The return of Monty Don and his Long Meadow garden was intended to revive the programme. So are things going to plan?
It was December, when most of our gardens were hidden under great billowing drifts of snow, when the BBC announced that it would be ditching the then presenter of Gardener's World, Toby Buckland, and the Greenacres site he had been gradually transforming and welcoming back to TV Monty Don and his mature Herefordshire garden. To say the news met with a rather mixed response wouldn't quite be doing it justice ? for every viewer thrilled to see the return of Don, there was another bemoaning his over-earnest style; for each accusation of dumbing down levelled at Buckland, there was a defence of his fuss-free, informative approach. Throw the return of Rachel de Thame and the demise of Alys Fowler into the mix, and things only got more animated.
It's been tempting to throw open this discussion well before now ? but it not only feels apt to consider it during the week of Chelsea flower show, it also feels like the show has now had to bed back down. The new format Gardener's World has had time to establish itself, and viewers have had time to adjust.
Personally, I've largely been enjoying the show's move to Long Meadow, the kind of enormous, multiple-roomed garden many gardeners dream of, and I've definitely picked up tips and ideas along the way ? although I do wonder quite how defined the show is becoming by Don's personal tastes. By following the life of his garden, we obviously see plenty of his plants, and his often large-scale design. That's definitely inspiring ? but it doesn't always bear much relation to what's going on beyond my back door. (My boyfriend, for instance, has become slightly obsessed by Don's vast compost heap, which he shreds with a petrol mower. That's never going to happen in our average-sized plot).
The trips to viewers' gardens are meant to provide the counterpoint, of course. But I'm often itching for them to be over ? and given the rather stilted exchanges they seem to provoke, I wonder if I'm alone. There should be nothing nicer than sneaking into strangers' back gardens and having a good nosy. Sometimes that holds true ? I loved the dahlia man, for instance ? but at other times the segments feel rather too long, with things not only being explained, but then also demonstrated. One or other would do.
Elsewhere, I am really feeling the lack of Fowler, who brought a youth to Gardener's World that's now rather lacking, and I'm not convinced that Carol Klein is being used properly. She's so brilliant with people, so clear with her explanations, so filled with enthusiasm, that I'd like to see as much of her as of Monty. Couldn't she have a section that deals with the kind of garden most of us actually have? Too small, too weedy, and, currently, unbelievably dry if you're in the south? (Last week's note that you can lose lavender to drought, will not come as news to those praying for rain). Frankly, I'd appreciate her help.
So yes, I have my niggles with the new series. But equally, I have barely missed a week since Gardeners' World came back to air, and I'm enjoying watching Long Meadow develop and grow with each week ? not to mention Don's grown-up, if occasionally wordy delivery. Some of it is clearly escapism: Don ambling down his green corridors, immaculately dishevelled, dog bounding alongside him. But who says a gardening programme can't be a bit dreamy sometimes? Surely part of its job is to be glorious to look at.
But what about you? Have you been enjoying the new season of Gardeners' World, or has it proved a revamp too many? A fantastic return to form? Something in between? Let us know.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/may/25/gardeners-world-monty-don
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