Christopher Paul Beardshaw was born on 11 January 1969 and grew up in Broad Green, near Broadwas, Worcestershire, where his family moved to a rural property and grew their own fruit and vegetables. He developed a love of gardening as a child, reportedly influenced by his grandmother, and received his first seeds and watering can at age four.

He trained in horticulture at Pershore College, later becoming its youngest full-time lecturer at 28, before earning a BA Hons and postgraduate diploma in Landscape Architecture from the University of Gloucestershire.

His broadcasting career began in 1997/1999, leading to regular roles on BBC series including Gardeners’ World, Hidden Gardens, The Flying Gardener, Deep Down and Dirty: The Science of Soil and The Beechgrove Garden, alongside a long-running panellist role on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time.

He now runs Chris Beardshaw Design from a studio in the Cotswolds, creating RHS Gold Medal-winning gardens and private estate landscapes. He is married to his wife, Frances Beardshaw, and the couple has three daughters.