Kilnsey Orchid gets guard at Chelsea

Dales orchid to star at Chelsea

We are proud that the rare Lady's Slipper Orchid, the star of our Wild About Orchids festival at Kilnsey, is on its way to the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show. The orchid will be the star attraction of Welcome to Yorkshire's Dales-themed garden at this year's event. It's even getting a special guard for the week.

The exciting news has already received extensive coverage on the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22545330 and in the Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/chelseaflowershow/10059601/Chelsea-Flower-Show-2013-rare-orchid-Ladys-Slipper-to-be-shown.html

For more information on this year's Wild About Orchids festival at Kilnsey 25 May - 2 June click here http://www.kilnseypark.co.uk/archived-news/291-wild-about-orchids-festival

 

Here's the official Welcome to Yorkshire release:

Wardens on alert to guard rare orchid

Security plans are underway to guard the UK’s rarest orchid when it appears at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show next week.

Such is the importance of the Lady’s Slipper orchid that has its own panel of botanical experts that look after its conservation and protection, the Cypripedium Committee. Working with that committee Welcome to Yorkshire - which is exhibiting the orchid as part of its artisan entry, Le Jardin de Yorkshire - is discussing adding additional protection to guard the plant during the world famous flower show.

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “The orchid will be a star of our garden and we are working with the Cypripedium Committee to ascertain if we need to have additional manpower on the garden to guarantee its safety.

“When you have the UK’s rarest orchid on your garden you need to take every precaution to protect it and we are having those conversations. I’m sure people will flock to see this rare specimen and to learn more about its successful conservation programme.”

The Lady’s Slipper is strictly protected by law, and cuttings once fetched bids of thousands of pounds from unscrupulous collectors. The orchids being featured in Le Jardin de Yorkshire are direct descendents from the last wild orchid growing in the UK, which is under warden protection during summer months.

The plant has been brought back from the brink of extinction by scientists at Kew Gardens in London. Lady's Slipper orchids have been planted across the north of England, and can now be visited at a handful of locations such as Kilnsey Park Estate in North Yorkshire.

Jamie Roberts, managing director of Kilnsey Park Estate, who is closely involved with the conservation programme added: “This is a wonderful opportunity for visitors to Chelsea to see the UK’s rarest wildflower outside of its natural habitat. It is testament to the extraordinary work Natural England and Kew Gardens have done that we are able to take a Lady’s Slipper orchid to Chelsea, and while security is uppermost in all our minds, so is raising awareness of the plant’s success story, from the brink of extinction to being showcased at the world’s most famous flower show in its 100th year.”

Le Jardin de Yorkshire celebrates the county’s successful bid to host the Tour de France. As well as the Lady’s Slipper orchid the garden will also feature a wild flower meadow through which a peloton of cyclist will speed, passing the dry stone walls of the Yorkshire Dales.

The garden will also mark the dual centenaries of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and the 100th running of the Tour de France and help raise the profile of Yorkshire’s famous gardens.

The Chelsea Flower Show runs from the 21st – 25th May. The Wild About Orchids festival at Kilnsey Park Estate, North Yorkshire, features a number of the successfully reintroduced Lady’s Slipper orchids, the show runs from 25th May to 2nd June www.kilnseypark.co.uk.

 

Wild About Orchids festival

BRITAIN’S RAREST WILD FLOWER ON SHOW AT DALES ORCHID FESTIVAL

Lady's Slipper orchid at Kilnsey ParkBritain’s rarest wildflower is the star attraction at the Wild About Orchids Festival (25 May-2 June) to be held at Kilnsey Park in the Yorkshire Dales.

The Wild About Orchids Festival promises to be a fantastic feast of activities and fun, including guided wildflower walks, children’s activities, 'Meet the Expert' events, a photography competition and a special ‘Orchid High Tea’ served in the Estate café.

 

 

The full programme is as follows:

'Meet the Orchid' walks - Sat 25 May - Sun 2 June - Daily at 11am and 3pm (approx 30 mins)

Kids Wildflower Bingo and colouring - Sat 25 May - Sun 2 June - Daily from 9.30am - 5pm

Orchid High Tea - Sat 25 May - Sun 2 June - Served in our Cafe Daily

Storytelling - Sat 25, Sun 26, Mon 27 May at 2pm

Face painting and crafts - Sat 25, Sun 26, Mon 27 May, Sat 1 June 11am-4pm

The wildflower reserve at Kilnsey Park

 

Kilnsey Park - a haven for wildlife

Kilnsey Park has a nature reserve with more than 150 species of wildflowers, orchids and grasses; an unusually high number for a small site. This is due to the special limestone spring water that runs beneath the ground. Eight types of orchid, including the rare Lady’s Slipper, grow at the Park, which also boasts red squirrels and is part of the UK’s red squirrel captive breeding programme.

 

The Lady's Slipper Orchid

The Lady’s Slipper orchid (Cypripedium Calceolus) was thought extinct until a single plant was rediscovered growing at a remote location in the Yorkshire Dales in 1930. The orchid remains closely protected and thrives today, but the privately owned site is too fragile with viewing strictly prohibited. Its beautiful flower was much sought after and was dug up for gardens and collections as early as the 1600s. It was even sold on Skipton and Settle markets in Victorian times.

Today, a group called the Cypripedium Committee co-ordinates conservation work for the plant. They protect the last known wild orchid and from it propagate new ones that are planted out across northern England. Working with Kew Gardens over many decades of intensive conservation activity, the group successfully reintroduced the orchid back into the countryside on a handful of sites, including the Kilnsey Estate, which is today one of the few places you can see the orchids in the wild. The wild plant is still guarded during its flowering period each year to prevent theft or damage.

 

Conserving nature at Kilnsey

Jamie Roberts, managing partner at Kilnsey, is the fourth generation of the Roberts family to live and work on the Estate. He has worked in conservation for 10 years, most recently as Director of the National Trust on the remote British territory of St Helena in the South Atlantic. There he was responsible for helping to save the Bastard Gumwood, the world’s rarest tree, from extinction.

Lady's Slipper orchid at Kilnsey ParkCommenting on the event, Jamie Roberts said: “The Lady’s Slipper is a particular passion and fascination of mine and has been since childhood. I remember vividly being taken to see the orchid when I was a young boy. I wasn’t told where I was being taken only that it was a very special plant and that I couldn’t tell anyone else about it. Even at a young age the flower struck me as being incredibly beautiful. I’m one of the lucky ones, because even today the site remains a secret to all but a handful of conservationists."

Wild About Orchids forms part of the Flowers of the Dales Festival 2013.

 

 

Job opportunities

Job vacancies in the Yorkshire Dales

Would you like to join our team? We have a number of seasonal vacancies available at Kilnsey Park Estate:  

Waiting Staff

We are looking for people with lots of energy, good communication skills and the ability to deliver great customer service. Candidates with experience of working in a restaurant/coffee shop environment preferred. Full and Part time positions available. Must be able to work weekends and school holidays.

Fishery Assistant

Help make a visitor's day at our popular visitor attraction. We are looking for someone to help out on our fishery and family fun fishing and look after our animals. The successful candidate will be good with people, reliable, hard-working and happy to work outdoors whatever the weather. Full or Part-time position, depending on candidate. Must be able to work weekends, school holidays and some evenings.

Please request an application form or email your CV to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

 

 
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