Interview with Leigh Johnstone, The Beardy Gardener
In recognition of Blue Monday, we’re speaking with Leigh Johnstone about the joy of gardening and the positive impact gardening can have on our mental health. Leigh Johnstone, known as ‘The Beardy Gardener,’ is a former theatre director who has transitioned to a career in garden design with great acclaim.
His love for planting and all things gardening really came to the fore during the Covid-19 pandemic. A popular presence on social media (check out his Instagram here: @beardygardener) he champions mental health awareness, drawing from his own experiences to promote the therapeutic benefits of gardening for overall well-being.
You’re well known for your advocacy of gardening as an amazing tool for mental health.
Can you tell us a little bit more about how your journey in the gardening world began?
My gardening journey started when I was about eight or nine. My grandma lived just over the road from my primary school so I would often go back to her house after school and help her with all sorts of stuff outdoors like weeding and pruning. She had a large garden with a few apple trees, a secret woodland area and veg patch, she also had two donkeys which made it even better.
Once I started secondary school and then went off to university, gardening didn’t feature much in my life at all. It was only when Covid-19 hit, and I was fortunate to have a house and garden of my own, that I started gardening again for my own health and wellbeing. That was also when the Beardy Gardener was born.
What’s your favourite part of gardening?
I like growing food. I think there is something magical and empowering about eating something you have grown yourself. Picking herbs straight from the garden to use in your cooking is one of life’s pleasures. I have a three-year-old daughter, and she grew tomatoes, cabbages and strawberries with me this summer. The joy on her face when she picked something to eat was amazing. We bond over the garden and I love teaching her where food comes from.
I also like watching the garden. Looking is one of the most important things a gardener can do. It sounds simple but seeing how the wind flows through the trees or grasses, watching wildlife, looking for bare patches, or checking plants for damage make you understand how your garden behaves, what is going on and how you can help. It’s also a brilliant mindful activity.
What is it about gardening, and spending time outdoors, that benefits you?
The first thing it does is it gets me outside. There are days when my mental health is poor, and I feel I don’t want to do anything apart from lay in bed. The garden always offers something to do to take my mind away from whatever else is going on in my life. It’s a great motivator.
The garden grounds me. During Covid it was a brilliant way of helping put my own life into perspective. Whatever was going on, the worries and stresses, the garden was always there. Nature was always there going through the cycle of the seasons and it recalibrated my perspective, reminding me that I was part of a larger ecosystem.
How would you describe the transformation in your mental health and general well-being since you started gardening?
I am not going to pretend that the garden is the sole answer to all my challenges and poor mental health, however it is a valuable tool.
Since I started gardening, I have a better appreciation of the world around me, which motivates me to get outside more, to stop staring at a screen and take pleasure in nature. Gardening also keeps me fit, whether that’s turning over the compost heap, on my hands and knees weeding or just walking up and down the garden path. I am more active than ever before. It has also encouraged me to eat better. These things all have an impact on my mental health and wellbeing.
Gardening has also connected me to a great community of people, which again keeps me inspired and gives me a wider support network. In truth we all help each other, and good relationships are so important for ongoing wellbeing.
The last thing I would say is that as ‘The Beardy Gardener’ I get to speak to audiences, work on projects and spend my time advocating for the power of plants on our health and wellbeing. That keeps me positive!
Tell us about your personal gardening style?
I like a very naturalistic planting style. I like my gardens to be ‘frothy’ and ‘wavy’. I don’t like anything too neat and tidy, and I don’t have a lawn. That was the first thing I got rid of when I moved into my house.
I want a garden to feel like it can do what it wants, to take natures course and be filled with life without little human interference. I suppose I want a garden to reflect the wider world, to be a slice of a natural landscape right in my back yard.
I like lots of green (did you know the human eye sees more shades of green that any other colour?), I am not bothered about having nice bright flowers around me, if I want some colour it’s usually whites and purples predominately. Earthy tones are what I like the most.
Do you have any favourite projects you have worked on?
Ahh don’t do this to me. It’s so hard to pick!
I suppose if I had to, it would be the Burnaby Close re-development I did in Basingstoke last year.
I was asked by Sovereign Housing Association to transform two overgrown and unloved spaces right in the middle of a social housing estate. The area had been forgotten about for many years and the housing association wanted residents to get involved in a project which put some love back into the area.
Everything was community focused which is important when creating urban gardens in local neighbourhoods. I spent several days consulting with residents (many of whom said it would get trashed in the first five minutes), listening to planting ideas, colours and textures etc. Then we came up with three designs that went to a public vote. I held a clearing and planting day with residents, and we had a launch event at the end of summer.
The proudest part for me was seeing how young people took ownership of the space. Lots of people told us that young people would destroy any garden we created within days of it being planted, but I came back the day after it had been installed to be told by a young person that a group of them had stayed up until one in the morning guarding it. That is the power of green spaces!
Can you tell us a little bit about your next steps and exciting new plans?
I am working hard on transforming more community spaces alongside housing providers this year. My upcoming project is with Abri Housing Association at two sites in Bracknell. Then I am hosting the ‘Give it a Grow’ stage at RHS Malvern Spring Festival. I might have a show garden but can’t give too much away right now…sorry. Who know what else may come up.
What advice would you give to a gardener starting out?
I would say don’t get bogged down in understanding Latin names of plants, that can come later. I would also say grow stuff you like, not what you think you should be growing. You won’t be inspired to keep going if you don’t like the result.
Maybe start off with something easy like herbs in a window box or tomatoes plants in a grow bag. The other thing I always tell people is that its ok to buy plug plants, it isn’t cheating. I think there is a bit of a stigma in buying established plants and potting them on, like it isn’t real gardening if you haven’t grown from seed. There is nothing wrong with buying some established strawberry plants for example, whacking them in a hanging basket and watering them every now and then. It’s still gardening!
What three pieces of advice would you give to people who want to use gardening to bring some calm into their lives?
Who is your gardening (or non-gardening!) heroes?
Gardening heroes would be Frances Tophill. I had the privilege in sharing a stage with Frances this year and she is an absolutely wonderful person.
Non gardening, I would say Chris Packham. He is a tour de force, speaking up for wildlife and environmental issues with incredible passion. Truly inspirational. He lives near me and one day I’d love to bump into him.
