A soothing end to your week - tune into Gardeners' World

​Friday: Gardeners’ World (BBC2, 8pm)

Still, the show’s main aim has always been to offer advice on making the most of your own outdoor space, and it seems there’s always something new to learn.

After all, Monty Don has been hosting the show since 2003, and even he says his approach to gardening is evolving all the time, not least as he takes on the challenges of sustainability and climate change.

Speaking earlier this year about how the thinks gardening trends are changing to reflect these issues, Monty revealed that he’s hoping to see British gardeners shift away from exotic plants, especially those that need help to make it through the winter.

Monty Don has been hosting the show since 2003

He said: “It’s become a culture where the more plants you grow, the more variety, the more extreme, the fact that they come from the jungle, or the desert or the rainforest, is something we’re proud of. Actually, what we should be thinking is: no, this is not sustainable, it’s not viable, it’s not practical – and actually doesn’t always look good.”

He adds: “In view of climate change, it just doesn’t make any kind of environmental sense to put carbon into the atmosphere, and then spend a lot of money heating plants in order that they might grow in an environment that they don’t naturally want to grow.”

That doesn’t mean Monty is claiming to be an expert on what may be in store over the next few years. He says: “I think anybody who tells you exactly what the implications of climate change are, doesn’t understand climate change. The one pattern is that there is no exact pattern, but it does involve extreme weather, extreme cold, extreme heat, extreme drought, extreme wet.

“We’re seeing it happening, but it’s erratic, there’s no way of saying – ok, we now know that the months of January and February are going to be wetter than normal. They might be, or they might not be. But what we do know is there is a trend in in that direction.”

That may sound sobering, but it’s certainly not all doom and gloom in Gardeners’ World, as this week there’s a chance to take a tour of some very impressive grounds, which should appeal to armchair gardeners and people who are looking for inspiration for their own plots.

Frances Tophill is spending the day at Powderham Castle in Devon with her friend Jeanette, who has been transforming part of the walled garden into a productive growing space.

Toby Buckland is also off on his travels as he explores the quintessentially English gardens at Wollerton Old Hall in Shropshire, and Rekha Mistry takes a closer look at the Inner Temple Gardens in London.