A PENSIONER with a passion for growing dahlias has won two national championships.

73-year-old Graham Macfarlane, from Barrow, won the individual category in the National Dahlia Society competition at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in Wisley.

"It is a very difficult championship to enter," said Mr Macfarlane, who grows his prize-winners at an allotment on Walney.

"This is like the Wimbledon of the dahlia world. This is the most prestigious award you can win in dahlias.

"There were 10 entries, and I managed to win it - I was very pleased."

Amont more than one thousand vases of Dahlias in the competition, Mr Macfarlane managed to achieve the best vase in the show. 

He also won five other silver medals in the competition, including the best decorative in the show.

The Mail: Graham's silver medals.Graham's silver medals. (Image: Graham Macfarlane.)

In addition to this win, Mr Macfarlane also won the individual category at the Scottish Dahlia Championship.

He said that winning these championships gives him the 'motivation' to carry on.

"I have had a very good season. It was the first time I won both of the competitions,” he said.

Mr Macfarlane, who is originally from Scotland, has been growing dahlias for the past 60 years since he was a teenager.

He said: "I have always been attracted to them. I like the variation in colour, the different shapes and sizes.

"My father grew them, and I think it is just in my DNA that I would like them.

"I grew them in an allotment in Walney and I have three polytunnels with thousands of dahlias. Our country is the best country in the world to grow dahlias in.

"There were people in the competition from Canada and New Zealand and they are very much aware of what we do in the UK and we grow the best dahlias in the world compared to other countries."