Life after Monty
One week on and we're still coming to terms with Monty's sudden departure. It was a huge shock for the whole production team last Thursday. We all knew that he hasn't been well, but none of us ever thought it would come to this. Working with Monty has been great fun and a huge honour. And I, for one, will miss him greatly.
With Monty very much in mind, it therefore seemed appropriate that we did some filming with Carol in his green garden yesterday. This is for next week's show. It's my favourite part of Berryfields at the moment. So calm and tranquil. A lovely place to take a breather during a hectic day of filming. Of course, some would say that a garden devoid of any other colour would be boring. But I don't agree. It just forces you to take more notice of texture and form, which is no bad thing. Carol and I were both hugely inspired by Tom Stuart-Smith's green garden at Chelsea this year and I know Monty loves it too.
While Carol was busy planting, Joe was giving our herb garden a bit of a revamp. Some of its occupants had outgrown their space, so it was more than ready for a redesign. As a researcher, I have to decide which plants we're going to feature, which is one of the best bits of the job. But with so many herbs available these days, I was torn between what we should and shouldn't include.
I must say that I'm really looking forward to tonight's programme which Ben researched. It's all about wildlife gardening to tie in with Springwatch. Can't wait to hear what Simon King has to say about Berryfields. It's a haven for birds and the birdsong you hear on the programme is all genuine. Listen out for the melodious call of the skylark on next week's show, and the chiffchaff competing with Carol in the dry garden. It's one of the joys of gardening...being at one with nature.
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