The garden designer, show judge, RHS ambassador and television presenter on changing careers, making a splash with colour, and promoting inclusivity and diversity within the gardening community. Words Claire Masset. Portrait by Justin Foulkes <\/p>

All you need is to sow a seed. it creates a sense of delight and elation and empowers you <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
\u201cI loved my job as creative director in fashion,\u201d he continues, \u201cbut as time went on, I could see where the industry was heading. Quality was going down; everything became about margin.\u201d Manoj gave up his career and enrolled at The English Gardening School in London in 2010. Less than a decade later, in 2017, he won a Silver-gilt medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show<\/a> for his garden, Beneath a Mexican Sky. Mediterranean plants were set against a backdrop of pink and orange adobe walls, beside an azure-blue pool. It was stylish and radiant, and different from the usual Chelsea offering. People loved it. Because he was born in Mombasa to Indian parents, Manoj says he is instinctively drawn to bold colours. \u201cIt\u2019s part of my heritage,\u201d he says, recalling the ginger lilies and bird of paradise plants of his youth, and his mother\u2019s wardrobe full of striking saris. \u201cHere in the UK we live in a grey climate; why would you want to add more grey tones?\u201d<\/p>\n
This year Manoj returns to Chelsea<\/a> with another sparkling garden: the RHS and Eastern Eye Garden for Unity. This time, as well as displaying gorgeous colours and textures, the garden will act as a symbol of inclusivity and diversity. Full of hope \u2028and richly varied, it is inspired by Maya Angelou\u2019s invocation to \u2018be a rainbow in someone else\u2019s cloud\u2019.<\/p>\n
Manoj wants as many people as possible to engage with the garden. That\u2019s why he has included wide access points and signs in braille, why it features multicultural elements such handmade Indian cushions and a specially commissioned African tablecloth, and why it draws on symbolism from Islamic gardens. In keeping with its purpose, the garden will become a community space after Chelsea.<\/p>\n
As its name suggests, Manoj\u2019s show garden is about creating connection and cohesion. \u201cOn the ground, different-shaped slabs make up the pathway,\u201d he explains. \u201cThese slabs represent a broken society, but the fact that they work as one path shows that when people come together and unite, they produce more solidity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manoj takes his role as an RHS ambassador very seriously. He wants to encourage more people into gardening. \u201cDoors are beginning to open. I want to see more of this happening. I\u2019m hoping people will see me as an example. When someone says to me: \u2018I can\u2019t do that,\u2019 I say to them: \u2018If I did it, then so can you.\u2019<\/p>\n

Because he was born in Mombasa to Indian parents, Manoj says he is instinctively drawn to bold colours. \u201cIt\u2019s part of my heritage,\u201d he says <\/blockquote> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>
\u201cAs awful as the Coronavirus pandemic has been, it has also had its plus points. It\u2019s made people realise that their outdoor space is precious. All you really need is to sow a seed<\/a>. When you see the germination happening, it creates a sense of delight and elation and that in turn empowers you.\n\u201cYou become responsible for this seedling and you carry on caring for it when it becomes a fully grown plant. That sort of connection with growing plants can have such a positive effect. We all lead busy lives. We are constantly on the go. Computers and mobile phones, they all produce stress, and the more that technology advances, the faster we\u2019re expected to work. Gardening is a way of slowing down that frantic pace of life.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy whole vision is about planting little seeds and hoping they will germinate. I would love to see businesses and organisations owned by people from the Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities sponsor gardens at Chelsea. And I\u2019d like to see gardens within the main RHS gardens created by designers from other cultures and ethnicities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manoj\u2019s bright outlook is so catching there seems little doubt he will succeed. Positivity begets positivity. And ditto productivity. Manoj is incredibly busy. Not content with being a designer, show judge, ambassador and presenter, he\u2019s also writing a book, to be published in spring 2024. As with all his endeavours, he is approaching this one with relish and his own unique creative flair. \u201cI\u2019m getting involved with the design, the cover, everything,\u201d he says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what you\u2019re producing \u2013 you need to have that attention to detail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manoj Malde is warm, fun and hugely likeable. But he is also a consummate professional who knows that if something is worth doing, it\u2019s worth doing well \u2013 and always with a smile on your face.<\/p>\n
USEFUL INFORMATION<\/strong>\nFind out more about Manoj\u2019s work at manojmaldegardendesign.co.uk<\/a><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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