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The 19th Century

The Secret History of the British Garden

Episode 3 of 4

Monty Don looks at the evolution of the British garden. He explores the extraordinary transformations that occurred throughout the 19th century.

On his journey through 400 years of British gardens, Monty 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 visits the most influential gardens of the period, from Queen Victoria's royal retreat at Osborne to the very first public park, Derby's Arboretum. At Kew and Edinburgh botanic gardens, he uncovers scientific secrets that enabled a wealth of new exotic plants from around the world to flourish back home. And on his journey, he gets hands-on experience of some of the technological advances that revolutionised garden design forever.

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59 minutes