Secret History of the British Garden

Starting his journey at the sole surviving garden of the 1600s, Levens Hall in Cumbria, Monty sets out to investigate what the gardens of this age would have looked like and what influenced and inspired their creation.

Monty bases himself at Rousham House in Oxfordshire, designed by one of the first practitioners of the landscape movement, William Kent. It has survived almost unchanged since its completion in 1741.

Monty Don explores the extraordinary transformations that occurred throughout the 19th century. As a result of an expanding empire, scientific and technological innovation and social change, British gardens became more exotic, more colourful and more widely accessible than ever before.

Monty Don concludes his journey through Britain's gardening heritage by looking at how the nation's gardens have evolved over the last hundred years. He looks at the profound effect that two world wars had on the attitude to gardens and gardening.