Community Camellia Competition at Annual Show

For the first time Chiswick House and Gardens are holding a Camellia Competition at their annual Camellia Show

Participants are warmly invited to take part in the first ever Chiswick House Camellia Competition, in association with the International Camellia Society (UK). The competition will take place on Saturday 10th March in the Grade 1 listed Conservatory. A prize giving will take place at midday with prizes including Chiswick House heritage camellias. The competition takes place during the free Camellia Show at Chiswick House Gardens.

Many of the Camellias have been growing for over 200 years. The collection is thought to be the oldest under glass in the Western world and includes rare and historically important examples, many believed to be descended from the original planting in 1828. There are 33 varieties housed in the 300 ft glass house, including the Middlemist’s Red, one of the rarest Camellias in the world. The future of the heritage camellias has been secured by an on-site propagation programme run by the gardeners in the newly restored Melon House and visitors to the show have the opportunity to purchase a choice of heritage varieties from Chiswick’s original collection. The show includes special plant displays created by Roots and Shoots and the Royal Parks Apprentices.

Chiswick House is open at the weekends during the show to view one of the most glorious examples of 18th-century British architecture, and enjoy the whole of the Grade 1 listed estate. Visitors are invited to make a day of it and stop off for refreshments at the award winning Chiswick House Café including Camellia Cupcakes, afternoon tea and hot lunches.

The Chiswick House Camellia Show 2018

Chiswick House, London, W4 2QN
Dates: Thursday 22nd February 2018 – Thursday 29th March 2018
Conservatory opening hours: Daily 10am – 4pm (Closed Fridays)
Admission: Free
Chiswick House: Special Camellia Show weekend openings Saturday and Sunday 10am – 4pm

Generously supported by the Chiswick House Friends.

Competition Details

Chiswick House, London, W4 2QN
Date: Saturday 10th March 2018
Judging commences at 10am. Blooms must be in place prior to 9.45.am.
Conservatory opening hours: Daily 10am – 4pm (Closed Fridays)
Admission: Free but registration required
All entry forms must be received by Wednesday the 7th March.
A prize giving will take place at midday with prizes including Chiswick House heritage camellias.

Further information and entry forms can be found here

Tours

Free guided tours 7th, 14th and 21st March at 11am.

The tours are guided by our knowledgeable volunteer guides and will cover the history of the gardens, Conservatory and our stunning Camellia collection.  Visitors will also be guided through the historic back sheds area which is not normally open to the public. The 45 minute tours meet outside the entrance to the Camellia Show at 11am.

The Chiswick House Camellia collection: 

Camellias have been grown in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam as a garden plant for thousands of years. The Camellias that grow at Chiswick are all of the species C. japonica. The original collection was ordered by William Lindsay, the 6th Duke’s Head Gardener, from Alfred Chandler’s Vauxhall nursery. Today’s Conservatory collection of 33 different varieties includes many of the earliest varieties introduced to Britain. Using stem girth as an approximate guide it is probable that the Camellias identified as C. japonica ‘Variegata’, ‘Imbricata’, ‘Chandleri’, ‘Alba Plena’, ‘Pompone’, ‘Aitonia’, ‘Corallina’, ‘Rubra Plena’ and ‘Rubra’ are all from the original 1828 planting.

The Conservatory and the Italian Garden: 

The Conservatory was designed by the architect Samuel Ware (who later designed the Burlington Arcade, Piccadilly) and completed in 1813. At 300ft long it was one of the earliest large glass houses to be built and thus a forerunner of Decimus Burton’s glass house at Kew and Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace. 50 years ago ( May 20, 1966) the Conservatory was the setting for the Beatles’ Paperback Writer promo, a ground breaking music video.

The Duke also commissioned Lewis Kennedy to lay out a ‘Italian’ garden in front of the Conservatory. Completed in 1814 the Italian Gardens represents an early example of the reintroduction of formal gardens to England.

The garden is characterised by its symmetrical formality and intricate pattern of flower beds. Stone urns on plinths are set against an enclosing semi-circular path. The central path is flanked by copies of two magnificent Coade stone vases; the originals are now housed in the Conservatory.