Our Story
Garden joy.
Garden connection.
Garden Life.
For more than twenty years, Garden Life has been bringing people closer to the power of plants.
Led by brothers Richard and Mick Unsworth, the journey with gardens began early. They spent their childhood surrounded by nature in the North of England, helping to maintain the gardens surrounding the family home to earn pocket money. Every spring and summer, their mum Judy would grow strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and rhubarb, amongst many other things. Their Dad tended to tomatoes in the old greenhouse — one of their earliest memories together is of sowing radish seeds and watching in delight as they grew before their eyes.
When Richard moved to Sydney over twenty years ago in search of adventure and better weather, he followed his childhood love of the garden, pursuing formal study in urban horticulture before starting his first business focusing on inner-city garden design. In 2001, Richard opened the first Garden Life store in Sydney’s Darlinghurst and widened his practice to work in larger spaces across the city and further afield.
The Garden Life Store
Garden Life has had its roots down in St Peters since 2015, and today, Richard and Mick work together, alongside their team, nurturing a seasonal collection of outdoor and indoor plants and sourcing pots and wares from around the world. For those wanting to experience the transformational joy of beautiful gardens at home, Richard continues to share his expertise by leading the design team at Garden Life.
Richard Unsworth
Richard is a keen writer and has authored three books, Garden Life (2014), on food production, community connection, travelling and sourcing, and The City Gardener (2021), the ultimate urban gardening resource, featuring 20 diverse gardens within 10 km of the CBD that were all designed and produced by Richard and the team. His third book, The Natural Gardener, was released in October 2024.
Ever passionate about the natural environment, Richard, his partner Greg and dog Bettie, spend their free time restoring a heritage home, cottage and garden at Trincomalee, in Pittwater. Richard also helps people better connect with nature and each other through hosted bushwalks to raise money for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
Mick Unsworth
Mick manages logistics for Garden Life and keeps the product, warehouse, and garden installation processes ticking along. He’s also Garden Life’s plant buyer, handpicking the best specimens from a network of local growers every week.
Mick lives in Bronte with his wife Barbara, daughter Amy, and Jack Russel Terrier “Brodie” – who is in-store daily and loves to play catch. The family enjoys frequent trips to Blackheath to their beloved mountain cottage, Koonje.