ASHWOOD Nurseries near Kingswinford has scooped a gold medal at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show for its stunning display of hepaticas.

The nursery, based in Ashwood Lower Lane, has also been awarded the RHS Diamond Jubilee Award for the best exhibit in the Grand Pavilion.

Nursery owner John Massey, one of the UK’s leading experts on hepaticas, had always dreamed of exhibiting the spring-flowering herbaceous plants at Chelsea to showcase their “charm, beauty and diversity” and his enthusiasm and dedication in realising his ambition has paid off.

John and his dedicated team from Ashwood Nurseries put together an eye-catching display in the Great Pavilion showcasing all 12 species of hepatica together with a range of inter-species hybrids including some of John’s own introductions – and it was the first time the plants have ever been seen as a single exhibit at Chelsea.

The Ashwood team have previously struck gold twice before at Chelsea – in 1996 with a lewisia exhibit and in 2005 for their hydrangeas – but his year’s hepatica display was perhaps their most ambitious entry yet as it can be tricky to coax the delicate early spring beauties into flowering in a different season.

But with help from retired Ashwood plant breeder Philip Baulk and top garden designer Rupert Golby, who were able to evoke the natural habitat of hepaticas by creating a semi-wooded landscape using tree stumps, dwarf Japanese cherries and dwarf shrubby willows, he managed to put together an award-winning exhibit showcasing the diversity of the pretty plants and the charm of their flower and foliage in a natural woodland.

Mr Massey, who has his own private collection of hepaticas and who has travelled to Kyrgyzistan, China, Japan, Korea, North America and Europe to see them in the wild, already had under his belt a collection of gold medals, awards and trophies for hepatica exhibits at RHS London Flower Shows.

He has also been honoured by the Alpine Garden Society for his work with the genus – but acclaim at the Chelsea Flower Show has been the icing on the cake. 

"I'm absolutely thrilled," he said.

“I’m feeling very emotional at the moment - a gold medal for hepaticas at Chelsea is a dream come true - but to also be given the Diamond Jubilee Award for the best exhibit in the Great Pavilion just means so much to me."

Gardening fans can enjoy a wander around Mr Massey’s three-acre canal-side garden which he’s opening for charity on Saturday June 4 from 10am to 4pm.

Admission is £5 cash and proceeds will go to Ashwood’s charity of the year - Wombourne-based High Flyers day group which supports young adults with learning difficulties.