Gardener Monty Don to create a dog-friendly garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2025
Monty Don, a regular presenter of BBC Gardeners' World and Chelsea Flower Show coverage, is set to design a unique garden for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2025. This garden, named the RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden, is a sensory haven specifically designed for dogs, reflecting Monty's own love for canines.
The garden is a collaboration between Monty Don and Jamie Butterworth, Plant Expert and Horticulturist from Form Plants. It is inspired by the nation's love of dogs and aims to celebrate the connection between dogs and gardens.
The RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden is a sensory garden, featuring plants with interesting textures and scents, such as oregano, that stimulate dogs' senses. However, it's important to note that some plants, like alliums and foxgloves, which are included in the garden, are toxic to dogs. Monty Don deliberately includes these in his garden choices, reflecting his own garden choices.
The garden also incorporates blue-yellow spectrum flowers, visible to dogs, and surfaces and smells tailored for enrichment, providing sensory diversity. The garden is designed to engage dogs' senses and reduce stress, ultimately supporting their speedy recovery and rehoming process.
After the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the garden will be relocated to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, where it will serve as a permanent sensory and therapeutic space for shelter dogs. This noble and practical application of garden design to animal welfare demonstrates the high-profile support and significance of this project.
The garden also has royal connections through Queen Camilla's patronage of Battersea. Her Majesty The Queen's adopted Jack Russell Terriers, Beth and Bluebell, will also be featured on the path.
Clare Matterson, RHS director general, is excited about creating a garden that celebrates the connection between dogs and gardens. The RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden is part of the RHS's 'Your Space, Your Story' initiative, aiming to help dog lovers create garden spaces for their pets.
Radio 2 presenter Jo Whiley will champion the garden on her show and create a doggy playlist to be played during Chelsea 2025. The brick paths in the Garden for Dogs will bear the names of dogs belonging to Radio 2 presenters, RHS ambassadors, and Monty Don's beloved dog Ned. Ned himself has made an appearance on the Talking Gardens podcast.
The RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden will also raise awareness of plants toxic to dogs and other pets. The garden will feature a neatly mown lawn and a large tree for shade, with ornamental spring flowering bulbs planted on the lawn.
This innovative garden is set to be a highlight of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2025, offering a unique and enriching environment for our canine friends.
- The RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden, designed by Monty Don and Jamie Butterworth, showcases an assortment of plants like oregano and alliums, aiming to stimulate dogs' senses, while also featuring some plants toxic to dogs, reflecting Monty's personal garden choices.
- The garden, a collaboration between garden design, home-and-garden lifestyle, radio broadcasting, and animal welfare, is set to raise awareness about plants harmful to pets, offering a sensory and therapeutic space for shelter dogs at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
