Gold Star for Meadowside
Family nursery Meadowside has triumphed again at The Royal Cornwall Show, winning a large gold award for their stunning display of perennials.
Each week Truro Farmers Market is given an injection of colour and a fresh waft of floral scents by the Meadowside Nursery stall. Regulars beat a path to Anne Pengelly’s blooming display, as she dishes out handfuls of fresh cut flowers and dispenses a selection of seasonal plants, along with advice on their on-going nurture.
The family business is traditional and unassuming, yet also proud and successful. You won’t find a website or glossy marketing materials, but you will find the Meadowside stall sold-out at market each week, and the nursery taking the top accolades in fiercely contested local competitions.
The Royal Cornwall Show is perhaps the most hard-fought. Meadowside’s display this year was 30ft and represented a week’s work. It was felt by the judges to warrant, not just a Gold, but a ‘Large Gold.’ “That’s like a A*,” says Anne beaming with pride, as she explains how her husband Brian and their son Ralph painstakingly constructed the display from a bounty of lupins, paeonies, delphiniums, foxgloves, anchusa and kniphofia and more – all grown at the Carnon Downs nursery. This year was their 4th Gold Medal.
“It was just like a garden I would dream of,” says a regular customer who, along with many others, comes to visit Anne’s stall the following week to congratulate her. “I have marvellous customers,” says Anne, who is pleased that the longevity of the business is assured, as her son Ralph is just as passionate about the nursery as his parents.
Anne takes care of the market and the cut flowers, whilst Brian and Ralph execute the planting and potting. The whole family have to plan ahead carefully, as they aim to have something to bring to market every week of the year. “We are always learning and trying new things,” says Anne, whose favourite time of year is autumn when the chysthanamums appear.
You can find Anne enticing passers-by with her beautiful displays of cut flowers and plants at Truro Farmers Market every Wednesday and Saturday. Make sure you get there early!
Images courtesy of Stewart Girvan Photography.