John's Garden

Snowdrop Lecture and Garden Tour with John Grimshaw

Ashwood Nurseries

A special day for Galanthophiles and gardeners with a keen interest in snowdrops. We are delighted to welcome John Grimshaw, writer, bibliophile and former Garden Manager at Colesbourne Park, as our guest lecturer for this very popular event in our ‘Winter in Bloom’ programme, which also includes an opportunity to visit John’s Garden, the beautiful 8 acre canal-side garden of nursery owner John Massey VMH.

Lecture: ‘Snowdrops and the Winter Garden’.

In this superbly illustrated lecture, John Grimshaw will explore how  snowdrops fit into the wider context of the winter garden. They’re one of many plants that flower early in the year, all of which  are part of a garden scene that should be rich with interest from stems, foliage, shapes and textures.

Also included, weather permitting, will be a guided tour of John’s Garden, the beautiful 8 acre canal-side garden of nursery owner John Massey VMH. Truly spectacular in winter, this inspirational garden boasts a magnificent collection of trees, shrubs and conifers, giving strong structure as well providing the perfect canopy for drifts of hellebores, winter aconites, cyclamen and John’s own considerable snowdrop collection.

Essential Information

  • Friday, January 30th  (SORRY, SOLD OUT)
  • Essential to book in advance (seating is strictly limited)
  • Reserve your tickets by telephone (01384 401996) or in person at the nursery
  • Cost: £60.00
  • What’s included: morning coffee and biscuits, lecture with Powerpoint presentation, Gardener’s Lunch and escorted garden tour.

Additional Information

Your itinerary:

  • 10.00am: Please meet at the Oss Box by the Main Car Park for complimentary coffee and biscuits.  A member of the Ashwood team will welcome you (your name will be on our guest list).
    Here you can visit our ‘pop-up’ snowdrop sales area where there will be a good selection of named cultivars for sale, with Ashwood’s Snowdrop production team on hand to help and advise.
  • 11.00am Lecture: ‘Snowdrops and the Winter Garden’ presented by John Grimshaw.
    Following the lecture, there will  be another opportunity to re-visit our ‘pop up’ Snowdrop sales area and the Snowdrop team will again be on hand.
  • 12.30pm-2.00pm: Gardener’s Lunch: (included in the ticket price). Join John Grimshaw and John Massey, along with his gardening team for lunch. The tea room’s catering team will serve homemade seasonal vegetable soup, a freshly-filled roll (cheese, cheese and onion, ham or ham and tomato) and a drink of your choice. Please advise us at time of booking if you have any dietary requirements or allergies.
  • 2pm: Garden Tour: Enjoy a tour of John’s Garden, the beautiful 8 acre canal-side garden of nursery owner John Massey VMH. Truly spectacular in winter, this inspirational garden boasts a magnificent collection of trees, shrubs and conifers, giving strong structure as well providing the perfect canopy for drifts of hellebores, winter aconites, cyclamen and John’s own snowdrop collection. Please allow two hours for your garden visit so that you can explore the garden at your own leisure after the guided tour.

About John Grimshaw

John Grimshaw, our guest lecturer

John Grimshaw has been fascinated by plants for as long as he can remember. After studying botany at Oxford University, he built a life devoted to growing, studying, and sharing the wonder of plants. His adventures have taken him from the slopes of Africa, where he’s an honorary elder of a Maasai community, to gardens across Europe and beyond. Along the way, he’s written and co-authored several books, including The Gardener’s Atlas, Snowdrops and New Trees, all celebrating the diversity and beauty of the plant world.

After working with plant breeders in the Netherlands, he became Gardens Manager at Colesbourne Park, Gloucestershire, where he was responsible for developing the historic Elwes snowdrop collection. Subsequently, John became Director of the Yorkshire Arboretum where he helped establish the UK’s first Tree Health Centre and was awarded an MBE in 2024 for his services to plant conservation.

John is a member of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Nomenclature and Taxonomy Advisory Group, the RHS Woody Plant and Gardens Expert Groups, and in 2012 led the RHS review of the Award of Garden Merit. He is Editor-in-Chief of the International Dendrology Society’s Trees and Shrubs Online, an encyclopaedic work covering all temperate woody plants.  He is Editor-in-Chief of Trees and Shrubs Online and Curtis’s Botanical Magazine for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, while continuing to grow, write, and inspire from his garden in North Yorkshire.

Don’t Miss

  • Our Snowdrop and Fern Spectacular in the Specialities Sales House with a large selection of named snowdrops for sale, beautifully displayed with a collection of winter ferns.
  • The Winter in Bloom Sales House, where there’s a superb range of plants and bulbs for winter interest, including our world-famous hellebores.