Broadcaster Monty Don announced he is stepping down from Gardeners’ World after 23 years, revealing that his departure could force him to lay off the two full-time gardeners who maintain his private Herefordshire property, Longmeadow, due to the loss of BBC funding.
Stepping Down After Two Decades at Longmeadow
After more than two decades at the helm of the long-running British gardening programme, Monty Don has decided to step down at the end of the current series. He became the show’s longest-serving Head Gardener, having hosted approximately seven hundred programmes.
The broadcaster joined the show in 2003, initially filming at Berryfields before moving production to his own home, Longmeadow, in Herefordshire for the past 16 years. Over the years, the two-acre garden created by Don and his wife, Sarah, in 1991 expanded into four distinct spaces: a cottage garden filled with shrub roses, a jewel garden with bright multicoloured flowers, an Islamic-inspired paradise garden, and a productive vegetable garden.
“I have decided that the current series of Gardeners’ World is to be my last.”
Monty Don
Reflecting on his departure, Don noted that the milestone marked the right time for a change
after a career connecting with millions of viewers across Britain and around the world who share an appreciation for plants and the natural world.
The Financial Reality Behind Maintaining Longmeadow
While Don intends to continue writing books and working on other BBC projects—including an upcoming travel programme named Island Gardens—leaving the series carries immediate logistical and financial consequences for his home property.
Speaking for the first time since announcing his departure during an event at the RHS Malvern autumn flower show, Don revealed that keeping the private 2-acre garden camera-ready required professional support from day one of his BBC contract.
“I have had two full-time gardeners, and have had them since I have been on Gardeners’ World, and from day one it’s been in my BBC contract that I have to have two full-time gardeners.”
Monty Don
The current team consists of a propagation expert and a landscaper who have worked alongside Don for 10 years. Because the BBC contributed toward the wages of the two full-time staff members, the loss of that funding leaves their continued employment uncertain.
Future Plans and the Search for Alternative Revenue
Don stated that he cannot afford to keep the current staffing arrangement without generating external revenue from the property itself. However, because Longmeadow remains a private family space rather than a public attraction—partly due to local parking limitations—finding a monetization model presents a challenge.
“I will have to think of ways – I can’t afford it unless we earn money from it, so I am going to think of ways of earning something from the garden, but I can’t do that until the middle of next year at the earliest.”
Monty Don
Until then, the final series hosted by Don will continue to broadcast from Longmeadow until later this year, keeping his trademark presentation style on screen as he prepares to transition to new professional avenues.
