A plantsman's pridejoy

Award winnng nurseryman John Massey has created a little piece of paradise in his sprawling eight-acre canalside garden – an oasis full of year-round interest

- ANNETTE WARREN

'EVERYONE who loves plants and gardening are the luckiest people in the world. Mine is not a low-maintenance garden, but like life, you get out of it what you put into it,' says John Massey of his eight-acre oasis in Kingswinford, West Midlands. Bordering the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, the garden has taken 27 years to develop, flowing like a ribbon along the canalside with island beds set amid immaculate, neatly edged lawns. 'I have the equivalent of four full-time gardeners. My garden is my life,' John says simply.

John's home and garden sit beside Ashwood Nurseries, which he inherited as a teenager in the 1960s. He has since transformed it into one of the UK's leading specialist nurseries, known for its exceptional hellebores, hepaticas and cyclamen. His dedication to plant breeding and horticultural excellence has earned him more than 50 RHS Gold Medals, the Victoria Medal of Honour, as well as an MBE – honours that reflect his quiet but lasting influence on British gardening.