When it comes to gardening, we've all got things we love, things we don't and even sometimes things we really actually dislike. However, one of gardening guru Monty Don's bugbears has been greatly dividing opinion since it was revealed.
Speaking on Jo Whiley and Zoe Ball's podcast Dig It, gardening guru Monty Don reminisced on the time he revealed his most hated plant and was immediately regretful, after the reaction he received from the gardening community.
Monty Don's most disliked plant
It might seem difficult to believe that there's any way someone can dislike a flower or specific plant. Even weeds can be wildlife-friendly and useful for your plot. However, everyone has their own taste and preferences when it comes to choosing plants for their own garden. Even professional gardeners who've planted just about every species there is.
Zoe begins the discussion, asking, "Is there anything you particularly don’t love? You know, there are plants we all love, there are ones that we’ve tried, there are ones that we’ve given up with, perhaps, are there any that have been a terror to you?"
So you may be wondering, what plant could THE Monty Don not like? Well, you may not have guessed this one flowering houseplant – begonias.
Monty begins the story by painting a rather sympathetic picture of a busy, media-heavy week at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
"I remember we were filming at Chelsea, and the producer came up to me, and it was a Thursday, and Thursday for us at Chelsea is that we’ve done everything. We’ve covered every garden, we’ve covered every stand, we’ve spoken to everybody who’ll speak to us," starts Monty.
"You know by then we’ve done about 18 hours of telly and everyone’s exhausted. So Thursday is the trying day, Friday is fine because you’re nearly finished," he continues.
"So the night before Thursday, the producer came up to me and said is there anything particularly you really don’t like? And I said, well, begonias, really, I don’t like begonias. And she said, would you be prepared to say that? And I said, Yeah, fine," recalls Monty.
As one of the tender plants you need to bring indoors in autumn, begonias can be rather high-maintenance and unstable, but they're widely loved by gardeners thanks to their colours.
"The next day, live on telly I heard myself saying, “I really hate begonias, you see.” And of course, the producer loved it, because every paper said you know, and I practically needed a bodyguard to go around with, and then the next day they sent me to interview a begonia grower, of course," Monty adds.
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Laughing along with Monty, Jo and Zoe ask how exactly that meeting went down. "Well, I mean I was just grovelling, you know I’d said not your begonias of course, you know your begonias are lovely," Monty chuckles in reply.
As expected, this public confession has been met with a rather divided response. Some Instagram users agree with Monty, one saying, "I actually don't like plants you have to dig out every winter. So begonias and dahlias are really not my stuff either."
However, others are quick to share their love for the plants, with one user commenting, "People who say they don't like begonias haven't been paying attention! There is such a range, they aren't just those your Grandma grew anymore, and the foliage ones are amazing."
So what side are you on? Will begonias be included in the summer bulbs you plant this year, or are you also bidding them farewell in favour of a more sturdy, low-maintenance plant?
Although begonias are one of the plants you should bring indoors over winter, they make fantastic houseplants. So if you do like the look of them, they're a great choice for a plant you can enjoy all year round.
