Monty Don has revealed the heart-wrenching "loss" he was forced to contend with, leading him to undertake a "painful" task in his beloved garden.

The celebrity spoke candidly during an airing of the Talking Gardens podcast last year, delving into the difficulties he faced at , which he labelled as "painful" and "tough".

Describing a major "loss" within his own due to a fungal infestation, detailed how he had no choice but to remove extensive portions of a particular affected by box blight.

During the podcast, Monty confided: "So, in a way, the biggest loss in this garden, by far, has been our box because box blight got so bad because they were so wet."

He sorrowfully recounted the removal process: "So I've ripped out miles of box hedging, and you know, hundreds of box walls and things, and that was painful, you know. I mean, I love it, and it's all taken from cuttings."

Concerning the action he took, he shared: "So that was tough, and I'm not a great believer in second-best versions of things."

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) classifies box blight as a fungal disease that strikes box , causing a host of symptoms such as browning leaves, bald patches, and dieback, and flourishes particularly in damp conditions.

It explained that an accurate is vital due to the effort required to tackle the disease and urged people to try to detect it early. Symptoms include brown and fallen leaves, black streaks, dieback, and white spore masses when wet.

The RHS also warned gardeners about the defoliation caused by box caterpillars, advising them to look out for signs such as the caterpillars themselves, webbing that resembles cobwebs, and chew marks on the leaves.

In other news, Monty, the star of , recently shared a crucial tip for maintaining lawns as we move into April - avoid cutting the grass too short.

On his , the gardening guru advised people to "resist the temptation" to cut their grass down to its midsummer height too early in the season. Instead, he suggested setting the mower blades high for the first few weeks.

Monty explained: "Then, as the weather gets warmer and the grass starts to grow more strongly, gradually reduce the height over a few weeks but always keeping it slightly on the long side. This will result in a much healthier, greener sward."

Interestingly, Monty also confessed that he's "all for mowing as little as possible" to encourage biodiversity. He explained that longer grass provides "one of the best environments" for a diverse range of .