In just over a month, Chelsea Flower Show is set to take over the capital once more and there’s a particularly exciting first time exhibitor: gardening legend Monty Don. Monty is no stranger to the Chelsea crowd, of course, and is usually found at the show giving commentary or taking part in television filming, but this will be the first time he’s there showing a garden of his own. Monty is well known for his love of dogs – his own Golden Retrievers (and Yorkshire Terrier) have featured prominently on Gardeners’ World and on his social media, so it’s rather endearing that his design is especially tailored to our four-legged friends.

So what can we expect from Monty’s canine garden? Never one to follow the crowd, Monty is bringing something quite radical to Chelsea: a lawn. It may seem the most mundane part of any British garden but lawns rarely, if ever, appear in the gardens at Chelsea Flower Show and when they do, they are manicured perfectly. Not so in Monty’s vision, however: his garden will feature a ‘shaggy lawn’ covered in what we might think of as weeds: dandelions, clover, daisies et cetera. It’s not a surprising move from Monty Don, who has previously called for people to stop mowing their lawns and let nature do what its supposed to do in order to support the local flora, fauna and wildlife.

RHS

The garden will truly be a highlight of Chelsea Flower Show, taking centre stage in the middle of the grounds. Monty worked with garden designer Jamie Butterworth on the show garden, who told The Times, “we don’t want this to be a manicured lawn. We want this to be a modest and familiar lawn, a lawn that’s perhaps a little rough around the edges, with dandelions and daisies growing freely.” It’s not simply about rewilding though, but also a message to encourage British gardeners to relax around their own lawn maintenance. “Lawns are one of those things that become a chore,” Jamie explains, “and it tends to get grouped along with hoovering. As soon as you have the mentality of it being a chore, all of a sudden gardening becomes a chore.”

It is likely to go down very well with one contingent of viewers: the royal family. Regulars at the show – and indeed the Princess of Wales was involved in designing a show garden last year – they fastidiously tour the gardens and delight in what’s on offer but as a dog-loving family, Monty’s garden will surely be a favourite. In fact, the design is so tailored to dogs that the garden itself will be donated to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home at the end of the show.

When Monty Don talks, people really listen, so we’re fully expecting this to be the year of the shaggy lawn. Watch this space.