Chiswick greenhouse restoration nears completion
13:17 24th June 2010
A famous greenhouse in London's Chiswick Park will soon open to the public after a two-year restoration programme.
Funded by English Heritage, the project was aimed at restoring Camellia House to the way it was prior to the Second World War.
According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the site houses one of the world's most important flower collections and is home to the extremely rare Camellia japonica Middlemist's Red.
First built in 1813 for the sixth Duke of Devonshire, the greenhouse fell into disrepair after being damaged during the second world war.
It was almost demolished in the 1980s, but a team of volunteers campaigned for it to be saved and eventually succeeded.
It will now open to the public later this month, granting garden and greenhouse enthusiasts access to its rare collection of plants.
Meanwhile, the RHS revealed earlier this month that there is a new threat to English oak trees.
