Camellias

The earliest camellias in the Welty garden were planted around 1926, at the beginning of their greatest popularity in the southern United States. Eudora and her mother nurtured these winter and spring-blooming beauties, and even shared the blossoms with friends in the snowy North by sending cushioned blooms on the overnight train.

Hardy camellia varieties planted by the Weltys include Berenice Boddie, Debutante, Dr. Tinsley, Duchess of Sutherland, Elegans, Elizabeth, Finlandia variegated, Lady Clare (aka Pink Empress, right), Magnoliaeflora Magnoliaeflora, and Pink Perfection. At present forty-one camellia shrubs remain in the garden, some of them grafted by Eudora herself.

 

 

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