249: The Sodshow meets Darran Jaques of Urban Creations, UK

Peter Donegan and Brian Greene chat with Darran Jaques, an awarding-winning, passionate professional gardener well-known for his clean, simple approach to garden design and for a deep knowledge of plants, including the unusual and the exotic. Clients describe Surrey-based Darran as straightforward, good humoured and friendly, always willing to solve gardening problems and challenges for them. He has worked on medal-winning show gardens at Chelsea, Hampton Court, and Tatton Park, and, internationally, Philadephia and Malmo. This summer Darran will debut with his first show garden at RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, the world’s largest. Designed in collaboration with Frederic Whyte, the entry is a contemporary, luxuriant water garden featuring a heated plunge pool in a woodland glade and a lily pond. Another first for Darran will be judging at the Malmö Garden Show in Sweden. Darran’s passion for horticulture extends beyond his business, to television and radio appearances and charitable work. He appeared as a garden expert on Channel 4’s Selling Houses with Amanda Lamb and was selected for Peter Andre’s 60 Minute Makeover. A fundraiser for Perennial, The Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society, Darran is one of the Grubby Gardeners, whose naked calendar received world-wide coverage and saw Darran strip off again for a light-hearted gardening feature on ITV’s Loose Women. The Sodshow Garden Podcast airs every Friday live at 3pm and Just after in all good podcast stores. The Sodshow airs every Friday live at 3pm on Dublin City FM and is available in iTunes and all good podcast stores around 3.30pm the same day.