IW Observer gardening columnist, Darren Everest, has been awarded one of the National Dahlia Society’s highest honours, the NDS Silver Medal for his services to the flower.

Darren drove to Solihull to attend the NDS annual meeting to give a talk on exhibiting at the RHS Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows.

During the meeting Darren was surprised to learn that he was being awarded this top honour.

Darren, who moved to the Island at Cranmore six years ago, said: “I’ve been growing dahlias for more than 35 years, and been giving talks on them all over the country for 20 years.

“Since 2011, I have been doing displays at large events to help promote these beautiful flowers, winning many awards along the way.”