All in good time

Alongside his Midlands nursery, John Massey has created a glorious garden that has been allowed to mature gradually

- NAOMI SLADE

As the chill of late winter gradually gives way to spring, the season hangs in the balance. Days may be bright but sharp frosts are still possible. Yet this is also a point when a garden can show its true mettle, falling back on its structure and embracing a unique sense of place, while the botanical engine room gently roars into leafy, floriferous life.

Sitting next to the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal, the garden of nurseryman John Massey is a paean to the art of taking things slowly and letting nature lead the way. Planted intuitively, it has evolved over more than quarter of a century and is now firmly anchored in disciplined pruning, contrasting planting schemes and sheer botanical diversity.

"The core idea is to include as many plants as possible, so there is always something going on," says John, who also owns Ashwood Nurseries next door. "The planting is layered by raising the canopy of larger trees and shrubs so that there is room for smaller specimens underneath, and these can be lifted in turn, to get in plenty of herbaceous plants and bulbs at ground level.

"I was taught transparency pruning by the late Princess Sturdza, which is where you turn each shrub and tree into a sculpture in its own right, while still respecting the innate form of the plant. I love the structure of trees and shrubs, and the beauty of the March garden is that you still have that structure, but things are coming up all around, so there is a lot going on."