GREEN-fingered bosses at a Ribble Valley garden centre are feeling blooming marvellous after winning gold in the Tatton Flower Show.

John Foley, from Holden Clough Nursery, said he felt 'over the moon' after picking up the prestigious prize for his “show” garden at the competition in Cheshire.

The 24-year-old, who runs the Bolton-by-Bowland business with his girlfriend, Kate Lawson, 22, had an extra special reason for celebrating after picking up the accolade within the first year of taking over the business.

His father, Peter Foley, who bought the nursery in 1978, had entered the acclaimed horticultural competition for the past ten years but had failed to pick up the top prize instead bringing home silver on numerous occasions.

“It was quite a surprise when we actually picked up gold, we couldn't believe that we had won. I feel really proud of what we have achieved.”

The gardening and plant expert said the winning design featured a “riot of colour” helping it to stand out to the judges.

The display, featuring Crocosmia, Astilbe, Monarda and a host of other vibrant summer perennials, took four days for the nursery’s team to perfect, after having grown all the plants especially for the show John said: “We decided to use different display techniques and we had some young and fresh idea's.

“This year we decided to dress the stand up with bark rather than moss and used some interesting varieties of plants and flowers.

“It has been an incredible year which just got a lot better and I can't believe we managed to pull this off.”

The win comes on the back of a busy month for the nursery, having also been featured on BBC’s Gardeners World last week.

The television feature focused on how plants grown at the nursery have to contend with the challenging climate of the Ribble Valley and are therefore likely to thrive here as they grow.

“We want to continue to build the nursery and make it even better.

“We will also strive to sell plants grown in the Ribble Valley,” he said.

Bob Sweet, a judge at the show, said: “We always give preference to growers in the region.

We are delighted that Holden Clough has come back into the show with a very high quality display for 2011.”