Review & Giveaway: Down to Earth by Monty Don

Reviews

Monty Don is a real gardening inspiration for me.  I’ve watched him present Gardeners’ World for many years now, and seeing him at work in his amazing garden never fails to give me new ideas and enthusiasm for our own plot.  I love the way his passion for gardening is so obvious, and his knack for sharing his extensive knowledge and experience in a way that always feels accessible, even to the most amateur gardener.

So, as you can imagine, I was absolutely thrilled to be offered his new book, Down to Earth, to review and give away.  I’ve got three copies up for grabs; it really is a brilliant book for anyone interested in gardening, read on to find out how to be in with the chance of winning one!

Down to Earth by Monty Don

In Down to Earth, Monty Don shares the wealth of gardening knowledge he has built up over the years.  The book is broken up into chapters that deal with things like design, colour, seasons, weeds, pests and growing your own.  Each of these chapters is written very much in the style that Monty uses when he presents; when you read them, it feels like you’re sitting there having a chat with him.  Underpinning all of the knowledge and advice is Monty’s belief that gardening promotes mental and spiritual wellbeing; there are regular references to these less tangible benefits, as well as plenty of anecdotes from his own personal experience of the transformative powers of gardening.

There’s also a whole section of the book dedicated to the gardening year, with jobs to do each month.  If you watch Gardeners’ World, it’s a bit like the Jobs for the weekend feature, and as such it’s a really useful reference to help shape your gardening to do list.

To give you a taster of the book, here’s what Monty has to say on the topic of garden design.

excerpt from Down to Earth by Monty Donexcerpt from Down to Earth by Monty Don

See what I mean about the conversational style?  It really is a lovely book to read; it’s packed with practical advice, but not at all hard-going.  The practically organised sections allow you to dip in and out if necessary, and no matter what size your garden, there’s plenty of relevant information and advice.  There is also a wealth of lovely photographs from Monty’s garden at Longmeadow to enjoy (the image below is from the book), many of which reveal the garden in a way that you don’t really see on TV.

Monty Don's garden from his book Down to Earth
Credit: Monty Don

Down to Earth is certainly a gardening book that I’ll come back to again and again, I also think it would make a great gift for anyone interested in improving their gardening knowledge.  What aspect of gardening would you be looking for Monty’s advice on first?

Win a copy of Down to Earth by Monty Don

I’m giving away three copies of Down to Earth by Monty Don, each with an RRP of £17.99.  To enter, just follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter widget below.  Good luck!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway
GIVEAWAY CLOSES: 12th NOVEMBER 2017 11:59PM

UK ENTRIES ONLY

FULL T&C’s IN THE RAFFLECOPTER ABOVE

Dorling Kindersley provided the books for review and prize purposes.  All opinions and comments are honest and genuine.

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Catherine is a gardener, plant lover, writer, and award winning author of children’s nature books. Her blog is a Vuelio Top 5 gardening blog and her work has been featured in many online and print publications including Grow Your Own Magazine, House Beautiful, Daily Mail, Tesco Magazine, Suttons, Thompson & Morgan, and many more. She is also a member of the Garden Media Guild.

57 Comments

  2. When to plant really I love lots of plants but don’t know when it’s best to plant them out

  6. I’m pretty new to gardening and not sure what flowers are best put together and the same with veg .

  8. I would love to find out what vegetables i can grow throughout the winter on our allotment and as we grow our food organically, how to prevent the slugs from eating them.

  12. How to get interest and structure in the garden all year round,not just in the summer months!

  15. I need a recommendation for a small, upright-ish growing ornamental tree for our front garden. Not too wide a canopy – don’t want one that casts too much shade. It will be in a south facing garden. Reason – I have to replace a winter flowering cherry that has died of old age and need a similar open branched, delicate looking tree – but not a cherry again.

  17. Growing fruit especially strawberries blackberries and blueberries
    The latter two have been really poor this year

  18. Even though I had a rubbish year with my veg plot this year – I’ve put my name down for an allotment – so all growing advice would be greatly appreciated and maybe I can see where I’ve gone wrong :-)

  19. Thank you for the chance to win a copy of Monty Don’s new book! I’m particularly looking out for his advice of flowers and bulbs. I’ve had my allotment for a few years now and have always concentrated on fruit, veg and structures but I’ve begun to realise just how much pleasure I get from flowers too! I love the way he uses colour palettes, texture and shape! Hopefully I’ve have a couple more flower beds on my plot next year :)

  21. I love white flowers and his white garden is so pretty and romantic, I would love to achieve this in my garden

  30. What to plant for winter colour as my garden can start to be a little lacking in colour during the colder months!

  32. Advice I need is how to get anything done whilst also fielding a toddler with a love of water and sticks…

  38. We always sit down as a family to watch Monty in Gardener’s World and are particulalry interested in his tips for growing fruit and veg as we have an allotment. My wife has even named our cat Monty as a tribute to the Don of the garden

  43. I’d be looking for advice on how to keep on top of the brambles that just seem to keep coming back!

  46. I would love some advice on how to create a vegetable garden and to sustain it throughout the seasons. Thanks for the chance xxx

  52. We have such a small courtyard space I would love some advice on maximising its visual appeal all year long. We currently have a bit of a summer burst then its really sad for the rest of the year!

  53. We moved last year to an old house with a very overgrown garden that had been used as a dumping ground for junk. This past year I have spent clearing the brambles and nettles, digging up the worst of the perennial weeds and removing all kinds of debris ranging from rotten old carpet to old metal pipes and other rubbish that probably accumulated over a couple of decades.
    Come next Spring, I want to start putting in place a suitable garden design, but I don’t really have much idea how to start. I hope to get some inspiration and advice from Monty Don’s book.

  56. The best plants for growing in clay soil, also advice on fruit & vegetable growing, and advice on lawn maintenance

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