THE owner of a nursery paid a tribute to the business' founders as it turns 100 - and came away with a top prize at a show.

Maxine Hall, of Halls of Heddon at Ovington, enlisted the help of an artist to create willow sculptures of her grandparents William and Barbara Hall to display at Harrogate Autumn flower show.

And she brought home golds with the best display and best dahlias.

Maxine said: "I found an old photograph of my grandparents standing on a road called Dahlia Road behind their red truck. I thought it would be a nice way to celebrate the 100th year of business, since they started it.

"I knew what I wanted in the display but needed some help."

Maxine called upon Ruth Thompson, a greenwood artist who creates sculptures in willow.

Maxine said: "I have heard about Ruth's work and had attended a workshop previously with her here at Halls of Heddon.

"I knew she was the one and was perfect for the job."

Ruth, who runs a business called 'Svylan Skills' in West Mickley, near Stocksfield, was proud to be asked to be a part of the project.

She said: "Maxine asked me to make sculptures of her grandparents William and Barbara to display at Harrogate flower show.

"We worked with Maxine at her nursery at Ovington and were helped by various other volunteers and people who work at the nursery. It also involved one of her daughters and one of my colleagues. We all worked on the sculpture frames at various times over a couple of days.

"I made the sculpture frames with a lot of help from Derek Anderson of Anderson unique creations who taught me welding.

"It was a nice project to do and was a real success at the show as it was a talking point."

Maxine added: "I think that they would have been very proud. They probably did not expect to reach 100 years of the business so it is a nice thought of keeping it going and to have awards for the work we do."