Monty Don Reveals His Wife’s small Mistake That Stopped Gardeners’ World Filming

Monty Don has shared a charming behind-the-scenes moment from Gardeners’ World — and it all started with one innocent move by his wife, Sarah.

As the beloved host of the BBC gardening series, Monty has become the face of calm and expertise. But even in the most organized settings, things don’t always go as planned. Speaking on the Gardeners’ World podcast, Monty gave fans a rare glimpse into the kind of planning — and chaos — that goes on behind the scenes of the much-loved show, which is filmed at his Herefordshire home.

Each episode is carefully crafted. The team holds weekly production meetings where every scene is mapped out, often guided by what’s in bloom in Monty’s garden at the time of filming. But nature — and sometimes loved ones — can still surprise them.

Monty recalled one memorable day when filming had to pause for lunch. The crew was set to shoot a segment featuring a bed of stunning dahlias. But just before they got to it, the director suggested they take a break.

“I always pop inside and eat whatever’s left in the kitchen,” Monty shared. “Sarah wasn’t there, but I thought she might be around somewhere. I had my cold rice and came back out.”

What he saw next took him by surprise.

“They went to film the dahlias — but they were all gone. And there was Sarah, holding this massive bouquet of flowers. She’d picked them all!” he laughed.

Monty didn’t blame her — it was a simple, sweet mistake. But it definitely threw the schedule off for the day.

And it’s not just surprise flower-picking that causes hiccups. Monty also described another instance where filming was halted by a sudden downpour. “The camera got wet. We had to stop, dry it off with a hairdryer, and wait,” he said.

Once the skies cleared and the sun returned, continuity became an issue. “The director said, ‘We’ve got to make it match.’ So we set the camera back up and used a hosepipe to spray me down while I did the shot again — just to keep it consistent!”

It’s moments like these — unexpected, funny, and human — that make Gardeners’ World feel so real. And Monty’s stories remind us that even in a perfectly planned garden, life finds a way to keep things interesting.