Gardening expert Monty Don might be hesitant to run a relaxing bath any time soon, after he shared a hilarious story involving leaping out of one and running naked through his garden.
Appearing on Zoe Ball and Jo Whiley’s Dig It podcast, the Gardeners’ World presenter revealed that, just after sinking into his bath, the moo of a Hereford cow disturbed his peace.
Fans of Zoe and Jo’s podcast are used to the pair laying it all bare – openly covering topics from fearing an empty nest to the overwhelming anticipation of divorce – but it’s likely one would never imagine they’d ever be discussing a “stark naked” Monty chasing a herd of cattle.
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Sharing his streak of bad luck with the pair, he explained how he had just got into the bath when he suddenly heard a ‘moo’. Right outside the window, he realised around 20 grazing cows had entered his garden – and he had to act fast.
Monty told an amused looking Zoe and Jo, “I leapt out, grabbed the towel and wrapped it around my waist, ran downstairs, put on my wellies.
“Started to run, at which point the towel disappeared and sort of fell off. Couldn’t stop running, so in wellies and stark b****ck naked, running through the garden, chasing these cattle.”
Not quite the quaint countryside life many might picture.
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Monty continued, “The gate was open. Luckily, after about five minutes, they made their way out”, jokingly adding the cows were left “amazed, terrified by this dreadful man”.
At this point, Zoe had her head in her hands, laughing at the embarrassment of it all, and Jo drily added, “The sight of it all.”
As well as sharing his embarrassing anecdote, Monty was on hand to offer some advice on gardening to Zoe and Jo.
While promoting his new book, British Gardens, Monty shared one of his favourite gardens – Wullet and Old Hall. What makes it such a good garden? He said, “It has that very British mixture of wonderful plants, a really subtle, very skilled use of colour and design, plus very high levels of horticulture”.
Aspiring gardeners Zoe and Jo then decided to ask the expert a question many will find relatable when they start growing their own plants and veg – how can you keep slugs away.
His answer was rather surprising.
“You can’t stop slugs. Slugs live by the million in your soil. You’re not going to get rid of them. That’s my point. They are there. They are they are just as much wildlife as a beautiful butterfly or a wonderful songbird.”
However, that’s not to say nothing can be done.
“What they love are unhealthy plants or damaged plants. And if you have a strong healthy plant, they won’t go for that because that’s not the food they want. So if you’re growing anything in a pot, make sure you feed it.
“Make sure the pot is big enough. Make sure that the soil is as good as it could be. Grow your plants hard, which means don’t mollycoddle them so they adapt and are tough, but at the same time make sure they’re happy.
“That’s much better than trying to get rid of slugs.”
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