Monty Don shares easy method to cool down greenhouses every day

Monty Don has shared a quick and easy method to effectively cool down greenhouses, while also banishing unwanted insect pests – but not everyone was impressed with the suggestion.

With the onslaught of recent heatwaves in recent months, many people have struggled to get their gardens, greenhouses and other outdoor areas looking their best.

Popular horticulturist, broadcaster and writer Monty Don is renowned for his extensive knowledge on all things outdoor related, with many green-fingered enthusiasts eager to follow his guidance as they work to get the most out of their gardens.

No stranger to the public eye, Monty, 71, is perhaps most widely recognised for his lead presenting role on the hit BBC gardening television series, Gardeners’ World. In addition, he also shares ideas, insight and recommendations to his own widely-followed social media accounts.

Whether you’re keen to help local wildlife thrive, or you’re hoping to cultivate flourishing perennial plants, or you simply want to create a peaceful, private oasis on your doorstep, the gardening guru is bursting with tips and helpful suggestions.

In a clip shared to Instagram by the official Gardeners World account, Monty can be seen walking through a greenhouse and spraying the floor with water from a handheld hose.

He explained: “With these instances of very hot weather that we’re increasingly having, it’s a good idea to cool down your greenhouse and the best way to do that is to wet the floor once or twice a day.

“It’ll both cool it and increase humidity, which is a good way of combating red spider mite.”

Red spider mites are a common bugbear for many passionate gardeners. They’re tiny, sap-sucking arachnids that are often rife in greenhouses.

They’re very destructive creatures, causing damage to houseplants, greenhouse crops and outdoor garden plants. Typically, they’ll pierce plant cells in order to extract sap but this results in leaves developing pale mottling, yellowing or silvering.

Signs of their presence include fine silk webbing, which they regularly leave behind.

In the comments section, fellow Instagram users were keen to share their thoughts, with many unable to give Monty’s tip a try due to widespread hosepipe bans.

One person said: “I can only dream of spraying water. Hosepipe ban here and my cucumbers have died, tomatoes on their last legs, dahlias outside barely growing. It’s pretty tragic.”

Another quipped: “Love this. Monty, can you have a word with Severn Trent for me? They reckon there’s no water.”

A third said: “Maybe not in a hosepipe ban. Get the water deep into the soil, keep the surface dry and the plants will reduce their water use.”

Monty Don got his TV start in 1989, with a regular gardening segment on This Morning which led to further work across multiple channels.

A successful author, he’s written more than 25 books since his first was published in 1990. In 2003, at Alan Titchmarsh’s suggestion, he took over as the lead presenter on the hit BBC show, Gardener’s World.

He’s also written and produced several of his own garden series, including 2026’s Monty Don’s Rhineland Gardens.