Monty Don's American Gardens
British gardening enthusiast Monty Don admits that the United States has led the world for the last one hundred years in most facets of life, and that it has certainly dominated global culture. But can the same be said about its gardens, or if there is in fact such a thing as a quintessential American garden, especially in a country as vast geographically and thus climatically as the US? Monty makes a tour of the gardens of the US in a quest to answer these questions.
- 2020-2020
- 1 season
- Documentary
British gardening enthusiast Monty Don admits that the United States has led the world for the last one hundred years in most facets of life, and that it has certainly dominated global culture. But can the same be said about its gardens, or if there is in fact such a thing as a quintessential American garden, especially in a country as vast geographically and thus climatically as the US? Monty makes a tour of the gardens of the US in a quest to answer these questions.
Season 1 Episode Guide
3 Episodes 2020
Episode 1
Episode #1.1
59 mins
In trying to answer the question if there is a something called a typical American garden, Monty begins his quest at the Prairie Garden Trust, as the wild prairie landscape used to cover much of the country before it was plowed under, but whose influence in cultivated gardening is still strong. After that visit, he confines his visits to gardens in the northeast quadrant of the country, all cultivated in some respect despite their vast outward differences in some maintaining some aspect of non-cultivation, and others which some may not consider gardening, such as cut plant (as opposed to strictly flower) arranging. The common thread he finds is the connection between gardening and a pioneering spirit, the concept which is challenged in the notion of gardening trying to conquer nature.
Episode 2
Episode #1.2
59 mins
Having covered the Midwest and northeast, Monty continues his American journey in search of "the American garden" by heading south. His first stop is Washington, DC, and due to its very nature being the seat of government, Monty can't help but add a little politics into the discussion. He finds the connection between Britain and the US by visiting the American home of and talking to the British ambassador, and visit what is arguably the most important garden in the country historically, namely Monticello, what was the home of the third US President, Thomas Jefferson, his "Renaissance" man pursuits which included gardening. Monty then continues south to visit gardens in South Carolina, Miami, and New Orleans. While most of those gardens are cultivated ones, each reflecting the specific culture and climate, diverse even in what many would regard this fairly narrow geographic expanse, he also literally goes off the beaten path in going wild orchid hunting in the bayous of Louisiana.
Episode 3
Episode #1.3
59 mins
Monty concludes his systematic journey having done much of the eastern half, from his last point in the Deep South now heading west. In Arizona, he sees how many are now embracing as opposed to fighting the desert landscape in garden cultivation. While that desert landscape extends into Southern California, the overarching theme he finds there is the fantasy consistent with Hollywood, with the notion that anything can be done often with extreme opulence and flamboyance. Conversely, he discovers a movement in Southern California schools to teach children of back to the land, specifically how to grow and thus appreciate food. Moving north, Monty fulfills a lifelong dream of seeing the majestic redwood forests in the central coast, and learns why these trees survive specifically in this narrow geographic region. He finishes his journey in the Pacific Northwest, among the gardens visited there being one a seemingly repayment for the negative aspects of the designer's profession. By the end, Monty has some answers to his initial question of if there is such a thing as a typical American garden.