THE BEARDY GARDENER WELCOMES YOU!

I inspire people to get gardening for their wellbeing

It’s lovely to meet you

Leigh Johnstone aka ‘The Beardy Gardener’ is a theatre director turned gardener and award winning garden designer who rediscovered his passion for plants during the Covid-19 pandemic. He is popular on social media and an active mental health campaigner, using his past struggles to advocate for the power of gardening to improve wellbeing.

WHAT I DO

Featured
DESIGNING
DESIGNING

My design service is rooted in understanding how to maximise the connection between nature and wellbeing.

EMPOWERING
EMPOWERING

I’m passionate about spreading the joy of gardening to as many individuals as possible.

PRESENTING
PRESENTING

Drawing upon my background in theatre, I bring a captivating and seasoned approach to presenting and public speaking.

WRITING
WRITING

My words have graced the pages of the national press including The Mirror and The Telegraph

FEATURED

BBC GARDENERS’ WORLD

In September 2023 I had the honour of featuring on BBC Gardeners’ World. I talked about how my gardening journey started, the way it supports my ongoing wellbeing and The Giving Garden project I started back in 2021.

  • That is very impressive dancing, a whole new angle and possibilities in horticulture. Fantastic!

    Monty Don

  • “Leigh effortlessly embraced the demanding role of hosting The Potting Bench stage at Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, handling it with ease and grace. Additionally, he swiftly established meaningful connections with specialised plant nurseries all across the UK, going above and beyond to even help them develop their businesses’ social media.”

    Mike Cole, Royal Horticultural Society

  • ‘The Beardy Gardener's Giving Garden at Festival Place went beyond just being a beautiful addition to the surroundings. It had a tangible and lasting impact on local schools and communities. By providing a learning space, the garden was part of a valuable resource for nearby schools. Students had the opportunity to learn about gardening, sustainability, and the importance of nature.'

    Emily Palmer, Festival Place Shopping Centre

  • It was a real pleasure to work with Leigh on our young people's gardening and wellbeing project this summer - Leigh brings a wonderful energy, enthusiasm and sincerity to his work, sharing his own experiences from life as well as from gardening, and participants really connected with this approach. Leigh created a strong project brief with us, taking inspiration from the gallery and its historic garden, and turned this into a really inspiring and rewarding programme for all involved.

    Allen Gallery and Garden Project Team, Alton

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The beardy gardener sign - how do I feed today.jpg
YES Colours Campaign-The Beardy Gardner.jpg
The Beardy Gardener on Video.jpg
Leigh designing a garden.jpg
Gardening fork in the mud.jpg
The Giving Garden in Hampton Court.jpg
Leigh and his team building a garden for the community.jpg
The beardy gardener sign - how do I feed today.jpg
The Beardy Gardener on Video.jpg
Leigh designing a garden.jpg
Gardening fork in the mud.jpg
The Giving Garden in Hampton Court.jpg
Screenshot 2024-05-07 at 10.16.04.png
Leigh and his team building a garden for the community.jpg
The beardy gardener sign - how do I feed today.jpg
YES Colours Campaign-The Beardy Gardner.jpg
The Beardy Gardener on Video.jpg
Leigh designing a garden.jpg
Gardening fork in the mud.jpg
The Giving Garden in Hampton Court.jpg
Leigh and his team building a garden for the community.jpg
Screenshot 2024-05-07 at 10.10.01.png

CONTACT ME

If I can help design you a garden, speak at an event, deliver a communtity project or anything else, then I would love to hear from you. Reach out and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

COME JOIN THE COMMUNITY ON INSTAGRAM

Well what a year it's been! 🎉  As we say goodbye to 2023 I'm reflecting on what I've achieved and looking ahead with energy and enthusiasm for what 2024 has in store. I've had so many amazing opportunities this year and I've grown as a person
I had a blast chatting to past and present students @plumptoncollege yesterday. I spoke about my background, the dancing, the move from arts to horticulture, gardening for wellbeing and what the future looks like. The college is a fantastic place and
Great to meet the team from @solentmind and @mayfieldgardencentre 😁🌱 What a great place Mayfield is! Not just a garden centre but a whole community of people coming together to grow, learn and connect for their wellbeing. I was really inspired aft
🖥️ I'm over the moon to share my brand new website with you all! 😊 I felt it was about time to create a space where I could list all the amazing projects I've worked on and my upcoming plans. This site was built by the wonderful Sophie from @stu