Monty Don will visit a Lake District garden in his new TV series.
The gardener travels around Britain to learn what gardens can tell us about the country’s people, climate and history and asks if there is such a thing as a ‘British garden’.
It starts on Friday, January 10 on BBC 2 and the second episode, on Friday January 17, will feature Levens Hall and Gardens.
Viewers will be able to tune in and watch the cameras explore the horticultural delights of South Lakes gardens that are home to the world’s oldest topiary garden, dating from 1694.
Monty Don is known to be a big fan of topiary and even immortalised his former canine companion, Nigel, in a topiary art form.
The programme was filmed during 2023, ahead of a year in which Levens Hall and Gardens, located just a short drive from both Kendal and the M6.
Last year, Levens Hall was also visited by Robson Green and Helen Skelton, filming an episode of Robson Green’s Weekend Escapes, and by fashion brands, Barbour and Malina which both filmed a shoot in the topiary garden.
Levens Hall and Gardens was crowned Cumbria Tourism’s Small Visitor Attraction of the Year in 2024.
The Hall and Gardens are currently closed until March 28.
Owner, Richard Bagot said: “We are greatly looking forward to building on our 2024 achievements and TV exposure always helps with that. 2025 promises to be another fantastic year for our visitor attraction, especially because we will be open for seven days a week, for the first time.
“We are greatly looking forward to what made the final cut for Monty Don’s British Gardens and trust this will inspire visitors from locations across the UK to plan a trip to come and witness our fabulous gardens for themselves.
“If they do, we are sure they will leave with fantastic memories and a real sense of having trodden in the footsteps of one of the historic topiary greats, our garden’s founder, Monsieur Guillaume Beaumont.”
Private tours of Levens Hall’s gardens can be arranged in 2025, along with tours of the hall and its treasures conducted by Richard. The latter is a new addition for 2025.
