A Southern garden should always include at least one camellia. Or maybe a dozen. With their long bloom time and delightful presence through the Winter, this small tree or shrub brings such a burst of energy during an otherwise quiet period.
We drove to Fort Valley GA, Massee Lane Gardens, and the home of the American Camellia Society. 
Expecting only to see some variations of camellias, we were wildly enthusiastic at all that we were to find.
The intoxicating scent of the tea olives as we strolled along the brick pathways added to the magic of the camellias, fully in bloom and in their glory. 
10 acres of camellias with other plants of interest! 
A recent storm had brought down a tree, but miraculously, it missed every single camellia! 
We couldn’t believe the variety; I started to think of places where I could squeeze in more in our garden. 
We drove home though peach and pecan orchards and felt as though this was one of our most special days in Georgia. Three years ago with deep snow covering the ground of our CT garden, who would think we and our pups would spend a February day like this!
Lovely, places like this certainly lift the spirits on a cold dull winter’s day. I just have one camellia flowering at the moment, all the others are in tight bud.
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Thanks for the tour! I love camellias and that would be a great place to visit.
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This is one of those plants that I love having in my garden, even if it isn’t a native. Luckily, in this house we recently moved to, we have quite a few with varied bloom times and bloom colors, so that we have camellias blooming for most of the winter. Of course, all of them are planted less than 2 feet from the house…. I can’t have everything, I guess.
Thanks for sharing this little getaway with us!
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Camellias have always fascinated me! Since I garden in the Midwest (Zone 5), I have never seen one in bloom. So grateful that you shared these lovely gardens today, Jayne. It feels just like a breath of Springtime! ♡
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Hello Jayne in my garden I inherited several mature Camellias with red, splashed white and pink colours, very much like the ones in your photos. I love these large evergreen shrubs as they flower so early in the season and the garden wouldn’t be the same without them.
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