In the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in La Cañada Flintridge, north of Los Angeles, California is the largest collection of camellias in North America. Descanso’s 150 acres are filled with native California plants, a rose garden, flowering cherry trees and camellias planted along winding pathways which makes it a peaceful place to walk […]
The Huntington Botanical Garden was named an International Camellia Garden of Excellence in 2001 by the International Camellia Society because it has one of the most comprehensive collections of camellias in North America. There are 60 species and 1,200 cultivars beautifully planted along pathways on both sides of the North Vista and on the North […]
This little gem is located in Pasadena, California originally designed in the mid 1930s. The garden has recently been restored, remaining true to its original pre-war design. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. The garden is well planted with a variety of traditional Japanese plants including Camellia japonica cultivars, a lovely pond, two waterfalls, […]
We prepared for rain when we visited Portland, Oregon because the average annual rainfall is 36 inches. Therefore we were not deterred from visiting the Portland Japanese Garden in February. We were on a American Camellia Society (ACS) tour. The median age of this group is seventy, with anyone mobile walking the gardens in intermittent […]
When my wife, Lynn, and I travel we always plan on visiting key gardens and major museums. Therefore when visiting Portland, Oregon for a camellia show and an American Camellia Society meeting we were pleased the local host arranged a tour of Lan Su Chinese Garden. Our tour guide informed us that Lan Su Yuan […]
Nuccio’s Nurseries roots are firmly established in their Italian American family. The nursery began when Joe and Julius Nuccio began to grow camellias and azaleas in their parent’s backyard in Alhambra, California in the 1930s. The two brothers began to propagate camellias and azaleas which led them to grow seedlings, hoping to produce new cultivars. […]
We visited this free garden in Palo Alto, California when we read it was added to the American Camellia Society Camellia Trail. We were not disappointed. It is the former home and garden of Elizabeth Gamble, the granddaughter of the founder of Proctor & Gamble. It was given to the city of Palo Alto, which […]
Filoli is a country house estate on 654 acres in Woodside, California. There are sixteen acres of beautifully designed formal gardens around the house. In the spring the perennial garden shines with lovely blue delphiniums taking center stage. The mass plantings of the cutting garden flowers bloom during the summer have looked good every time […]
In the spring, gardeners hope for spring rain “to bring May flowers.” The awakening of new growth on perennials brings hope for flowers. The long-lived peonies come to mind as they grew every year on my grandparent’s farm, reliably blooming every June. During the summer we hope the annual seeds sowed will grow and bloom […]
Few public gardens have had such an enduring influence on American camellia history as the world-famous Bellingrath Gardens near Mobile, Alabama. Ever since its 1930’s opening during the rise of America’s fascination with camellias, it has topped many lists of attractions in the nation and has hosted the American Camellia Society for tours and meetings […]
A unique attraction of the K. Sawada WinterGarden at the Mobile Botanical Gardens is its rare and significant collection of camellias developed by the region’s renowned local growers. None were greater than Kosaku Sawada who famously grew a chest of seeds sent from Japan by his wife’s family (as her dowry) to produce a series […]