Winter is blooming great at Ashwood as gardens set to open for charity once more

The winter is blooming great at Ashwood Nurseries in Kingswinford as far as staff are concerned as they gear up for another year of their successful Open Gardens event.

John Massey in 'John's Garden' at Ashwood Nurseries, Kingswinford

It will see a new charity benefit from part of the entrance to tour John's Garden, named after owner John Massey VMH MBE – over £400,000 has been raised by the Ashwood Charitable Trust since he started the initiative.

Ashwood Nurseries, where John's Garden will be open to visitors every Saturday from next month benefiting charity.

This year the chosen charity is Cannock-based Newlife, which benefits disabled children by providing them with specialist equipment, helping them to live their fullest life.

A large portion of the entrance fee from the first Saturday in February and every one after that until mid-December will go to the charity.

Part of it will also go towards funding the Adam Greathead Award which sponsors an aspiring horticulturalist to spend twelve months working and learning in two renowned gardens, including John's. It was named after an inspirational head gardener at John’s Garden from 2014-2017 who died suddenly at the age of 27.

John Massey in his garden with his dog Willow

Also on the busy agenda early this year is guided hellebore tours which are billed as a unique opportunity to ‘go behind the scenes’ to see how the plants are produced and grown, and find out their fascinating story.

Rachel Maiden, the general manager at Ashwood, said that despite the cold weather, they are fully geared up for the winter season and putting in the hard work to welcoming visitors to the gardens.

She said: "We call it winter in bloom, it is never dull - and visitors can see snowdrops, witch hazel and of course hellebores plus plenty more flowers that thrive in the season.

"The open gardens event will also once again benefit a worthy charity in Newlife and help towards funding an aspiring gardener to make a career in the horticulture industry so visitors will be encouraging the next generation. We are looking forward to welcoming them all once more."

John Massey in John's Garden which has featured on television and will be open for charity every Saturday from the first one in February.

Pre-booking is essential for the hellebore tours which can be combined with a garden visit – for details of all events at Ashwood visit ashwoodnurseries.com.