Can I start a friendly debate?

I didn't see it [I cant stand Monty Don controversial I know] but there are lots of people who talk utter tosh about 'nature and wild gardens'. A native plant left to grow can be a thing of beauty.
As for Jargon: words used to sound important and knowledgeable when really they often indicate lack of true understanding. But that is just me ;o)

We both thought the overgrown garden in Glasgow looked like a 'Before' garden, waiting for a make-over and as for the Forest garden ... words failed us, especially when the guy climbed up the tree . . . what was that all about? One of the least informative editions of GW for a long time.

I thought the chap in urban Glasgow was an absolute star. There was real magic in the way they entered the space from under the sprawling honeysuckle & it was like being transported into real nature from the outside concrete & tarmac, noise & stress.
The forest garden bloke in Somerset just seemed like a bit of a pseud. One of those sorts that like to bang on about how nutritious dandelion & chickweed salads are when he could just grow spinach & lettuce.
Of course, any gardener should have wildlife areas & places where the grass is left to grow in preference to a green desert of lawn mown, weeded & fertilised into submission. That sort of thing should be left in the past?
But there's room enough for a mixture...

I thought both gardens were interesting. I take my hat off to anyone who is nurturing wildlife and exploring natural medicines, eating their own produce etc. And managing to do all of this without using chemicals. Yes, the man climbing the tree was very eccentric, but I would quite like to have a conversation with him. I like people who live thoughtfully and follow what they believe. I thought he genuinely loved his plot, and that is always a good thing. For me, both plots lacked colour. I garden mostly for colour, so that’s a totally different approach. But the concept of Permaculture is fascinating and something I would maybe try if I lived in the South where its easier to grow a greater variety of edibles. I agreed with Monty when he said we don’t grow enough nut trees or eat enough nuts. It made me think, and that’s never a bad thing. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I'm fighting back the poison ivy & poison oak all season. They are more than just an eyesore, they are a real hazard.

I'm always interested to see other styles or types of garden. Even if you don't like it, you might get an idea or see a plant that provides inspiration. I have also visited gardens that sound right up my street from the description, but come away hating them

LOL Wildrose you really did not like that programme. I switched on the TV this am to find out if our bright but not sunny day was going to last. The programme was already running so I missed the Glasgow bit. Maybe I need a hearing aid but I thought the 'forest garden' was a 'forage garden'. With five acres to play with and a budget of only £1000 I liked the idea of having bee hives and nettles. If my kids were small again I would have liked to know more about the tree that grew to climbable size within just five years. We had mature trees in the garden and our kids had a swing and a tree house of sorts and a lot of fun with them. One thing I think the programme lacked was a facts sheet on the plants being shown. The names may be up on the screen but they are gone before one has a chance to record them. Beechgrove has a facts sheet which is downloadable so you can enjoy their programme in full. I like the idea of growing my own fruit and nuts as they need a lot less attention and time than growing vegetables. I like growing plants from seeds so that I can enjoy seeing the lifecycle from seed to maturity. Nice to see the thalictrum being promoted as it is one of my favourite plants. I cannot say I love every garden we visit but I do not remember seeing one I hated. I might not want to make the effort to travel very far to see one I did not find inspiring but there is usually something worth seeing.

Lots of diverse comments here and I found each one interesting and thought provoking.
A bit like the 'Owl afraid of the dark,' I still didn't like it, but I have given it more thought.

It probably was a 'Forage garden' Scotsgran not a 'Forest garden' as that title would make a lot more sense.

Thanks everyone.

I saw the program but didn't take much notice (trying to do something else at the same time)
I remember the wild garden though which I thought was a bit too wild. I think it's a good idea to have part of a garden suitable for insects etc e.g. leaving some weeds in an out of the way corner, but it's going a bit far to have the whole garden wild, especially if you have neighbours because weeds can spread to neighbouring gardens and cause a problem.

So true Hywel. I'd hate to live in an Urban area and have a neighbour with a garden full of weeds. Would drive me mad having to put up with all the seedlings.

I agree Karen, I suppose living in an urban area you'd need to think of ways to help nature, but you should also have some consideration for your neighbours.
Here where we live we suffer from all the seeds that spread into the garden from the surrounding fields and hedgerows, where I believe there's enough food for the wildlife, so there's no need to have a garden full of weeds as well :D
Having said that though I think it's good to think about what flowers we grow and try to have some that provide a bit of extra help for the insects, and that can be done without having a garden full of grass and weeds.

I usually like to record Gardener's World, then I can fast forward through all the annoying bits and anything that doesn't interest me - I don't grow veg., so knowing when to plant or pull has no interest!
My garden always has some wild areas, trying to confine it to the field where I plant all the things that spread too rapidly, I don't like or that are wild. The Tansy and Achillea are heading in that direction at the end of their flowering as I just can't keep them staked and upright - just too big!
So, I applaude anyone that is willing to leave some native plants for insects to live on. However, I think it can go too far to be called a garden, whatever Monty says about "if there is a gardener, then it's a garden". Perhaps he would like to see part of my field where the Docks got left one year, resulting in a carpet of Docks the next! Still trying to mow them down.
With the current mania for grasses, how many of us will be be-moaning the seeds from these blowing into our own garden and will they take over the native vegetation?
About the BBC losing the plot - anyone else irritated by the way you get a run in of what going to be on the programme? I know the attention span is supposed to be getting shorter, but snippets of things is annoying, also giving part of a story (documentaries), switch to another one, leave that, back to the first - frustrating!

Honeysuckle, we too have small areas of our garden which are more 'wild' than others and I realise that is a good thing as well as enjoying it being like that.

We have never planted grasses because our garden has many unwanted grasses all over the place which we struggle to keep on top of!! There are many very pretty ornamental grasses but they are not for us!

The funniest/strangest thing for me was what he used his Verbascum leaves for ,weird man ...

Amy, perhaps he thinks there will be a shortage of loo rolls come Brexit!!!

Uh oh not the B word 😄
There was just loads in what he said that was just not really believable imo. That plant he said was good to eat would take half an hour or more to prepare then be as nutritious as a medium potato. And how much verbascum would you need if you were fairly regular!!
I suspect he's one of those social media influencers that's making money from coming up with any old 'on trend' nonsense

Lol! I thought...oooh errr..you’d have to make sure you wiped in the right direction or you’d end up with a very nasty rash!

Lol ..... thats brilliant Shirley ,made me laugh Haha :o)

Karen, same thought went through my mind!

Amy, glad you were amused ... :o))

Wildrose you deserve a prize for the most entertaining blog of the week and you are right on trend inviting audience participation. Maybe these different kinds of gardeners were happy to work for free thereby allowing the Beeb to save up so they can continue free TV for the over 75's.

Well Wildrose, I wouldn't want to live next door to either of them to be truthful, they are not what I think a garden should look like, ( my opinion, obviously) and both could become wildernesses very quickly!!
I thought Montys garden was wild !! until Friday night!! but it's typical of the BBC must be politically correct, so we are now going to be swamped with naturalistic spaces/gardens!!! so anyone who neglects their plot can claim, it's a wildlife haven, our poor neighbour has one such chap......and it's a nightmare!
If we had a larger garden we would love a meadow, but we haven't, so we will mow, edge, weed and feed our green patch into submission!! because that's what our visitors like to see!! and expect!! and it's what we like!!
We eat plenty of nuts, and don't feel the need to grow our own any more ( have been there, done that) none of this is new!! self sufficiency (John Semour!!) remember him? was all the rage when we first started gardening, tore up the lawn to grow fruit and vegetables, the neighbours thought we were crazy!! and we were!! just another fad....
So we will continue to buy toilet rolls, nuts from the supermarket, feed the birds, encourage the frogs.....and live and let live....... because we too were young and slightly mad .......many years ago!!

😀 lol..well said Angela. You’re right..it is a fad. I’d still like a Hazelnut tree though! ;)

I couldn't remember what he used the verbascum leaves for and was about to ask you - no need, I get the gist!!!

Just love all the comments here.

DD - I couldn't have put it better myself!! Your words made me chuckle but were so astute!!

Scotsgran - a prize? Not a verbascum thanks!!!

Definitely not.

Wildrose, pleased you enjoyed my ramblings, Karen, get yourself one then, great fun!!

Not sure what you mean about the BBC being politically correct DD? I've never really understood the term.
It seems unlikely that we'll be swamped with a new naturalistic trend as most of us are capable of making our own decisions?
The guy in Scotland was obviously trying to create something nice from an environment where abandoned cars & everyday environmental pollution was something that would drag people down in their environment.
The guy in Somerset owns the acres of land & does with them as he wishes?
Just because you want to hang on to those old gardening methods doesn't mean you should force them on others?
Being blind to our responsibilities to the environment doesn't make us free of cares...

I have to say, we thought it looked pretty awful. It was a tip in my opinion. There's a nature garden etc and there's this one...not my cup of tea. Maybe others liked it, fair play.
But, did he actually do any gardening?

Darren, Angela has a strong opinion...but she’s not trying to force anyone to do anything. She’s only giving her viewpoint. And it’s a valid one, as is yours. :)

Sorry DD that came across more harshly than I meant!

Thanks Karen, and apologies accepted Darren..╮(. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)╭

Flippin' eck a heated debate and I never saw the program! don't watch GW any more, still listen to I GQT though:-))

Talking of a heated debate Ba did you see the House of Commons last night, now THAT was a heated debate?!!! Good to see you here!
x

Yes I saw it, half wish I hadn't, stuff of nightmares:-(