A MIDDLEWICH gardener has taken charge of one of the country’s most historical horticultural gems.

Dave Groom, from King Street, is caring for Arley Hall’s double herbaceous border, which is seen by thousands of visitors every year.

The father-of-five is the latest in a long line of gardeners to nurture the border, which is believed to be the first of its kind ever planted.

Dave said: “In the 1840s they knew exactly what they wanted to achieve in creating the quintessential English border and, although tastes have changed, we have very much stuck to their original vision.

“Sometimes things go wrong, plants die leaving holes in the landscape, but often there’s only us who can spot them because we know what should have been there.

“Looking after this piece of horticultural history is scary in one way, but also gives me immense pride. Hearing all the positive comments from visitors is the nicest perk.”

Dave has worked at Arley for 20 years gathering knowledge about how the gardens grow.

Looking after the herbaceous border will mean working with Lady Ashbrook to decide what has worked and what needs changing to improve the borders for next year.

“Theoretically that means the border should look better every year and that is certainly what we all aim to achieve,” Dave said.

“It also means that every summer the herbaceous border looks different – that’s some achievement given it was first planted 200 years ago.”

Despite decades of experience caring for the borders they can still spring a surprise.

This year, Arley’s gardeners are predicting that weather conditions will mean visitors have an extra two weeks to admire the borders before they die off for the winter.

This has been caused by the dry, cold spring which delayed the plants’ growth meaning they will still be in bloom way into September.

“We are learning all the time, but at the end of the day the borders are like people,” Dave said. “You have to give them the right food, water and living conditions in order for them to grow.”

You can visit Arley’s award-winning gardens and admire Dave’s handiwork until the end of October.