What does it take to get a gold medal at Chelsea? If it’s a show garden the going rate is half a million pounds and a top designer, although that’s no guarantee of success, as several of the sponsors found at this year’s show. My only experience is in the show garden category , where, whatever the budget, the teams (which may comprise 30 workers) toil flat out for three weeks constructing the gardens.

I was intrigued to talk to one of the exhibitors in the Grand Pavilion, where it’s a different story altogether. He looked with envy and disbelief at one of his neighbours who had turned up on the Sunday evening (the day before judging) and put together their stand in a couple of hours. They were one of 50 (including my friend, I’m pleased to say) who were awarded a gold in the Grand Pavilion. As it happens, the stand in question was that of the Palm Centre, with their display of bamboos. The Palm Centre supplied many of the plants for Yewbarrow House, when I was first getting going and they gave me the very valuable advice to use Phyllostachis Bissetii as the ideal bamboo for a hedge. Their advice was spot on and the resultant hedge still looks splendid, ten years on. That’s worth a gold, of anyone’s money.

One of the daftest things I’ve ever done was to travel to Crug Farm, which is on the far side of Wales, near Anglesey, on a Wednesday. After a four hour drive I came to their entrance gate and found a sign which said “CLOSED”. I was just thinking of chancing my arm and ringing the bell when I noticed that underneath the word “CLOSED” was written “This includes you”. But I love the place so much that I returned a few weeks later, on a day when they were open, and returned home, as always, with a car stuffed full of rare plants.

The reason that the plants at Crug Farm are rare is that the owners, Bleddyn and Sue Wynn-Jones, collect the seed themselves on forays to remote corners of the globe. They are the modern equivalent of the Victorian pioneers and no less intrepid. I have lots and lots of their plants at Yewbarrow House, including Tetrapanax (Rex and Empress), Schefflera, Fatsia Polycarpa (like the Japonica but with matt leaves) and Curculigo. The latter has striking ribbed leaves and unfortunately all mine were struck down in the exceptional cold of last winter.

A Curculigo in perfect condition formed part of Crug Farm’s display in the floral marquee at the Chelsea Flower Show. This is the first time that Bleddyn and Sue have come to Chelsea. Their stand was small, but perfectly formed. They not only won gold, but the President’s Medal, an astonishing and in fact unique achievement for first-timers.

No-one deserves their success more than they do. And guess what- Crug Farm now do mail order- so there’s no need to make that eight hour round trip any more.

The photo shows Sue Wynne-Jones in front of the Crug Farm Plants display.