20 to buy the latest piece by some celebrity gardener when you can get a half a dozen books for that money from charity shops or online.
Browse, take notes, compare, learn, become enthused … but don’t forget to get your hands dirty.
Monty Don “The Complete Gardener”. Impressive book, a paean to organic gardening – a sustainable agriculture / food growing has to become part of our way of life, trying to make more productive use of gardens or patios or (ideally) an allotment should become part of your life.
(I gather Monty Don has delivered gardening programmes on UK TV - I haven't had a TV for a couple of decades, I've no idea what his TV presence is like.)
Don begins with a look at the philosophy of why you might want to garden – not an intellectual exercise but a practice with an objective purpose. He encourages the reader to get to know the land first, to value it, to approach it organically.
Impressively comprehensive, with loads of colour illustrations – a book you can sit down to read to get a general feel for the task of creating a garden, a book to which you can refer as you get going. Lots of ideas – like the use of copper piping to deter slugs (something I might well try out). You will probably still have to do lots of research for specific subjects – ‘research’ in this case meaning actually getting your fingernails ingrained with dirt rather than simply searching the Internet with pristinely clean fingertips.
Don is explicit – don’t use peat, peat extraction is carried out by a few companies who don’t give a damn about anything but short-term profit. He offers some excellent advice on composting and recycling the plants you grow, and urges good housekeeping, pruning at the right time, keeping on top of weeds, etc.
He's looking at gardening on a big scale – he has a very large plot, so he offers advice on planting hedgerows and trees. Few of us living in towns or cities will have access to as much space, but his comments are well worth digesting even if your immediate goal is to make better use of your patio or to rip up a bit of lawn.
He does provide an accessible introduction to the joys, demands and philosophy of growing fruit, vegetables and flowers, an ‘introduction’ which will hopefully fire your enthusiasm afresh every time you pick up the book.
There are a hundred or so pages on creating a flower garden, the same again on veg, and shorter sections of fruit and herbs, all lavishly illustrated in colour. Maybe not the greatest instruction manual in terms of laying down a calendar or rough schedule for jobs to do around the garden, but he’s writing from experience, offering anecdotes about what can go wrong, what to remain alert to, what can go right! There's a personal communication there which comes across.
Good, positive, optimistic book, a book well worth reading regardless the size of your actual garden or your vision of one. Worth five stars for the optimism and for the emphasis on our need to grow politically aware of how we feed ourselves and use land. A sound, encouraging book to add to your library.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Complete Gardener is badly mistitled -- it should be "Gardening with Monty Don at Longmeadow." Because as lovely as it is to spend time with Don, the book is almost exclusively about HIM and HIS garden. It's not a complete book of gardening in any sense, and is much more of a tour of how Don created Longmeadow. It's a five-star tour, for sure, written with gentle humor and English charm, but as an actual gardening resource, it's sadly lacking. There was little practical advice, especially for novice gardeners, as Don's guidance often resorts to using one's "judgment" or "instinct." This is all fine and good if you have decades of gardening experience feeding your "instinct," but not very helpful if you just want someone to tell you how to do something.

Longmeadow is also not a feasible garden for the vast majority of people to emulate anyway. First, it depends highly on having two acres to grow on in Herefordshire, which I guess is close enough for most readers in England, but really not useful for me at all here in the American Midwest (and with a much smaller piece of property). For example, Don mentions several times that he has roses climbing up his apple trees, and as far as I can tell, these are multiflora roses. He speaks of them glowingly, but I know that here in Ohio, they are a noxious invasive species, and that planting them to grow on your apple trees would probably be a bad idea.

Second, Don has had the good fortune to be gardening in one location for decades (on a piece of property most people probably wouldn't be able to ever purchase), which I suspect is not something most gardeners can rely on. I'm only planning to be in our home 15 years or so, at most. So no, I don't have time to plant a coppice to supply my own bean poles. Or to tear up one garden to make another. Or to plant an orchard. Or to train pleached limes. Or to grow massive hawthorn hedges. It's all very nice, to be sure, but far beyond the timeline and budget I imagine most gardeners are working with.

Still, this book is chockful of inspiration and beautiful photos. I read pretty much the whole thing, skipping only a few sections here and there (I detest Brussels sprouts so much I refuse to even read about them). And Don is likeable enough, even if there's some whiff of English noblesse oblige snobbery beneath his affable demeanor -- as if he were the local lord of the manor taking you, the tenant, through his gardens. I checked The Complete Gardener out from the library, but may purchase it at some point to add to my own collection, if I find myself wanting to go back to it sometime in the next year or so.

[Leon Connors · Rating 5 out of 5]

The suffering was so horrible, and yet Anne kept a positive, empathetic, and grateful attitude. Learning. Finding the bright side and improving herself as a person. Always looking to the future. She loved history. Mythology, writing, nature, her father, and the idea of helping people and making a difference. She was very self-aware and tried to also be empathetic of others and why they may be behaving the way they did. There is a good reason her story caused such a large response all over the world. Making her maybe the most popular and well-known story/person in nazi Germany.

There are many sides to Anne. There is the part of her surviving and maturing that takes the situation very seriously and prays for other jews. Then there is the part of her that is just a little girl. She wants to date boys, learn about her body and sex, have friends, and learn about movie stars. She wants to go to school and play with her cat. She wants to get her period, dance, sing, and write stories. She planned to be a professional writer.

This is a very watered-down summary of who she was. There is no alternative to reading her experience yourself. Her diary shows humanity and the inhumanity of war and facism.

I listened to it in audiobook, and the narrator was excellent bringing the experiences to life.

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting read but somewhat confusing in direction and it has a very misleading title I think. There's a lot of repetitious writing and it can sometimes be contradicting. The second half of the book is packed with growing advice and information for fruits, veg and herbs and it really is clear Monty knows what he's talking about.

I didn't expect there to be quite so much writing on Monty's life in the book and he often goes on a rant about various things. I also found it to be quite incomplete at times, like only talking about growing Spring, Summer and Autumn bulbs because the Don's hadn't got round to planting Winter bulbs in their garden at the time the book was written.

That being said, the book is packed with lots of advice and information and it is one I will continue to dip in and out of throughout the year, now I've read it from cover to cover.

[Elsabe Retief · Rating 5 out of 5]

I live on the Prairies in Canada. My weather has very little in common with the weather Monty Don experiences in the UK except for the fact that we are both in the Northern Hemisphere. Yet his principles are so sound and universal that I could get plenty from his gardening philosophy to weave into my own development of a large garden. Besides the fact that I can implement his beautiful practices and ways he is a story teller of note and applicable or not, I just love what he shares. I appreciate that he releases us from strict practical rules because he does not always follow them himself - the spot that was identified for a play area for his children immediately became the vegetable garden when he saw how perfect the soil was for the veggies. “...a waste for just grass...”

[Judith Shadford · Rating 5 out of 5]

My copy arrived about 2 hours ago. No, I have not READ the entire 440 pages. It's a reference book that will be within arm's reach until I can't dodder outside in my power wheelchair that also elevates and swirls around and provides happy hour on time.

I've loved Monty Don since his PBS series transforming little teeny backyards into lush gardens. Then the Italian and French garden series. Now, The Complete Gardener. So I bought the book. So should everyone that hasn't already, who can feel dirt under their fingernails just looking at the pictures. I paused over every page. Read lots of sections. Learned stuff. Just paging and skimming.

If you aren't convinced by this...read his bio on Wikipedia. It's been hard for him. He's real. He received his OBE in 2018.

[Karen T · Rating 5 out of 5]

First gardening book I've ever read cover to cover!

I've recently discovered Monty Don on a few streaming platforms after searching for 'British Gardening". I live in the USA but currently in a climate that fosters an English cottage garden. I come from a family of gardeners but I've found a wealth of information in this book that supplements the gaps in knowledge I've gained over the years. The bonus is that his writing is clear, with a subtle tone of humor that makes the book inspiring and easy to read. I usually use gardening books for reference only, normally reading only the sections pertaining to my topic of the day. I read this book start to finish, and I'm sure I'll be referring to it as long as I am able to garden.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the interest of clarity, the book I am reading is the 2021 revision, which is just called The Complete Gardener - no longer an added subtitle - by Monty Don. The are 9 sections and I am up to the section called "the gardens" which has a several page description with photos of each of the 18 gardens at Longmeadow. So far it is really interesting and helpful, although like others I do not think this is truly aimed at a novice Gardener. He does have sections on garden basics and garden structure that are very useful. I am enjoying it immensely.

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

For an 800 page TOME, this was such a light, conversational read. Easily the most comprehensive and engaging gardening book I have read. It is like ambling around behind the author in his garden as he chats about just precisely how he does this and that. And step over apple trees. Who knew such a thing existed? The only trouble, I suppose, is how different the English climate is from 95% of America. Here he goes, talking about how hardy rosemary is, for example, and I just have to look out at the subzero temperatures in my near future and say no, no, it is not.

[Maros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Presnejší názov knihy je "Všetko o mojej záhrade". Dobré čítanie o podmienkach v jeho záhrade, čiže mierne a vlhké britské počasie, odrody, vývoj, recepty a zvyky.

Na štyristostranovú knihu má kniha veľmi veľa prázdneho miesta, kde mohli byť fotky. Napr. jeden odsek píše o svojom obľúbenom rýle, kde bol vyrobený, akú má kvalitnu rúčku a čepeľ ale nikde nie je jeho fotka.

Slovenský preklad je zlý. Nemyslím tým preklepy alebo gramatiku ale faktické chyby, keď vety nedávajú zmysel alebo zavádzajú. Škodí to celkovému dojmu z diela.

Kniha je dobrá a písaná v pohodovej nálade.

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Monty Don and I was hoping this would be the end-all gardening reference for me. There is some solid gardening advice here and some sections were very informative, but so much of it was just Monty Don walking through various sections of his own garden that it read more like fan appeasement that gardening manual. As a fan, I was appeased! But I won't be adding this to my reference collection.

[Ruth Brumby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful book, containing a great deal of i information. It would have been more useful if better organised for reference. Some good photographs, but a plan would have been interesting. Its a strange combination of personal account and general reference, which I quite liked. The prose is generally good.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een mooi, uitgebreid en compleet handboek voor iedere fan van tuinieren. Vol nuttige informatie met een persoonlijke noot.
Ik las de 2021 editie en ondanks dat ik de 2001 versie niet heb gelezen kon ik merken dat er veel dingen veranderd zijn in zowel de tuin van Monty als zijn visie op bepaalde zaken.
Een fijn boek om te lezen!

[Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful compendium of gardening knowledge, from design to soil care to growing your own fruit and veg (though most applicable for the British climate). Especially resonant if you've spent hours watching Monty on television, as his writing voice so closely mimics his patterns of speech. Even as a Californian, I'll have on hand to consult forever!

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Monty Don, the main host and presenter of "Gardener's World" TV show on UK television. The book covers a wide range of topics and even homes in on certain plants, Dahlias, for example. The only thing you'll need to be aware of is Mr. Don's garden is in the UK so dates/times and climate zones might be different from your location. All in all, a great read!

[Tracy Mann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book that would make a wonderful gift to anyone who has been gardening a long time, or who is interested in gardening. It would make a nice coffee table book, but also covers enough information to be a thorough reference guide for all sorts of edible and non-edible plants. I expect to be using this book for many years to come.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

gorgeous. Much of the advice is specific to the British climate but there is also a great deal that can be just as useful elsewhere. Good as a reference to dip into and equally lovely as a coffee table book the photos are so beautiful.