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Manoj Malde is an award-winning garden designer and TV gardener, known for his vibrant style and bold use of colour.
Manoj Malde is best known for his presenting work on the BBC garden show Your Garden Made Perfect and Channel 4’s Garden Of The Year, where his infectious enthusiasm has made him a hugely popular part of the programmes. Manoj is also an RHS show judge, RHS ambassador and Chelsea Flower Show medallist.
Manoj Malde attributes his love of colour to his Indian ancestry, as well as his background within the fashion industry, where he worked for 18 years. As a former creative director, with a master’s degree in fashion design from the Royal College of Art, Manoj is highly skilled at combining textures and colours within planting schemes.
Manoj describes the design processes behind bespoke gardens and fashion as similar, starting out with themes, mood boards, colour palettes and textures. “Designing a planting scheme is like creating a beautiful silk print,” he says. “I’ve gone from haute couture to ‘hort’ couture.”
Manoj Malde was born in Kenya and moved to the UK at the age of four. He attributes much of his love of colour within his garden designs to his ethnic background and Indian ancestry. Manoj has a real passion for travelling to different countries, exploring their history, traditions, culture, ceremonies and dress. His travels abroad help inspire his work.
In 2017, Manoj made his debut at the Chelsea Flower Show with his garden Beneath a Mexican Sky, sponsored by Inland Homes. Inspired by the Mexican architect Luis Barragán, the garden showcased the lush vibrancy that drought-resistant plants can offer, featuring walls painted in bright pink and orange. The garden won a highly regarded silver-gilt medal.
Manoj has been creating gardens for both private clients and property developers since 2011, with plans to expand his work into public spaces, hotels, spas and private gardens abroad. He frequently gives presentations to garden societies, and has a love for writing gardening blogs. In 2020, Manoj was included in Horticulture Week’s top 50 list of leading garden designers.
Manoj has been a well-loved member of the cast of garden designers on BBC2’s Your Garden Made Perfect since 2021. In this highly regarded series, different designers offer renovation concepts to garden owners, virtually viewed through cutting-edge technology. Everything from plants to landscaping to garden furniture is considered. Then, one design is chosen to become reality.
Manoj has appeared alongside other famous gardeners on TV on several other gardening shows, such as BBC1’s Gardener’s World, Channel 5’s The Great Gardening Challenge and ITV’s Love Your Weekend with celebrity gardener Alan Titchmarsh. Manoj was also an on-screen judge for More4’s Garden of the Year, alongside Zoe Ball and Lachlan Rae. Manoj has also shared his indoor plant expertise on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch.
Manoj Malde is also well-known for his radio work. He is a regular gardening expert on Robert Elms’ show for BBC Radio London, and has been featured on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time. He aims to inspire a passion for gardening in a wider audience, particularly those from ethnic backgrounds.