Monty Don will be designing his first garden at RHS Chelsea 2025
Gardeners' World presenter Monty Don will be designing his first ever garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025 next May.
As one of Britain’s best loved and most-known gardeners, Monty will bring a garden for dogs to RHS Chelsea, inspired by his very own Longmeadow garden at his Herefordshire home.
Monty, who presents the BBC's coverage of RHS Chelsea, will be creating The RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden with the team at Form Plants, led by plant expert and horticulturist Jamie Butterworth and will be on display when the world-famous show returns from 20th-24th May 2025.
'This is an irresistible opportunity to join with the RHS and Radio 2 to share my love of gardens and dogs at the world’s greatest horticultural event,' says Monty, who was awarded the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour, the highest honour in horticulture, in 2022. 'Along with the superb team headed by Jamie Butterworth we shall be making a garden that is inspired by Longmeadow and my own dogs but above all a celebration of the way that so many of us share our gardens with our canine companions.'
What will the Dog Garden look like?
At the very centre of the garden will be a neatly mown lawn, which is essential for canine sprawling, sleeping, rolling, flopping, itching and chasing balls, and a large tree which will cast shade on the grass to stretch out on a warm afternoon.
The lawn will drift into longer grass planted with ornamental spring flowering bulbs 'to create more of a tameflower meadow than a wildflower meadow'.
Straight brick paths will create vistas – à la Longmeadow – with one providing the route through the garden for visitors and another leading to a hipped-roof summerhouse. It is here that a special doggy playlist will be on repeat, which radio presenter and keen gardener, Jo Whiley, will be compiling from listener recommendations on her radio show.
Reflecting the special place dogs hold in our hearts and our gardens, the paths will be inscribed with the names of dogs belonging to Radio 2 presenters and RHS ambassadors, including Monty’s beloved dog Ned. Her Majesty The Queen’s adopted Jack Russell Terriers, Beth and Bluebell, will also feature on the path.
Within the garden there will also be a sectioned off area for humans to enjoy a beautiful tapestry of plants, and for dogs to visit only when supervised by their human owners. This educational space will raise awareness of certain plants that are toxic to dogs and other pets. There'll be a mixture of planting, as well as a distinct theme of balls, with lots of alliums and topiary balls.
What will happen to the RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden after the show?
The garden will live on post-RHS Chelsea and will be relocated to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home in south-west London (minus the toxic plants) for all the rescue dogs and the people who work and volunteer there to enjoy for generations to come.
The Dog Garden is part of the RHS 'Your Space, Your Story' initiative, which aims to champion the individuality of all gardeners, celebrating how outdoor spaces can bring to life every person's passion from pet-friendly sanctuaries to small urban havens.
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