Monty Don: "I genuinely don't know what retirement would look like"
The king of British gardening on turning 70 and why he won’t be giving up Gardeners’ World any time soon, despite his wife complaining that he’s addicted to work.
The king of British gardening on turning 70 and why he won’t be giving up Gardeners’ World any time soon, despite his wife complaining that he’s addicted to work.
Monty Don has never sought approval. The self-confessed black sheep of his family, he was expelled from school twice, flunked exams and ran away with a married woman.
So it’s not surprising to hear that he recently turned down an offer to become a master of a prestigious Oxford University college.
"I thought, 'My God, what would my parents think?' They’d be amazed. Because it’s such a conventional status of achievement and respectability.
"Of course, I’m flattered, but it’s absurd. If you’ve been around long enough in the public eye, people assume you’re somehow respectable – but I’m no more worthy now than I was 20 years ago. One of the great liberations of age is realising that you don’t have to try and impress anybody. Just do your thing."
He’s in an ebullient mood as we chat, ahead of the launch of his latest book, British Gardens, which aims to identify why we’re such a green-fingered nation.
With his current BBC contract due to run out at the end of this year, and more travel documentaries in the pipeline, he set the hares running recently with talk of giving up Gardeners’ World after 22 years at the helm.
But he puts the record straight today, revealing that negotiations are under way for him to present the flagship programme till at least 2028.
"I hope I’m continuing, but as I come up to the end of every contract, I seriously consider how it fits the rest of my life," he says.
"And each time, it’s come down fairly and squarely that I’d like to continue. But there will come a time when either they’ll say, 'No, thanks' or I’ll say, 'It’s time for a change.' But neither of us, as far as I know, has reached that point yet."
He’s certainly showing no signs of easing off on work, despite crossing the threshold of 70 last July, which he marked in customary style – out in the garden, digging a celebratory crop of new potatoes to share at home with Sarah, his wife of 42 years.
"I’m not one for drama with birthdays," he says. "It’s just one step nearer the grave.
"I genuinely don’t know what retirement would look like. I don’t play golf or tennis, and I can’t see myself doing the crossword all day.
"Whenever I say to Sarah, 'Well, thank God, I have no addictions,' she rolls her eyes and says, 'You are completely addicted to work!' But there comes a point in life when saying no is the least interesting option. And in reality, I like work."
Two experiences instilled this in Monty. Firstly, through his unconventional childhood. He was born in 1955 as the youngest of five, and was sent to boarding school by seven.
His emotionally distant parents set him to work on the veg patch in the school holidays from the age of eight, and his loathing of this chore turned, in time, to love, as he discovered the action of gardening made him deeply happy.
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