Richly deserved TV gardeners Harry and David Rich
They’re the new generation of gardeners – the Rich brothers are bringing a taste of their childhood in the wilds of Wales to an outdoor space near you
Almost 20 years ago, in the shadow of the Brecon Beacons in South Wales, two young boys raced home from school each day. Leaving their games consoles unused indoors, they took turns to cut paths through the meadow with their father’s tractor, helping to build dry-stone walls or landscaping the wild terrain.
Today those schoolboys are the hottest new faces in TV gardening, with ideas set to revolutionise the way we feel about our own outdoor spaces. With their contemporary designs that combine landscaping with architecture and a strong connection to nature, Harry Rich, 29, and brother David, 26, are changing gardens around the world.
’We were so lucky to grow up with woodland, lakes and the Brecon mountains all around us,’ says Harry. ‘I remember lying in bed and dreaming of owning my own studio in London, with clients who had gardens in New York and Japan. It seemed such an unlikely dream – especially as I spent my days clearing weeds from paving stones.’
His dream took him to Leeds Metropolitan University where he studied landscape architecture and brought his work home in the holidays. David, three years younger and still at school, looked on in admiration. ‘Harry’s college projects were so cool – I was in no doubt I wanted to follow in his footsteps,’ he says. ‘I joined the same course just as he left, and my holidays were spent helping him out with his fledgling business.’
Harry launched Rich Landscapes in 2011, with David joining him three years later. In 2012 they visited the Chelsea Flower Show. ‘As we admired all the show gardens, we decided to aim to have our own one there in 10 years’ time,’ says David. Just a year later, they not only exhibited but scooped Gold for their garden in the Artisan category. They followed it up with a Silver Gilt in 2014 and a second Gold in 2015 for a garden featuring a moveable shack on wheels. ‘Pretty much every other plan we’ve made has flown out of the window since then,’ says Harry. ‘We also have the studio in London, which we thought would take years. Now there’s the TV…’
The brothers present BBC One’s Garden
Rescue alongside TV gardener Charlie Dimmock. They consider themselves privileged to be working non-stop and were recently recognised for the first time. ‘We were stopped in Aldi – it was awesome,’ Harry says. ‘Actually, the person who stopped us said their mother watched us…’ adds David.
Although Harry is the older brother, neither takes the lead. Instead, they’re so close that they finish each other’s sentences like a happily married couple. ‘We live together, eat together, work together and relax together,’ says Harry.
The boys grew up in an old sandstone cottage with wooden floors and open fireplaces, surrounded by 10 acres of land, in a tiny hamlet. Mum Liz was a learning support teacher in the local primary school and their dad Malcolm spent 18 years as a forester before starting his compost business and moving into property development. He always needed help on the land, which is where the two Rich brothers learned to build dry-stone walls and cut swathes through long grass.
When Harry finished college, his father persuaded him to have leaflets printed to advertise his work. Harry says: ‘I didn’t have any experience so I started doing projects for friends, and then gaining a small portfolio. Dad said, “If you want to do better, you need to get your name out there”, so I went to the Cardiff RHS Flower Show, built a garden – and won Best in Show.’
David spent his university holidays helping his brother. When they entered Chelsea in 2013, he skipped classes to work on the garden and was thrilled to win the Gold. As a result of their win they met the Queen, who arrived at the show garden just as the brothers were cobbling a wall. ‘All of a sudden, she came around the corner wearing pristine white gloves, and we had mud and dirt ingrained in our hands,’ says Harry. ‘We were trying frantically to wipe them clean on our trousers before we shook hands with her!’
‘I’d rehearsed my words perfectly, but I was so nervous it all came out as a jumble,’ says David. ‘But
‘We were trying frantically to wipe our hands clean on our trousers before we shook hands with the Queen!’
the Queen was wonderful and really knowledgeable. We ended up talking about bumble bees, which she knows lots about.’
Commissioned to create a garden for the Chanel Mademoiselle Privé exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, they were then chosen by Italian fashion house Massimo Dutti to landscape the garden of a listed terrace in Barcelona. ‘There was a piece on us in a magazine, and a lady who worked for Massimo saw we were from Brecon,’ says Harry. ‘Her nan lived there and knew our nan Christine! It was surreal.’ The brothers created pockets of ferns and grasses, with a wild landscape to reflect the core values of natural fashion.
They were still working three days a week in Spain when filming began for Garden
Rescue. The programme features the Rich brothers and Charlie pitching separate designs to homeowners, letting them choose their favourite and then working together to create it in just over two days. One family, who asked for a garden in memory of their son, were overcome with emotion when they saw the finished result. ‘The mother burst into tears and I welled up too,’ says Harry. ‘It really hit me, the loss of her son, as he’d been our age.’
When they moved to London, it was to a shared flat in Hackney Downs, which ironically has no garden. But now Harry is due to move to Islington to live with his girlfriend
Sue. Will David miss him? ‘Gosh, yes,’ he says, ‘although I’ll still go over for meals, of course.’
TV schedules are unrelenting, often leaving the boys just a couple of days to complete a garden on camera, and then working all weekend on other projects. Darcy the black Labrador, who goes everywhere with Harry, isn’t allowed on the film set. ‘She’d interrupt continuity, so we have to leave her at home,’ says David. ‘But she runs beside us as we cycle to work, and comes on jobs with us.’
The Rich brothers have made it their mission to bring the fun back into gardens. They have great respect for veteran names such as Alan Titchmarsh and Monty Don. ‘They’ve done a great job over the years,’ says Harry, ‘but we are part of the new generation now. Outside plots are changing. Just as houses and flats are downsizing, so too are gardens. In the future, I believe space-saving ideas such as fold-down wall tables will move outside.’
‘Any space can become a garden,’ adds David. ‘People will grow fruit and vegetables in city windowboxes or wild grasses on balconies. Gardening is more sustainable now, whatever the space. You’ll see meadow seed in windowboxes to help the bees.
‘Indoor plants are cool again, such as the fantastic spider plants of the 1970s, which we have in our own studio. Greenery makes us feel good, but we believe in giving people the confidence to plant, experiment and enjoy.’
The brothers also believe it’s vital to think about a garden all year round and use their Brecon-inspired love of meadow grass, pampas and dry-stone walls to bring a breath of fresh air across the UK’s outdoor spaces. ‘An iris flowers for a few days and then it’s gone,’ says Harry. ‘But wild grasses are good for wildlife and look lovely as the seasons change.’ HB
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