Monty Don stops music while gardening after hearing concern

monty don says he no longer listens to music while gardening because it has become distracting, and he thinks the change may be linked to his hearing going a bit. The Gardeners' World presenter said he used to work with Bach on, but can no longer do both at once.

He told Country Life magazine: "I used to, but I find now - in the last sort of five years or so - whether it's part of my hearing going a bit so therefore I have to listen harder - it's distracting." He added: "I can't do both simultaneously."

Monty Don and Bach

Don said music once helped him focus while he worked. "What I found was it put me in the right space in order to focus," he said, before adding: "I don't relax to music ever." He also said he hates background music.

The change comes after nearly two decades presenting Gardeners' World, a role he took in 2003 after Alan Titchmarsh left. Don has already said he has not got endless time left, but he has also said he would be very happy to do another five years if the renews his contract.

Gardeners' World on Four

The program returns to Four at 9pm on the evening described in the article, with Don sowing seeds for thyme and sage. Carol Klein is crafting a vegetable border interspersed with flowers, and Advolly Richmond is heading to Fife to look for more about the pink cupped daffodil.

For viewers, the immediate takeaway is that Don is still on the show and still working, but he is adapting how he works as he gets older and notices changes in his hearing. In November 2023, he said that if he were still going strong in 20 years, that would be brilliant, a reminder that he has spoken about the length of his future on the program before.