Popular Ashwood Nurseries gives award in memory of a much-loved gardener

Ashwood Nurseries set up the Adam Greathead Award in order to provide a helping hand to talented horticulturists as they embark on their careers.

The award is named in memory of Adam Greathead, an inspirational head gardener at John’s Garden, who died in 2017 aged 27.

The Ashwood Charitable Trust awarded its second award in his name to Connie Hudson.

Garden owner John Massey runs the popular nursery near Kingswinford and also opens his impressive garden, which Adam helped to develop, to the public to raise money for charity.

Mr Massey said that, throughout her application, taster day and interview, Connie displayed her passion for plants and love of growing things, especially on her eco-friendly allotment. She has visited many gardens of the National Trust and other renowned gardens including Stowe, Kew and Versailles. Her other passion is for environmental affairs and she has worked as an ecologist on a self-employed basis. She has has also enjoyed competing in cycling as a professional in Spain, volunteering at Baggeridge Country Park as well as at an animal welfare rescue centre in Costa Rica.

Connie, of Gornal, will now spend six months in John’s Garden at Ashwood Nurseries, where she will be working alongside head gardener Nigel Hopes and his team, involved in planting, maintenance of shrubs, trees, conifers, herbaceous and alpines, propagation, creating and maintaining plant displays, plant association and transparency pruning. She will also spend time on the nursery to observe and help in the production of some of Ashwood’s speciality crops including cyclamen, lewisias, hepaticas and hellebores.

The second six months will be spent at Great Dixter, Northiam, Rye in East Sussex working with Fergus Garrett. At Dixter, she will work alongside the team on multi-layered mixed borders getting valuable hands-on experience.