Stalking the Wild Camellia

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Hi Blog!

With everything that happened last week, we completely forgot the windshield of the motorhome was chipped on our way to Savannah. Luckily, we remembered in time to contact Safelite and have them come out this morning and repair it. With that chore done and dusted, we were looking for something to get us out and about on a cold and sunny day. We had passed Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens on a prior outing and decided to pay them a visit.

How the Botanial Gardens came to be is an interesting story. Prior to the Civil War, rice plantations covered this part of Georgia. Around 1890, Mrs. Smith, a small farm owner, acquired three clumps of Japanese timber bamboo from her neighbor. By 1915, the Japanese timber bamboo was thriving, towering 50 to 60 feet high. She sold bamboo shoots to local restaurants and cut bamboo poles to sell to fellow Georgians. Nearing retirement, she feared the bamboo groves would be destroyed by any new property owners. Mrs. Smith petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture to save this rare and potentially valuable planting of bamboo in Savannah.

For 60 years the USDA used the Savannah station for researching potential economically important agricultural plants for the Southeast, as well as plant products. Various hardwood trees as well as bamboo species were planted from seeds or rhizomes sent from eastern Asia. In the 1940s, paper-making experiments were conducted. Although high-quality tissue and writing paper products were made from bamboo pulp, the endeavor didn’t prove to be a profitable venture. Industrialists Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford cooperated with research on finding native plants that could be a source for latex. Fields of goldenrod were grown at the station, which locals affectionately named “the Bamboo Farm.” The invention of synthetic rubber in 1955 led to the end of the goldenrod research project.

The Bamboo Farm was deeded to the University of Georgia in 1983 for use as an education and research center. Numerous ornamental plant and pest-management research occurs on site. By the mid-1990s, the University formed an advisory committee and began an aggressive capital campaign for improvements. In 2012, the Bamboo Farm and Coastal Gardens became the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens.

There are dozens of gardens spread around the property - a formal garden, a sun garden and a woodland shade garden just to name a few. We really liked the 9 foot waterfall in the water garden:

There is a miniaturized replica of the 10-acre Trustees Garden first constructed by James Oglethorpe in 1734 in Savannah. It contains historically accurate plantings of mulberries, sour oranges, grapes, figs, pomegranates and many more crops and plants that were trialed and used by the first colonists to settle in colonial Georgia. The Seville oranges were being harvested when we toured, and we were invited to take some home. 

One of the highlights of any visit to this botanical garden is getting lost in the bamboo maze. Fortunately, they built a really big tower by the entrance, so, no matter where you are in the  maze you can look up and see the tower.

As you look down from the tower, the giant bamboo looks small. Many of these plants can trace their roots back to plant collecting trips in eastern China in the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s. Some species are the first of their kind ever planted on North American soil. Both clumping and running bamboos grow here, comprising a collection of over 70 different species.

The Coastal Gardens is also home to one of the most diverse and unique camellia collections in North America. The collections includes Sasanqua, snow, vernal and common camellias and their hybrids. The Camellia Trail was named after the beloved Arthur Solomon, Chatham County Commissioner for 46 years. He was given the honorary title of “Judge” for his years of service. He was co-founder of the American Camellia Society and was known for beautifying Savannah roadways with live oaks, camellias, azaleas, and palm trees.

Camellias are often called the winter rose because they bloom in the cool months from early fall to late spring. What a treat to see these beautiful flowers on a bright sunny day! Here are some of our favorite photos:

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After stalking dozens of wild camellia in their natural habitat, we needed to rest. The Gene Phillip Gazebo was just the ticket.

Our last stop was a 1930's era glasshouse containing a tropical orchid collection. As soon as we walked through the doors, we were hit with a wave of heat and humidity. The aisles are narrow and overflowing with the most amazing, colorful orchids. As with the camellias, the following are some of our favorites:

Finding the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens was a nice little surprise. We didn't expect so many plants in bloom in the middle of winter. If you are in the Savannah area, you should plan to make a stop!