Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don has been able to maintain lush, green surroundings at his home despite the UK facing a record-breaking drought.

As might be expected of the veteran horticulturalist, the grounds at his Herefordshire property, named Longmeadow, are still looking healthy.

While hosepipe bans have been put in place in various parts of the country, Severn Trent Water which covers parts of Herefordshire has not done so.

Welsh Water, which also serves the region, has only imposed restrictions in Wales. 

Broadcaster and writer Don has owned his property outside the market town of Leominster, with his wife Sarah since 1991.

The 71-year-old has lovingly curated an array of differently themed areas across the estate, which will be familiar with viewers of Gardeners’ World. 

Don has presented the BBC show since 2003 and previously contributed to the Daily Mail’s Weekend magazine.

He is one of a number of celebrities who have managed to keep their gardens looking healthy in contrast to sprawls of parched neighboring fields. 

Sir Rod Stewart and his wife Penny Lancaster’s Essex home is still surrounded by green despite the summer heat, while the exterior of Jeremy Clarkson’s Farmer’s Dog pub in the Cotswolds has also maintained a relatively lush beer garden.

Monty Don’s garden estate remains green despite this summer’s heatwaves parching many of the surrounding areas, turning them yellow and brown

The broadcaster, pictured in the Cottage Garden at his home, has presented Gardeners’ World since 2003

Don’s two-acre space is divided into several areas, including the Cottage Garden, the Jewel Garden, the Islamic-inspired Paradise Garden, the Spring Garden, the Wildlife Garden, the Writing Garden and the Vegetable Garden.

He wrote in 2021: ‘The way that I have designed my garden is, as a friend of mine only half-jokingly described it, “like a series of allotments”. 

‘It means there are a number of different areas, all quite separate and usually hidden from the rest.

‘I make no apologies for this and enjoy the surprises and sense of enclosure that it brings. Inevitably this means that different sections of the garden have their own character. 

‘We also try to treat each separate area as though it were the only garden that we had.

‘This means that each section has to stand up to the strictest scrutiny and aesthetic standards.’

Wessex Water became the latest authority to announce a hosepipe ban, its first since the 1976 heatwave, which affected its 1.4million customers across areas in Bath, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire.

More than 27million people across England have now had hosepipe use restricted in their area. 

Don has owned Longmeadow, outside the market town of Leominster, Herefordshire, with his wife Sarah since 1991

A bird’s eye view of Don’s garden and its ‘zones’: 1. The Spring Garden; 2. The Jewel Garden; 3. The Damp Garden; 4. The Wildlife Garden; 5. The Writing Garden

The horticulturist’s garden is well known to green fingered enthusiasts as the setting of BBC show Gardener’s World

Yet some areas will soon see their ‘first meaningful rain for a long time’, the Met Office forecast – and the public has been told to brace for floods.

Last night parts of London, Kent, Essex and Sussex saw light or patchy rain after they were all declared to be in drought at the end of last month.

England and Wales had their driest July ever recorded while southern England had its driest month ever, according to records going back almost 200 years.

But a rainy front will begin to sweep down from Northern Ireland and Scotland towards southern England and Wales from today to begin a wetter week with cooler conditions, the Met Office said.

Temperatures are likely to fall to levels closer to average for the time of year and heavy showers expected on Thursday could mean surface flooding in particularly wet areas, the weather authority added.

Recent conditions have been taking their toll on many fields, parks and gardens, turning them from green to yellow or brown.

But pictures told a different story last week at the lush grounds around Sir Rod’s Grade II-listed, 18th-century Essex mansion.

The property, which the 81-year-old bought for £4.65million in 2013, is supplied by Affinity Water, which introduced a hosepipe ban across its central region, including Essex, on July 17 due to the weather conditions.

Sir Rod Stewart’s Grade II-listed mansion has very green gardens despite the dry weather

Eight other water companies have brought in bans, which means customers are legally banned from using hosepipes to water gardens or wash cars, patios or boats.

There is no evidence that Sir Rod has breached a ban, given there are many workarounds for watering grass such as using a watering can. He may also have an exemption.

Former Top Gear host Clarkson has also explained how Sir Rod could have kept his gardens green – as he explained the approach used at his pub.

Aerial images from above the former Top Gear host’s pub yesterday showed much of the grass remaining green while some patches and neighbouring fields were parched brown.

Mr Clarkson has now written in his Sun column: ‘Could it be, perhaps, that Rod, here with wife Penny, probably has a borehole?

‘You dig a hole maybe 100m down into the ground, put a pump in it and water comes out. Water that’s not subjected to any kind of government interference.

‘That’s what we did at my pub, which is why the lawns there are also weirdly verdant.’

Sir Paul McCartney appears to be adhering to a hosepipe ban at his home and grounds in Peasmarsh, near Rye in East Sussex. 

The grass outside Jeremy Clarkson’s Cotswolds pub looked surprisingly lush yesterday as the presenter revealed his tactic for accessing water

Sir Paul McCartney’s 160-acre East Sussex estate shows signs of the heatwave

Images of his Sussex estate have shown a green herb garden but also swathes of yellow and brown grass. 

A hosepipe ban for the area was imposed last month by South East Water, with the restrictions covering not only Sussex but also Berkshire, Kent, Surrey and Hampshire.

Meanwhile, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s lawns are greener than most thanks to a large private lake just a stone’s throw from the back of his Essex mansion.

The star has installed hosepipes between the pond and his garden, which is markedly greener than the parched countryside that surrounds it.

Water taken from a privately owned source – such as from a lake, pond, spring or well on a property – is exempt from the hosepipe ban.

Oliver has lived at the Grade I-listed 12-bedroom property since purchasing it for £6million in 2019, and the pond sits within its 70-acre site.

But Keith Richards’ West Sussex home appears to be faring less well, with the grass on his estate just as brown and dry as the surrounding fields.

With no visible private water source, Richards, 82, cannot rely on a handy nearby lake to get around restrictions, which came into place in the county on July 25.

Chef Jamie Oliver’s lawns are rather more green than most – helped by having a large personal lake just a stone’s throw from the back of his Essex mansion

Keith Richards’ home in West Sussex has a small green patch at the centre, but other grass on the property is struggling

Following the fifth heatwave of the summer, this week is forecast to be wetter with cooler conditions that are much closer to average for the time of year, the Met Office said.

Showers were expected today in the north of the country, particularly in the North West, and another area of rain would move into the South West by the evening, according to the Met Office’s deputy chief forecaster Mike Silverstone.

This would then likely spread east across the South, bringing the first spell of widespread rain to areas in need the most, he added.

Mr Silverstone said: ‘Thursday will be a day of heavy showers across much of the UK, while some of these will be heavy some areas will miss them altogether.

‘As some of these showers could be intense, there is a chance of some surface water flooding as the rain falls on very dry and hard ground.’

Conditions are expected to turn drier once again by Friday and through the weekend before more rain is forecast next week.

The change comes after the UK’s fifth heatwave of the summer, during which the hottest day of the year was recorded in Kew Gardens, south-west London, last Thursday when temperatures reached 38.1C.