CHRIS CHADWELL Modern-day Plant Hunter, Freelance Lecturer, Travel Photographer, Botanist, Leader of 28 expeditions to the Himalaya Proprietor of Chadwell Seeds since 1984 Choice seed for discerning and adventurous gardeners... Entertaining, informative digital presentations for clubs and societies... Classic embroidered Kashmir shawls for those with sophisticated tastes... Scientific research and conservation projects in the Himalaya ..... Supporting genuine charities...... E-mail: chrischadwell261@btinternet.com
Dhaulagiri - the 'White Mountain', Nepal Himalaya
Chris with stunning Salvia hians in the NW Himalaya
Colourful character in Pokhara, Nepal
Chris outside a trekking lodge in Mustang District, Nepal (Photo: Bikash Rai) WELCOME TO MY WEBSITE Please take your time to browse through the different sections highlighting my varied activities and what I offer. Enjoy and savour the images taken during recent travels, which celebrate wild flowers, the pristine environments where they are found, the best of gardens and garden flowers - and the people of the Himalaya and borderlands of Tibet Operating as I do, on a freelance, "not-for-profit" basis, your support and encouragement is invaluable for me to continue with my on-going research, visits and studies, especially those in the borderlands of Tibet - almost all undertaken on a voluntary basis. After devoting more than 30 years to the study of Himalayan flora, I am in a unique position to contribute further towards the FLOWERS FIT FOR A DALAI LAMA Plant Conservation Project, an up-to-date FLORA for LADAKH (known as 'Little Tibet') and providing advice on other projects. Professor Norm Deno proclaims that "TO SOW A SEED IS A NOBLE DEED" and "PROPAGATION IS CONSERVATION" within 'Seed Germination, Theory and Practise". I totally agree and my 'seed sowing' is not limited to plants.....
'WEST HIMALAYAN BLUE-POPPY' (Meconopsis aculeata)
Chris Chadwell holding the gigantic leaf of a Himalayan cobra-lily (Photo: Bikash Rai)
Ripening fruiting spike of a Himalayan cobra-lily Arisaema tortuosum (Photo: Bikash Rai)
A glorious gentian on a mountain slope in Nepal SEEDS As Proprietor of CHADWELL SEEDS (Established in 1984) I offer, in association with P.Kohli & Co., India (Established in 1928), an exceptional range of rarely available seed of rockery subjects, herbaceous perennials, climbers, shrubs and trees from various parts of the world for discerning and adventurous gardeners. My NEW catalogue will be available in January 2014. (See CHADWELL SEEDS section of this web-site to request a copy of this catalogue)
Pages from a past Chadwell Seeds Catalogue
Gardeners for P.Kohli & Co., in Kashmir in 2012 In addition to the seed offered on a per packet basis within his catalogues, Chris has led 27 plant-hunting and scientific expeditions to different regions of the Himalaya, during which he gathers seed which is only available to those who take out a "share" in advance. There is still time to subscribe to his Autumn (Fall) 2013 expedition. (See SEEDS FOR THE CONNOISSEUR section of this web-site for further details)
and this lovely Tibetan Larkspur during his 2011 expedition - who wouldn't wish to grow them in their garden? TALKS/PRESENTATIONS Chris has proven to be a popular and versatile public-speaker, having delivered hundreds of entertaining and informative lectures around the UK. His latest digital presentations appeal to garden clubs, specialist horticultural societies along with more general audiences such as National Trust Centres and U3A groups. He has undertaken lecture tours and speaking engagements in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, France, Ireland and India. Audiences now regularly remark that the images he shows at his lectures are amongst the best they have ever seen. Why not suggest him as a speaker to the programme secretary of a society you belong to? (See DIGITAL PRESENTATIONS FOR CLUBS and SOCIETIES section of this web-site for details of the topics he offers, his availability and fees)
Title slide of two of Chris' digital presentations
KASHMIR HANDICRAFTS Chris has once again obtained a limited supply of colourful embroidered shawls, which he selected personally from the shop now run by the son of his long-standing Kashmiri friend, Ghulam Rasool Beigh. Ghulam was Chris' guide and collecting assistant for several scientific and horticultural expeditions in Kashmir and the NW Himalaya in the 1980s. (See the KASHMIR HANDICRAFTS section of this web-site. They make wonderful gifts as do the Elephant Tea-cosies his eldest son is selling on e-bay - see below)
Kashmir shawl with hook-work embroidery
Elephant Tea-Cosy (For further information see KASHMIT HANDICRAFTS section on the sidebar) SCIENTIFIC PROJECTS IN THE HIMALAYA Chris recently established the FLOWERS FIT FOR A DALAI LAMA Plant Conservation Project, offering long-term advice on the cultivation and identification of Himalayan plants used in Tibetan Medicine. Through awards of the KOHLI MEMORIAL GOLD MEDAL, on behalf of the Himalayan Plant Association, recognition is brought to individuals (past and present-day), along with Institutions in the Himalaya, who have made a significant contribution to the study, cultivation or conservation of Himalayan flora. He has also undertaken intensive research on the plants of Ladakh over a period of more than 30 years, with a view to producing a flora (See PLANT CONSERVATION and BOTANICAL projects section of this web-site, should wish to learn more about these worthwhile activities - and perhaps become a supporter)
Chris honouring Prem Nath KOHLI during commemorative event in Delhi, India in 2009
Chris with Ladakhi family
Lama in Ladakh CHARITIES Chris has raised money for a number of organisations and charities operating in the Himalaya, particularly The Britain-Nepal Medical Trust (BNMT) and wishes to draw attention to others which he judges to be worth supporting. Funds should be directed towards the best. (See FUNDRAISING FOR CHARITIES Section of this web-site)
Matthew Chadwell, Chris' eldest son visiting the BNMT's Kathmandu HQ in 2010 WILD FLOWERS OF BRITAIN It is not just plants in the Himalaya or North America which Chris values. Very much a field botanist at heart, he undertook surveys of riverside vegetation and potential sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wales in the 1980s for the then Wales Field Unit of The Nature Conservancy Council. He is currently Botanical Recorder for Iver & District Countryside, compiling a check-list of local flora (See WILD FLOWERS OF BRITAIN section of this web-site to view images he has taken recently)
BRINGING OUT THE BEST IN PEOPLE.....
Chris Chadwell in a field of Cannabis in Nepal; despite appearances Chris has never indulged, indeed not even smoked a single tobacco cigarette in his life - and he must disappoint those who type in "Himalayan Seeds" into a search engine, looking for 'Himalayan Gold' or other strains only to find this web-site, as he definitely does not supply seeds of Cannabis! (Photo: Bikash Rai)
The admirable sentiments of India's first prime minister after Independence in 1947, inscribed below his statue in Manali, Himachal Pradesh. The world would be a better place if every nation and individual citizen in the world adopted such a philosophy.
Let me end with images of a cute Nepali girl holding one of my business cards and her younger brother giving the standard greeting of "Namaste" - let us celebrate their charm and help protect their innocence. They and the people of Nepal deserve better in the future. We can help by making sure aid monies are spent more effectively than they have been in the past.... Why not find out more about the ways I and others try to "put something back" in the Himalaya? Take a look at the different sections of this site and then help me or directly support charities I am able to recommend. Some of us are genuine and doing worthwhile work along the Himalaya.
In October, I was approached by David Durkan as I sat in the Northfield Café - a restaurant in the Thamel district of Kathmandu, eagerly awaiting a meal of Mexican cuisine. He introduced me to Beni, who runs a business producing colourful Recycled Nepali Hand Crafts and explained about numerous other projects he is involved with - helping mountain people to help themselves, an approach I thoroughly approve of. I recognised a kindred spirit and true friend of Nepal and its people. His book, 'PENGUINS ON EVEREST", is a hugely entertaining read which provides a powerful insight into guided 'ascents' of Everest and the shortcomings of large-scale aid projects. It should be required reading for anyone wishing to contribute in a meaningful way in Nepal. David states in his book, "I do not expect everyone will agree with my standpoints, my intention being to plant a seed....This seed may or may not germinate" - a realistic philosophy, bearing in mind the challenges involved in "making things happen" in the Indian sub-continent. For further information see: http://www.mountainpeople.org/newsletters.php and the CHARITIES section of this web-site
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