Sponsored by
Rare Camellia blooms after conservatory restoration
One of the rarest camellias in the world is blooming, after being given a new lease of life thanks to the restoration of its 19th-century conservatory home.
* Click here to sign up to free news and sport email alerts from your YEP.
The "Middlemist's red" camellia is thought to be only one of two examples of the variety in the world - with the other in Waitangi, New Zealand.
* Click here to follow the YEP on Twitter.
The rare plant, brought to Britain from China by Londoner John Middlemist, blooms a deep pink - rather than red - for around a month each year.
* Click here to become a fan of the YEP on Facebook.
The flower has been in Chiswick House Gardens conservatory, which was built in 1813, since the first half of the 19th century.
But the building, which lost all its glass in the Blitz and even survived an unexploded bomb, had fallen into a complete state of disrepair by the 1980s and was only saved, along with its camellias, by the intervention of volunteers.
Now a major restoration of the conservatory, part of a 12.1 million project overseen by Chiswick House and Gardens Trust and English Heritage to bring the gardens back to their former glory, will soon be completed.
The public will be able to enjoy the new conservatory from the summer and will be able to see the Middlemist's red variety of camellia when it flowers again next year.
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds United: Whites ponder next move in hunt for new manager LATEST
- Web poll: Who is to blame for Leeds United’s league position? VOTE HERE
- Leeds United: Time for Ken Bates and Co to listen up
- Leeds man remanded on sister murder charge UPDATED
- Leeds United: Aston Villa boss drops hint on Fabian Delph
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Leeds
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 0 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North west
