BLOOMIN' MARVELLOUS!

GARDENER SPENDS 8 HOURS A DAY TENDING TO OASIS

- ADAM DUTTON Sunday Mercury Writer

A PENSIONER has spent 27 years transforming the land outside his bungalow into a spectacular oasis considered one of the finest private gardens in Britain.

Stunning pictures show John Massey's garden bursting with glorious summer colour - despite being on the edge of the industrial heartlands of Dudley.

John, 76, has spent almost three decades devoted to his labour of love which features 20,000 different plants, trees and shrubs across a ten acre site.

The four-time Chelsea Flower Show gold medalist says he needs to lovingly nurture his plot eight hours a day, seven days a week to keep it looking beautiful all year round.

He even opens up the four seasons garden to the public to raise money for charity and has recently reached the milestone of raising half a million pounds.

John is considered one of the horticultural industry’s most respected plantsmen and his tranquil oasis has been hailed as one of the best private gardens in the country.

Since it began life as a patch of grass in 1998, the garden has evolved to feature UK trees and plants alongside rarer and more exotic species from Japan, South Africa and Turkey.

Green-fingered John, of King-swinford, said: “The garden hasn't really been planned, it’s just evolved over 27 years.

“We big-headedly say we're a garden for every day of the year and that you would hopefully find something in flower every day you came.

“There's hundreds and thousands of different plants, we're all plant nutters and it’s a full-time job looking after it.

“I usually get up at 7am and take the dogs out and I go around the garden all day from there.

“Then there's the last walk at night to check for snails and slugs, that’s usually 10pm until 11pm.