Appleshaw rose grower is UK champion at Harrogate Flower Show

He clinched the title after his winning exhibits in the prestigious Harrogate Flower Show - the last of the five national shows from which the championship title is calculated.

At London’s Shepperton Show, Neil was also declared this year’s summer rose champion.

Neil only took up growing roses at his Appleshaw allotment 20 years ago.

Now 48, he first tried his hand at local shows (he’s swept the board at Appleshaw’s flower show for many years), moving on to national shows and then the leading UK competitions which count towards  the national championship.

Neil Duncan is presented with a trophy by the renowned TV gardener Alan Titchmarsh (Image: Bruce Parker) “It’s been the worst September ever for flowers”, says Neil, but the early summer made up for it.” In all the competitions he entered this year, he’s notched up around 150 first prizes.

The hard work producing award-winning blooms doesn’t stop at the allotment.

Neil says that travelling to and from the shows is sometimes a huge effort in itself. Making sure the flowers arrive in pristine condition for judging can mean long, overnight drives, sometimes missing sleep altogether. 

A winning display of Neil Duncan’s varied Hybrid Tea roses (Image: Bruce Parker)

With his wife, Paula, doing the driving he’s clocked up more than 4,000 miles this year doing the show-round.

Earlier this year, members of the Rose Society UK made a special weekend visit to Appleshaw to see for themselves where the champion grows his superb exhibits.

Nearly a thousand rose plants are crowded into his allotment spaces.