Trewithen

224 delegates from more than 20 different countries are attending the event which takes place every 18 to 24 months. The last congress took place in August 2006 in Australia and the next will take place in Japan in March 2010.

 

Trewithen enjoys a worldwide reputation for the magnificence of its woodland gardens and for its camellias. Three types are of particular significance - the Camellia x williamsii ‘Donation', the original surviving plant from which the world's best-selling type of camellia derives, the two Kunming Camellia reticulata ‘Nobel pearl' and ‘Lion Head', which were brought back from China by three plant hunters in the 1940s, and the Camellia x williamsii ‘Glens Orbit', so-called because it first flowered on the day that American astronaut Colonel John Glen completed an orbit of the earth.

 

‘I know the prospect of seeing our camellias is causing great excitement amongst the delegates- especially the original ‘Donation' plant which gets its name from the fact that John Charles Williams donated the seed to Colonel Stevenson Clarke from Sussex,' said Head Gardener Gary Long. ‘The Colonel bred the hybrid which had three offspring. He gave one to Caerhays Castle, one to Trewithen and kept one for himself. All but Trewithen's died so our plant is the one from which all others throughout the world come.'

 

All the delegates are experts in their field but it is Professor Gao Jiyin from the international camellia species garden in Jinhua, China, whom Gary is looking forward to meeting most.

 

‘He is bringing us some camellia seeds that have been collected from the wild,' said Gary. ‘These will include C.nitidissima, a true yellow flowered camellia, and C.azalea which flowers most of the year and has an unusual azalea-like single pink flower. It should flower here during the summer - meaning Trewithen will have a camellia in blossom every month of the year.'

 

Following their visit to Trewithen on the first day of the congress, the Falmouth-based delegates will go on to visit Caerhays Castle, Tregothnan, Tregrehan and the Eden Project before going to The Cornwall Garden Society's annual Spring Show in the grounds of Boconnoc House, near Lostwithiel, on Saturday 5 April.

 

Michael Galsworthy, who owns and lives at Trewithen, his family's home for almost 300 years, said he felt very honoured to be hosting the congress on its opening day.

 

‘Trewithen has long been recognised as one of the country's most notable gardens and I'm delighted that so many of the world's camellia experts will be able to see our outstanding collection,' he said. ‘I'm also very excited at the prospect of adding to that collection with wild seeds from China.'

 

Trewithen Garden is currently open to the public 7 days a week from 10am to 4.30pm. For more information, visit www.trewithengardens.co.uk