Queen of Winter

The history and art of camellia cultivation in Louisiana

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On an overcast January afternoon, we pulled into a nondescript driveway blanketed in fragrant long-leaf pine needles. Both back doors opened simultaneously, and our three boys tumbled out, darting through the trees in search of sticks to start the next epic battle. My husband and I emerged more slowly, taking in the bursts of colors breaking through the monotony of the whitewashed sky.

We had arrived at the Hody Wilson Camellia Garden, a veritable jungle of flowers across from LSU AgCenter’s Hammond Research Station. Although it was a prime weekend to catch the blooming camellias, we were completely alone on the two-acre property. Camera in hand, my husband set off to document the red, pink, and white blooms, while I wandered deeper into the forest of trees, drawn by a search for the perfect flower. 

The site features more than six hundred varieties of camellias planted by W.F. “Hody” Wilson Jr., superintendent of the Research Station between the mid-1930s to 1975. During his tenure there, the Research Station focused solely on vegetables and row crops, while Wilson’s passion for camellias led him to run his garden on the side. 

“It’s a little piece of Louisiana horticulture history,” said Jeb Fields, Assistant Research Coordinator at the Hammond Research Station. “This is his breeding area, where he did his research. The trees here have been in the ground for fifty to eighty years.” 

Fields explained how Wilson’s garden is a rare gem, as most camellia gardens are continually landscaped and improved. Although the Tangipahoa Master Gardeners maintain Wilson’s garden, they avoid changing it by adding or removing any trees. The garden remains historically accurate to Wilson’s vision.

A walk through the property reveals a new surprise in every row, from tiny, delicate pink flowers to palm-sized blooms with tightly-layered rows of white petals. A particularly vibrant blossom showcases candy-cane-colored stripes set against a backdrop of deep green leaves. 

Before the pandemic, the Master Gardeners held an annual camellia stroll through the garden in early March. Attendance was high, with nearly six hundred people turning out for the event. Fields hopes the stroll can return next year, alongside a celebration for the one hundredth anniversary of the Research Station.

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Known as the “Queen of the Winter,” camellias date back five thousand years to China and Japan, where the leaves of the Camellia sinensis have long been used to produce tea. Seeds from other species are ground up into cooking oil and face oil. The East India Company brought both the tea and the trees west to Europe in the 1700s. However, the trees turned out to be the more ornamental species of Camellia japonica. The English introduced camellias to America via New Jersey, and Martha Turnbull of Rosedown Plantation in St. Francisville is cited as one of the first to bring them to Louisiana.

Historically, the trees were grown by wealthier gardeners, whose collections can still be viewed at places such as Rosedown Plantation, Longue Vue House and Gardens in New Orleans, Jungle Gardens at Avery Island, and Bayou Gardens in Lacombe. In Baton Rouge, the LSU AgCenter Botanical Gardens at Burden holds one of the largest private collections in the United States, including several rare varieties in the Stone Camellia Collection. Many of these locations are featured in the American Camellia Society’s Gulf Coast Camellia Trail.

"Camera in hand, my husband set off to document the red, pink, and white blooms, while I wandered deeper into the forest of trees, drawn by a search for the perfect flower."

In more recent history, camellias are seen gracing the gardens of households across the South. Hobbyists turn to local clubs to feed their knowledge and to learn how to create their own varieties. 

Hunter Charbonnet, former president of the Northshore Camellia Club and former board member of the American Camellia Society, boasts 750 camellias of 650 varieties on his property. He explained how rooting new plants can sometimes take eight to ten years before you get a bloom, but with grafting, the tree can generally flower within two years.

“It’s the benefit of being a member of a club. You learn how to do this,” said Charbonnet. “We meet the third Sunday of every month from September to May. Often a speaker comes in, and sometimes we do a tour instead of a meeting. We go to people’s homes and try to identify their trees for them. Sometimes we find varieties that have been lost, and we regraft them as a means of preserving them.”

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In addition to monthly meetings, the Club hosts an annual show at the Southern Hotel in Covington. Charbonnet frequently competes in shows throughout the entire Gulf Coast region, ranking first or second out of all exhibitors for the past five years.  

“I’m very competitive,” said Charbonnet. “I always try to pick a flower when nature says it’s time to pick it. I’ll be out in the middle of the night if needed. I want others to see what I see, to see the beauty Mother Nature has provided us.” 

It’s a beauty that’s hard to miss, especially on a crisp, winter day, when even a single camellia tree can produce hundreds of vibrant blooms. Eventually they make way for new buds, falling to carpet the ground below in a smattering of color. A stroll through an entire garden of camellias conjures up childhood memories of enchanted forests, beckoning you to stay awhile and explore. 

For more information on local clubs and the area’s camellia gardens, visit the American Camellia Society’s website, americancamellias.com.

To purchase trees, visit Mizell’s Camellia Hill Nursery in Folsom, which offers over two hundred fifty varieties. mizellscamelliahillnurserys.com.