IN THEIR first year of taking over the Bowden Hosta Nursery at Sticklepath, Tim and Ruth Penrose have won a silver-gilt medal at the world?s most prestigious flower show.

The daughter and son-in-law of the couple, Ann and Roger Bowden, who started the nursery and won numerous medals, are thrilled by their success at the Chelsea Flower Show which follows hot on the heels of a gold medal at the Malvern Spring Flower Show.

?We are very pleased ? getting a medal is the icing on the cake,? said Tim, who added that this year they offered a special Chelsea collection of hostas to customers, and took orders just short of £10,000.

?We worked solidly ?12 hours a day but we made a lot of contacts and met so many people, including Prince Michael of Kent and Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, who was lovely.

?We may not have got the gold but we achieved the same as TV garden designer Diarmuid Gavin so we are in good company.?

The couple will be exhibiting at the NEC Gardeners? World Live Show in June and Hampton Court Flower Show in July.

Ann and Roger Bowden, who still retain the Bowden Hostas Garden, which has 1,000 varieties of the plant, attracted many visitors over the last two weekends when the garden was open for charity.

Visits are welcome by appointment on 01837 840989