Wexford couple win at Chelsea

Munster may have won the big prize in Cardiff on Saturday but it was Leinster's chance yesterday when a small Wexford nursery took a gold medal at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show.

Orla and Paul Woods of Kilmurry nursery, Gorey, won the award for their early summer cottage garden plant display in the floral marquee. Their nursery specialises in herbaceous perennials and grasses.

"This is amazing for us," Ms Woods told The Irish Times yesterday. "It's a huge thing. We are absolutely delighted. A gold medal at Chelsea is very special."

The couple had been planning their display since last September when they heard that they had been accepted to exhibit at the show.

"We put a huge amount of preparation into this," she said. "We brought over a huge truckload with us, just in case something did not work out. But at the end of the day it's all down to the judges and whether you meet their criteria."

The couple have already won two silver medals at the Malvern and Harrogate spring shows this year but it was their first time to exhibit at Chelsea. They also won a gold medal for their exhibit at the Garden Heaven show in Dublin last year as well as several other earlier awards.

Ms Woods said the Chelsea win was good for Irish horticulture. "It shows that we can stand up with the best of them over here in Chelsea. It's the highest accolade you can get." She also paid tribute to Bord Bia, the Irish food board, which sponsored the exhibit.

As well as attracting dignitaries such as Queen Elizabeth and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, the London show drew a large Irish contingent yesterday.

"There are hundreds of Irish here and the phone hasn't stopped all morning," Ms Woods said. Yesterday was the first open day for members of the Royal Horticultural Society but the show continues until Saturday.

The Woods have been running the nursery since 1998. They sell wholesale to garden centres but are also open to the public by appointment. Their daughters, aged six and ten were delighted" with the news that the family nursery had taken the prize, Ms Woods said.

More than 600 exhibitors are at this year's Chelsea show, and about 50 gardens. It includes entries from as far away as Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados.

Last year, Irish landscape architect and garden designer Elma Fenton won a silver medal for her ecologically sustainable and bio-diverse show garden. It was voted one of the top three gardens to visit at the show.