A GARDENING champion has done it again after winning her 19th gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Rosy Hardy, who owns Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants, in Freefolk Priors, near Whitchurch, discovered this morning that she had secured the top award for her herbaceous perennials in a formal setting, exhibited in The Great Pavilion at the London show.

The 52-year-old spent three days creating the 12 by 10 metre display which features 140 different plant species.

Rosy said she was “overwhelmed” to have won another gold medal.

She told The Gazette: “It's all herbaceous perennials which we specialise in. It's quite a small display this time with a pathway through the middle so you can walk through.”

She added that water used in the display creates a “lovely reflection”, adding: “The plant material is fantastic because the staff have produced some wonderful plants.”

Despite winning a continuous string of gold medals, as the most successful female exhibitor at Chelsea, Rosy said she still feels nervous before the results come in, adding: “It's a really testing time. We get judged in the morning and know nothing until the following day. We have done the best we can but there could be something that they pick up on and down-grade you. It's nerve-wracking and until you see that medal on display, you just don't know.”

Following a tough year in 2013, because of bad weather, Rosy said this year had been less of a challenge, adding: “We have been very lucky and the weather has been kind to us for a change. We are very pleased with how it's gone.”