We are entering peak camellia season here in the Lowcountry so it’s time to grab your camera and head out to put some color into the gray days of winter.
Take in the centuries-old camellias that started blooming this month at Middleton Place. Learn more about these blooming beauties during guided camellia walks at 11 a.m. each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from Feb. 14 to March 23. Visit middletonplace.org or call 843-556-6020 for reservations and details.
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens is home to 20,000 camellias. The Japonicas started blooming this month and will continue to bloom into mid-March. Magnolia has 1,000 cultivars of Japonica, more than any other garden in America.
In 1854 the Rev. John Grimke-Drayton wrote about the extensive camellia collection, “I have discovered that there were a hundred and twenty double varieties there. How many singles, semi-doubles, peony forms and others, I do not pretend to know. I can only describe their number as Legion.”
Ancient camellias (pre-1900) are a specialty at Magnolia, according to the garden’s website. Magnolia introduced more than 150 cultivars of Japonica to America from the 1840s to 1940s and has organized a world-wide search for Ancient Camellias, which are in threat of extinction.
In addition, Magnolia is one of only five gardens in the United States and only 30 gardens in the world that has received the International Camellia Garden of Excellence award from the International Camellia Society.
Take a 45-minute camellia walk at 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday; 1:30 on Sundays (through March). To make a reservation, call 800-367-3517.
Let us know if you have a favorite place to see camellias and if you snap a photo, share it on our Facebok page!