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RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden, designed by Monty Don, at RHS Chelsea Flower Show to bring joy to the nation and celebrate UK’s Love of Gardens and Dogs
With the UK renowned as a nation of dog lovers and garden enthusiasts, the RHS and BBC Radio 2 are joining forces with Monty Don to bring a garden for dogs to RHS Chelsea Flower Show to lift people’s spirits and celebrate our deep love of dogs and gardens we share with them.
The RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden will be the first garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show to be designed by Gardeners’ World’s Monty Don, one of Britain’s best loved and best-known gardeners, whose deep affection for dogs is widely known.
The Garden is part of the RHS ‘Your Space, Your Story’ initiative, which will champion the individuality of all gardeners. Whether people are passionate about growing their own food or crave a children’s play area, over 2025 the RHS will celebrate how outdoor spaces can bring to life every person’s passion from pet-friendly sanctuaries to small urban havens.
Clare Matterson, RHS Director General, says: “It’s exciting to be working with Radio 2 and Monty Don to create a garden that celebrates the connection between two of the UK’s greatest loves – dogs and gardens. Nothing lifts us like a beautiful garden, and then, for a little bit of extra joy, we’ve added some wagging tails.
“Over 2025 we really want to celebrate how we’re here for all gardeners; dog lovers, families, keen cooks, houseplant fanatics, everyone, and this garden is a great example of how individuals can all bring to life their passions in their outside spaces.”
With the nation’s dog owners wanting beautiful spaces for them and their furry friends; The RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden will inspire the millions of dog lovers at home to create green havens for them and their pets. Monty wants the garden to be both an exemplar of all the things that dogs love regardless of horticultural fashion and a beautiful space that any dog owner would love.
Monty Don, says: “This is an irresistible opportunity to join with the RHS and Radio 2 to share my love of gardens and dogs at the world’s greatest horticultural event. Along with the superb team headed by Jamie Butterworth we shall be making a garden that is inspired by Longmeadow and my own dogs but above all a celebration of the way that so many of us share our gardens with our canine companions.”
One of the nation’s favourite radio presenters and keen gardener, Jo Whiley, will be championing the garden on Radio 2 – the UK’s most listened to radio station, with a weekly audience of 13.3 million (RAJAR Q2, 2024) – encouraging listeners to choose songs for a special doggy playlist, which will play in a beautiful hipped-roof summer house within The RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden.
Jo Whiley, who hosts a show each Monday to Thursday on Radio 2 and BBC Sounds from 7-9pm, says: “This is a dream come true, bringing my passion for gardening and my love of dogs together for this very special garden. We’ll be getting Radio 2 listeners involved in the playlist a little closer to the time so do tune in for more on that next year!”
At the centre of the garden will be a neatly mown lawn, which whilst tended, is essential for canine sprawling, sleeping, rolling, flopping, itching and chasing balls. A large tree will cast shade on the grass to stretch out on a warm afternoon.
The lawn will drift into longer grass planted with ornamental spring flowering bulbs to create more of a tameflower meadow than a wildflower meadow. Brick paths run straight creating vistas – a touch of Longmeadow – with one providing the route through the garden for visitors and another at right angles to this leading to the summerhouse.
To reflect the special place dogs hold in our hearts and our gardens, the paths will be inscribed with the names of dogs belonging to Radio 2 presenters and RHS ambassadors, as well as of course Monty’s beloved dog Ned. As Patron of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, where the Garden for Dogs will live on after RHS Chelsea, Her Majesty The Queen’s adopted Jack Russell Terriers, Beth and Bluebell, will also feature on the path.
Within the The RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden a sectioned off area will be a place for humans to enjoy a beautiful tapestry of plants, and for dogs to visit only when supervised by their human owners. This space will raise awareness of certain plants that are toxic to dogs and other pets. Here there will be a mixture of planting of familiar yet favourite plants, as well as a distinct theme of balls with lots of alliums and topiary balls of different sizes and kinds.
Garden Designer Monty Don will be creating this, his first RHS Chelsea Flower Garden, with the team at Form Plants, led by Plant Expert and Horticulturist Jamie Butterworth.
After RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the The RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden will live on just across the River Thames at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home for all the rescue dogs and the people who work and volunteer there to enjoy for generations to come*.
