Flower power for royal rep (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Flower power for royal rep

THE Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire, Henry Elwes, has been welcoming visitors to his famous snowdrop gardens with a special treat - an entirely new breed named after him.

The new Lord Lieutenant snowdrop is a stately flower standing bolt upright like a soldier with flowers pointing out at right angles.

Old Etonian, Mr Elwes, a former Scots Guards officer who has 115 varieties of snowdrop growing in the grounds of his Colesbourne Park Estate, said: "People said it should be called Lord Lieutenant because it stands up straight, like I do when the Queen visits."

He added: "Snowdrops are natural hybrids. Different breeds of flowers cross-fertilise themselves. Most come to practically nothing, but every so often we get a striking new flower."

Two other new breeds have also emerged at Colesbourne, one of them a rare yellow flowered snowdrop with distinctive markings which has been named after Mr Elwes' wife, Caroline.

The other new variety, a tall specimen with a full flower, has been named after the couple's son, George Elwes, who died in 1994 in a car crash.

The impressive Colesbourne snowdrop collection was brought together by the Lord Lieutenant's great grandfather, Henry, an eminent Victorian naturalist and plant collector who travelled extensively in Asia Minor searching for new varieties of trees and plants.

Mr Elwes has received many letters and e-mails from satisfied members of the public saying how much they enjoyed the gardens and there is nothing quite like them in the world.