Monty Don shares plans for his special 'dog garden' at Chelsea Flower Show

What did you miss?

Monty Don has revealed his special garden for dogs at Chelsea Flower Show will have everything from ripped sofas to doggie TV.

The horticulturist and broadcaster is a dog lover and his Golden Retriever Ned often appears on his television series Gardeners’ World. So when Don was tasked with creating a garden for Chelsea he decided it need to appeal to canines.

He spilled some details as he appeared on The One Show, sharing that the garden would include a lawn covered in balls and a place for dogs to paddle.

What, how and why?

Don — who also owns a Yorkshire Terrier called Patti — was quizzed about the project as he appeared on the BBC show on Wednesday, 8 January. He said the garden was "a bit of fun" and that afterwards it was going to be given to Battersea Dogs Home, with the Queen set to open it.

"I call it the dog garden because everything in it is designed for dogs, to celebrate dogs, to a certain extent by dogs - we have got one part of the garden where dogs can just meander around and choose where they go, and plants growing up," he said.

"I have got a shed where I am going to have a screen playing dog television.

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"We are going to have chairs with stuffing coming out so only dogs can sit in them. There is a wallow so the dogs can sort of splash around and lie on their backs and get nice and wet and cool. A lawn with balls around."

"So it's fun, it's just a bit of fun," said Don, who has teamed up with Radio 2 and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) for the garden.

Monty Don's dogs known to Gardeners' World fans

Don is known for loving dogs and before Ned and Patti, his pets Nigel and Nell were well known to viewers as they followed him around his garden.

Nigel died in 2020, with Don posting a moving message on Instagram saying that he was "suddenly taken ill". "Rest now old friend," he wrote. "See you in the sweet bye and bye."

Nell died in October 2023 after being diagnosed with cancer. "She was diagnosed with cancer in June and every day this summer has been a gift but it is over now," the presenter wrote on Instagram.

"We buried her in the garden next to Nigel wrapped in one of my jackets with flowers, balls and her favourite biscuits."

The One Show airs at 7pm on BBC One on weekdays.

Chelsea Flower Show takes place from 20 May to 24 May this year.