Ashwood Nursery and John Massey’s Private Gardens

Ashwood Nurseries is a traditional working plant nursery situated in a rural location, where many of the plants on offer are grown on the premises. The nursery is beautifully set out in a lovely natural garden setting. There are several greenhouses, a garden shop and a gift shop in which to browse as well as the beautiful, mostly home grown, plants for sale everywhere. There are many specialist collections, including hellebore and hepatica.

The Tea Room You can relax in the charming Tea Room with its beautiful garden views and enjoy delicious food freshly prepared by our team of chefs., coffee and cake and super lunches and desserts.

‘John’s Garden’ at Ashwood Nurseries is a wonderful eight acre private garden created by nursery owner and Chelsea Gold medallist John Massey VMH. Informal borders, island beds, woodland dells and a wildlife garden are set against the beautiful backdrop of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.

Regarded as one of the finest private gardens in the UK,  there are magnificent collections of trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials and conifers adding to the interest all year round with an abundance of rare plants as well as familiar favourites.

Its many fine features include a stunning pool and rock garden planted with choice alpines and miniature bulbs, an Anemone pavonina meadow, a rare tufa garden and a dramatic fern stumpery. The ruin garden and Christopher Lloyd border put the spotlight on some inspirational seasonal planting.

Throughout the garden, urns and patio pots are imaginatively planted.

‘Adam’s Garden’ is an area within John’s Garden dedicated to the memory of John’s former head gardener Adam Greathead who died aged 27 in 2017. This  tranquil space is home to specimen trees selected for Autumn colour, rare conifers, island beds planted for spectacular Summer colour, a delightful Mediterranean border and a a fine collection of named snowdrops.

John’s Garden has been featured on TV as well as in numerous articles in the national and gardening press, and has been described by Carol Klein as ‘the most loved and looked after garden I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting’.

There will be two guided tours of John's garden, one at 11.30 pm and one at 2.00pm which should each last about 90 minutes.