Chiswick House Camellia Festival

For anyone worried about the effect of the recent low temperatures on their early-blooming camellias, here's some heartening advice from world authority Jennifer Trehane (left): “Deadhead the flowers that have suffered, leave the rest and all should be well”.

I caught up with her in the conservatory of Chiswick House in west London, at the launch of its annual Camellia Festival 

The conservatory and its beautiful dome – designed by Samuel Ware in 1813 – house what is probably the oldest camellia collection in the western world. It was put together in 1828 for the 6th Duke of Devonshire, and now has 33 different varieties, including many of the earliest ones introduced to Britain. All were just coming into bloom.

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Some are believed to be from the original planting, including, from top, Rubra Plena, Variegata, Elegans and Aitona.

 

Middlemist’s Red (left), was brought to Britain from China in 1804 by Londoner John Middlemist, a nurseryman from Shepherds Bush. The only other known plant of this variety is on the other side of the world – at the Treaty House in Waitangi, New Zealand.

The bushes survived under the Duke's successors, but by the 1980’s were ailing and infested with mealy bug. Three local members of the International Camellia Society stepped in to tend them, and now, under the sheltering glass of the refurbished conservatory, they thrive.

Another of the Duke’s projects, a semi-circular Italian garden, adjoins the conservatory. This week volunteers were making the most of the watery sunshine to fill in the intricate patterns of the formal flower beds, ready for the expected rush of plant lovers.

The Chiswick House Camellia Festival runs from Feb 18 to March 18. Details at http://www.chgt.org.uk/

And if you're inspired by the spectacular display, Trehane nursery, founded by Jennifer’s father and now run by her son, has some of its best-selling and more unusual camellias for sale at the show. www.trehane.co.uk/