Falmouth’s Ron Scamp has been presented with one of the horticulture world’s highest awards in recognition of his “significant contribution” to the UK flower bulb industry.

Ron received the Carlo Naef Trophy from the Springfields Horticultural Society at the start of the weekend’s Falmouth Spring Flower Show, of which Ron is chairman. The award was made because of the outstanding reputation he has achieved through his many years of dedicated work cultivating and breeding new varieties of daffodils.

He said: “It’s the highest award you can get in horticulture, through the professional horticulturists. It was a bit of a surprise. I couldn’t believe it. It’s quite stunning. It’s the culmination of your achievements through life.

“The society and the industry do me a great honour in presenting me with this very prestigious award and I am very proud to be one of the recipients, along with the many other distinguished and esteemed previous winners.”

Ron has had no formal training in horticulture and spent most of his career in retail management. His passion for flowers, and daffodils in particular, came from time spent as a child on his uncles’ flower farm in the Tamar Valley.

In 1991, he started his own small mail order business selling Quality Daffodils after accumulating a large collection of the very best varieties available, including many of his own breeding stock. Today, his collection has grown to almost 3,000 different varieties and is reputed to be the most comprehensive collection internationally.

Over the years, Ron and his “daffodil team” have been awarded 18 Royal Horticultural Society Gold Medals for their displays as well as the Williams Memorial Medal for Excellence in Horticulture and the Cory Cup in recognition of his successful breeding programme.

Ron is a vice-president of the National Daffodil Society, the South East of England Daffodil Group and the Cornwall County Garden Society. In 2006, the American Daffodil Society awarded him their highest award, the gold medal, and he has twice been guest speaker at the All-States Daffodil Convention..