Modern heroes of horticulture - Chris Hull
There are some people in horticulture whose careers grow slowly, gently, season by season. And then there are those whose paths unfurl with the quiet determination of a tree finding its light. Chris Hull belongs firmly in the second camp.
Today he’s known as one of the new faces of BBC Garden Rescue and the founder of Greenbook Landscape Design - but his story begins long before the cameras, on the wild, green edges of Devon.
Chris grew up surrounded by the outdoors. Devon’s rolling fields and deep hedgerows were his playground, and early days spent helping his step-dad with forestry work taught him an instinctive respect for the land. Nature wasn’t an abstract idea - it was something you lived in, worked with, and learned from.
That early relationship shaped everything that followed. He went on to study ecology and conservation, grounding his instincts in science before earning a BSc (Hons) in Garden Design. His first jobs were hands-on, muddy-booted roles in gardening and landscape work - the kind that give you the practical knowledge no textbook ever could.
It was here that Chris found his rhythm: part plantsman, part builder, part ecologist, fully committed.
By 2019, Chris had shaped that experience into Greenbook Landscape Design, based in Exeter and working across the South West. Greenbook grew from a simple belief: gardens should be beautiful, but they should also make sense - environmentally, emotionally, and practically.
His design ethos balances craft with conscience. Every project starts with people and place; every material is chosen with sustainability in mind; every garden aims to serve both the client and the wider landscape. Whether he’s creating a wildlife-rich meadow or a structured contemporary space, his work always carries a thread of the natural Devon landscapes he grew up in.
Chris talks often about not wanting to be trapped behind a screen - the drawing board is only half the story. The real magic, he says, happens in the soil, when ideas turn to plants and plants turn to places.
It was inevitable, perhaps, that Chris’s grounded, relatable approach would find a home on television. As a presenter on BBC Garden Rescue, he helps transform ordinary, unloved gardens into spaces that genuinely uplift the people who use them. The programme’s fast pace, tight budgets and long days might rattle a lesser designer, but Chris thrives on the challenge. He often describes the show as “real gardening at speed”, and viewers have warmed to his down-to-earth style.
Television has also given him a wider platform to speak about something close to his heart: the connection between green space and mental wellbeing. Growing up around family experiences of mental-health challenges has shaped the way he designs - not just for beauty, but for safety, solace and emotional uplift.
In 2024, Chris reached a career landmark when he and designer Sid Hill won Gold at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for the Microbiome Garden. It was a defining moment - proof that the young gardener from Devon wasn’t just a TV presenter or a skilled landscaper, but a designer with something to say at the very highest level. The garden combined thoughtful structure with ecologically rich planting, showcasing Chris’s belief that horticulture should serve both people and planet.
Ask Chris what the future of horticulture should look like, and he’ll talk about climate-positive gardening, about sustainable materials, about nurturing wildlife, and about the restorative power of outdoor space. His work is moving increasingly toward planting that supports biodiversity and construction methods that lower environmental impact.
Above all, he believes gardens should feel good to be in. They should calm, comfort, and connect us - something he advocates in both his design work and his public voice.
In a world full of quick fixes and picture-perfect snapshots, Chris Hull is building something slower, deeper, and more meaningful. A gardener with roots in the landscape and eyes on the future - exactly the kind of modern horticultural hero we need.
