Renowned gardener Monty Don has spoken what he does for his festive gardening shut down and how one part of the Christmas period marks the start of his new year. The Gardeners' World presenter, 70, was speaking on the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine Podcast when he started discussing what he does for his winter shutdown when filming isn't taking place.

He talked about how limiting this time of year is for gardeners because of how short the days are and thus how little one can do. Monty added that, as a result, there was little point struggling on at a time a year when there is little to do in the garden.

Monty explained: "Boxing Day is effectively the beginning of the new gardening year for me."

Talking about whether his pause point was by choice Monty said: "It doesn't get light until 8 o'clock and it's dark by half past four....Basically there's not much you can do after four o'clock in the afternoon.

"So the days are short, the weather is bad. It doesn't make any sense to struggle on our very heavy soil making a mess and compacting the soil and making it worse. So for purely horticultural practicality, less is often more.

"There's very little that you need to do in December you can't catch up on in January or even February that, if you're organised, you couldn't have done in November."

Whilst Monty has spoken about how winter is a low time for gardens around the UK, he also opened up on his own low times.

Earlier this year Monty spoke about his battle with seasonal affective disorder, a condition that affects around three in 100 people in the UK. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) occurs when someone's mood changes in line with the seasons.

Speaking to the Gardeners' World Magazine, Monty admitted: "December can be a low time of year for me psychologically, as I am prone to seasonal affective disorder, but my spirits always rise when we get to Boxing Day.

"Even if it's filthy weather, I always do some gardening - I go to the potting shed and sow some tomatoes, chillies and onions. It gives me the sense that we are working towards spring,

"If the weather allows, I will start pruning the apples. It takes me about a week to prune the orchard, and I really enjoy it in dry, cold weather. I'm very happy doing that job in the quiet week between Christmas and New Year."

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