Dannahue Barrington Clarke is a British horticulturist who co-hosts the BBC series The Instant Gardener with Helen Skelton.
Early life and education
Clarke was born in Oxford to parents who immigrated from Jamaica and moved around growing up. He studied garden design at Hadlow College.
Career
Clarke changed careers from sales and founded his own garden design company in Bromley in 1997, and called himself The Black Gardener after noting that another businessman calling himself the Black Farmer was having success. The name led to him being noticed and invited to screen test for The Instant Gardener, a daytime BBC programme that ran for two seasons in 2015 and 2016. He also appeared as a presenter for the BBC on the RHS Chelsea and RHS Tatton Flower shows and Tree of the Year for Channel 4 in 2016. In 2023, a David Austin English shrub rose called 'Dannahue' was named after him, proceeds from the sale of which are to be donated to a not-for-profit organisation called Grow2know that supports horticulture within diverse communities .
References
- "About Me". The Black Gardener. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- "Gardening Hero - Danny Clarke (Aka The Black Gardener)". Genus. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- "Gardener Danny is Honda's newest brand ambassador". Torquay Herald Express. 25 May 2016.
- "The Black Gardener's mission to get us in the garden". The Yorkshire Post. 24 May 2016.
- Matthew Appleby (19 May 2016). "Instant Gardener returns to BBC1 this month". Horticulture Week.
- Lauren Meechan (14 March 2018). "BBC presenter begs for show to return for reunion with Helen Skelton: 'She's a great girl'". Daily Express.
- "Adam Frost touted as potential presenter for TV series". Horticulture Week. 22 July 2016.
- "Say hello to our new 2023 English rose". David Austin Roses - UK. 2023-05-22. Retrieved 2023-05-22.