Inside West Midlands' most beautiful garden hidden away behind bungalow

Yahoo

a day ago

A dedicated pensioner has dedicated 27 years to transforming the space outside his bungalow into a breathtaking garden oasis, now considered one of Britain's most exquisite private gardens.
The remarkable images reveal John Massey's garden in Dudley, on the fringes of the industrial Black Country, awash with vibrant summer hues.
John, aged 76, has poured nearly three decades into his passion project, cultivating an impressive collection of 20,000 different plants, trees, and shrubs over ten acres.
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The Chelsea Flower Show four-time gold medal winner admits that maintaining the splendour of his garden throughout the year demands a commitment of eight hours daily, every day of the week.
Generously, John opens his 'four seasons garden' to visitors, raising funds for charitable causes, and has recently celebrated the extraordinary achievement of generating £500,000 in donations.
Esteemed within the gardening world, John's serene haven is acclaimed as one of the nation's premier private gardens.
Originating as a simple lawn in 1998, the garden has flourished, showcasing native UK flora alongside more unusual varieties from Japan, South Africa, and Turkey.
Kingswinford's green-fingered John remarked: "The garden hasn't really been planned, it's just evolved over 27 years."
He confidently states: "We bigheadedly 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.
"It really is an all-day thing. I started by the house and just moved out - and just kept going and going. I absolutely love it all."
The garden, which offers picturesque views of the scenic Staffordshire and Worcestershire canal, is a true horticultural haven.
Every nook is alive with striking blooms, lush greenery, an assortment of conifers and shrubs, complemented by intricately designed pots.
John, with a remarkable 57 years of gardening under his belt, reveals this botanical paradise has grown so extensive that it now takes a team of four to keep it pristine.
His passion was ignited by none other than Princess Greta Sturdza, the visionary Norwegian behind Le Vasterival, among France's most celebrated gardens.
After being honoured with the Victoria Medal of Honour from the Royal Horticultural Society, John remarked: "I was privileged to meet the late princess Greta Sturdza, a Norwegian.
"We became sort of friends and she invited me over and had, in my mind, the greatest garden that I've ever seen.
"She taught me how to garden. Her big thing was transparency pruning, you prune every tree, shrub and conifer so it was its own sculpture in its own right."
John, a passionate gardener who took the reins of the family nursery at just 18, has no formal training in horticulture but shares a deep-rooted love for gardening passed down from his grandad.
He's dedicated to maintaining a vibrant green space throughout the year, ensuring there's always something sprouting.
Speaking about the nursery that neighbours his home, John remarked: "Some beds are replanted twice a year."
He believes in constant renewal to keep visitors returning, saying, "If we want to keep people coming back we need change."
John's approach involves a three-tier system: "We work on three layers, the big trees we raise the canopies and lift the branches."
This technique allows for underplanting: "We lift the canopy of the shrubs so that we can work under that."
The garden boasts an impressive collection of witch-hazels, with John's Garden featuring over 40 different varieties.
Seasonal changes bring a variety of hues to the garden, with hydrangeas in summer and cornus and spindle trees in the colder months.
Springtime sees an array of hellebores, bulbs, and various flowering shrubs, keeping the garden brimming with life.
John explained his philosophy: "We're always trying to get happy plants, I wouldn't want to grow a plants that weren't healthy."
He's selective with his plants due to the local climate: "There are certain plants we don't grow as we're a real frost pocket. We try and grow plants that are hardy in this area."
The nursery is also known for its conifers and witch hazels: "We've got a wonderful selection of conifers, both dwarf and small. Then there's witch hazel, we've got 40 odd varieties."
And for the autumn spectacle, he added: "We've got the grass bed and the asters which look their best in September and October.
"I love it all, I do love the whole garden. We had the Danish horticulture society here the other day and they said each corner there's something different to look at. I think you should walk gardens both ways".
"The garden is constantly changing, with something majoring on different groups of plants right the way through the season."
John stepped away from day-to-day duties at Ashwood Nurseries next door in 2000 to focus on his passion for gardening.
The site opens its gates every Saturday from February to December, welcoming nature lovers for just £8 a pop.
John and his expert team have scooped more than 50 gold medals at prestigious Royal flower shows, bagging four from the renowned Chelsea Flower Show alone.
Additionally, they have proudly collected four Farrer Trophies, two Williams Memorial Medals and a couple of Gardeners' World Live golds.
He went on to share: "I've been in horticulture for 57 years and I'm still learning, it's one of those subjects where the more you learn, the more you realise you don't know.
"A friend of mine described horticulture as the slowest form of art as it takes 20 years to reach its maturity.
"We used to show a little alpine plant called Lewisia. What we tried to do is take a particular genus and try and get it to the highest possible level.
"Then take on another family of plants and try and get them to that level. The beauty of plants is you don't have to be monogamous and can keep building them up."
Since flinging open its doors to visitors in 2003, the garden has mushroomed over £500,000 for various charities.
John confessed: "I wouldn't like to think how much I've spent on it, I wouldn't know. It's a passion, but it would be frightening."
He further added, "The main thing is we've raised a lot of money for good causes in the process."
And he finished by saying, "The garden is constantly changing right the way through the season, and I love it."