Monty Don says wife was not impressed after auction bid error – ‘We couldn’t pay for it’

Monty Don recalled a time he accidentally bought 1,100 trees at an auction instead of 12.

Speaking on the Gardeners’ World magazine podcast with editor Lucy Hall in 2022, the 68-year-old revealed that despite minor disagreements about their garden on occasion, his wife Sarah Don is supportive of his decisions.

The BBC presenter said the auction took place in 1993 and added his other half was not happy about the purchase.

Monty explained: “She wasn’t entirely pleased by it, mainly because we couldn’t pay for it and it took a lot wrangling to raise the money.

“But in those days, of course, it was all paid for by cheque and I did it on a Saturday so there was no danger of the cheque bouncing before the Wednesday. So I had three days to raise the money, which I did.”

He then went on to praise his wife, saying: “Sarah has always been an entirely supportive partner in crime. One of the things I always say privately and I should say publicly at every opportunity, it’s her garden as much as mine. This is not my garden, it’s our garden. It’s ‘We’ always.”

Monty has previously revealed that he and his wife suffered financially decades ago and the pair were forced to file for bankruptcy in 1987 after the infamous stock market crash in the same year wiped out their savings.

Sarah recalled how their financial situation had a profound impact on the couple’s mental and physical health.

The pair detailed their dire situation in their book, the Jewel Garden.

She went on to state that she felt they had hit rock bottom when she was lying in bed sick as they tried to sell their house.

Sarah wrote: “I suppose the lowest point for me was when I was hidden away on my sickbed while potential buyers traipsed round the house.”

Monty added: “We were lambs to the slaughter and we lost everything, we lost our house, our business. We sold every stick of furniture we had.”

Monty and Sarah married in 1983 and share three children together after the pair first met at Cambridge University and now reside in Herefordshire together.

The presenter can often be seen posting pictures to Instagram from his gorgeous gardens at home.

Gardeners’ World airs tonight on BBC Two at 9pm.