Diarmuid studied at the College of Amenity Horticulture in Glasnevin, Dublin. He then established his own school of garden design and, later, became famous as a TV presenter. His designs are deliberately quirky, ignoring the traditional twentieth century objective of making a functional space. Instead, he aims to make startling places. To the critic the are spaces containing odd objects (and well-chosen plants) rather than places in which objects and plants are used to define and create outdoor space.
