Monty Don was back on the BBC (Image: BBC)
BBC star was back this evening (January 17) with another episode of . The 69-year-old gardener and presenter travelled across the north of England and to Northern Ireland as he visited iconic gardens – including one that formerly belonged to legendary author .
He shared that while Beatrix was born to a middle class family in London, she often spent her summers in the Lake District – where she was said to have developed a fascination with which later inspired her stories such as The Tales of Peter Rabbit.
Monty explained: “In 1905, at the age of 39, she bought Hill Top Farm and became a prominent member of the farming community as well as a highly successful business woman. The money for Hill Top came from her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and the following years some of the most enduringly successful children’s books of all time were to follow.”
He went on to explain that Beatrix’s home and garden were used as the settings for many of her much-loved books. The presenter then pointed out some key landmarks such as iconic gates, which were “recognisably the same” as the ones in Potter’s illustrations.
Speaking to one of the current gardeners at the property, Monty asked about the complexities of maintaining the grounds as he said that people “expect to see certain things”, such as the gardening patch from the books.
Monty explored the former home of Beatrix Potter (Image: BBC)
Pete, the gardener for the National Trust, shared: “Yeah, it’s very true. They expect a garden that’s very immaculate and tidy but what they get is a garden that is slightly unkempt. It was never designed to be organised or a perfect garden.
“She wasn’t a gardener. She had never done any gardening before she came here.”
Monty shared his own thoughts on the historic garden, saying: “What’s particularly interesting to me in this garden is that not only does it recreate what Beatrix Potter would have done, and in some ways with a kind of honesty of not trying to be perfect that is surprising, but it also recreates the cottage garden.”
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Monty explored gardens across Britain (Image: BBC)
He added: “It’s not just a slice of Beatrix Potter’s life, but actually it’s a picture of what hundreds of thousands of gardens would have been like one hundred or two hundred years ago.”
Some fans of the show seemed to be touched by the informative segment. Posting on X/Twitter, one wrote: “Coming up 17 months postpartum and will still cry over sentimental things, currently Monty Don touring Beatrix Potter’s garden.”
Another added: “Totally breath-taking. Thank you @TheMontyDon #BritishGardens.” While a third penned: “Very enjoyable. Looking forward to the rest of the series #BritishGardens.”