Ashwood Nurseries

John Massey took over Ashwood Nurseries in 1967 straight from school, inheriting a run-down wooden bungalow, a small shop and an open packing shed from previous owners Mr and Mrs Beach. He built it into a specialist nursery known for hellebores, cyclamen, hepaticas and dwarf conifers, work recognised in 2010 when the Royal Horticultural Society awarded him its Victoria Medal of Honour. The nursery sits on Ashwood Lower Lane in Kingswinford alongside John's Garden, a plantsman's garden developed over decades and opened to visitors on selected dates through the National Garden Scheme. Now trading for close to sixty years from this single site, Ashwood remains family-run rather than part of a garden centre chain, selling plants propagated on the premises alongside a shop and small café, and continuing to exhibit at events including BBC Gardeners' World Live.