Gardener 'can't believe' Chelsea Flower Show win
Brantwood's National Plant CollectionA gardener said she was "in shock" after winning gold at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
Brantwood's National Plant Collection of Wisteria in partnership with Fiona Butcher of Cumbria Wisteria was awarded the highest honour in the Floral Medals category.
On the shore of Coniston Water, Brantwood said the exhibition combined the "rugged beauty of the Lake District fells with the allure of wisteria".
Head gardener, Simone Daye, said the team had been working for six to eight months to get the display ready.
"I just can't believe it - I'm just in shock," Daye said.
"It's been such a long, hard road to get here and to walk into the marquee this morning and see the gold certificate and the gold medal, it just blew my mind."
PA MediaDaye said wisteria thrived in Coniston because it "absolutely loves" the humidity and the weather had to be taken into account to make sure it bloomed and was at its best for the show.
"We've had an unseasonably warm spring - 20 degree days at Coniston - which is just unheard of, but really cold nights so we had to hedge our bets," she said.
'We're all exhausted'
The display included a dry-stone wall, recreated by 22-year-old University of Cumbria graduate Joe Evans who piled the rocks in the back of his girlfriend's camper van.
"I worked all week making the wall at Brantwood and then we, last Wednesday, dismantled it and then took it in the van all the way down to Chelsea," Evans said.
"I'm really happy with it and it's great with all the moss and ferns in it.
"Everyone's worked really hard to make it look amazing."
Daye said it was "every gardener's dream" to take an entry to Chelsea.
"We're all exhausted, but it's been worth it and I knew we'd get here in the end," she said.
