Christopher Paul Beardshaw (born 11 January 1969) is a British garden designer, plantsman, author, speaker, and broadcaster.

Background

Beardshaw was born and grew up in Broad Green, near Broadwas, Worcestershire. He was formally trained in horticulture at Pershore College, and holds a BA Hons and PGDip in landscape architecture from the

University of Gloucestershire The University of Gloucestershire is a public university based in Gloucestershire, England. It is located over five campuses, three in Cheltenham and two in Gloucester. The university is the successor of a large number of merged, name-changed ...

. He has won 35 prestigious design awards, including 12 RHS Gold Medals. He has also been voted for the People's Choice Award six times, most recently in 2023. His first TV appearance was in 1999 as the expert on ''Surprise Gardeners'' for Carlton TV. After this, he moved to the

BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios ...

and ''Real Rakeovers'' as the expert contributor. His first show as solo presenter was ''Weekend Gardener'' for UKTV Style in 2000. Also in 2000, he co-presented ''Gardening Neighbours'' for BBC 2. This was followed by three series of ''Housecall''. After this, he joined Gardeners' World Live as a specialist presenter, and then soon moved on to become a presenter on '' Gardeners' World''. Beardshaw presented ''The Flying Gardener'' series for BBC2, which ran for four series. He currently presents ''Beechgrove'' and is a regular panel member on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's '' Gardeners' Question Time''. The Chris Beardshaw Rose was launched at the Hampton Court Flower Show in July 2007. Scented with soft pink blooms, the new rose was produced by international rose specialist C&K Jones. Chris Beardshaw specifically asked for a donation (£2.50) to be made to the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...

(RNLI) for every rose sold. He holds an Honorary Degree from Liverpool University and is an Honorary Fellow of Gloucestershire University, and in 2017 was awarded the Kew Guild Gold Award.

References

External links

Official website

Gardener's Question Time on Radio 4
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beardshaw, Chris Living people 1969 births Alumni of Pershore College of Horticulture Alumni of the University of Gloucestershire English gardeners English garden writers English television presenters People from Malvern Hills District