Camellia Walks at Middleton Place

Blooming during the depths of winter, the fragile beauty of camellias enhance the Middleton Place Gardens with thousands of blossoms, from pristine white to all shades of red and pink. Enjoy and learn more about these spectacular flowers on a Camellia Walk, held every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday beginning February 11th and continuing through March 24th, 2012. The special guided tours will begin at 11:00 a.m. at the Garden Market & Nursery and last approximately an hour and a half.

Camellias, a southern landscape favorite, show off a blaze of color throughout the winter months. Middleton family oral history holds that the French botanist Andrè Michaux gave the Middletons some of the first camellias to be planted in an American garden. Some fifty years later, in 1838, a Middleton daughter wrote, "Papa called me to the terrace to admire the Camellias which I found in great beauty both the white and variegated " Today, Middleton Place has over 3,500 camellias including many rare varieties as well as one of the four original Michaux plants, fondly referred to as the "Reine des Fleurs" or "Queen of Flowers." Camellia Walks highlight many of these unique historical plants as well as the hundreds of camellias that form the allees in the formal gardens.

There is no additional fee for the Camellia Walks but reservations are required. Adult admission is $25, students are $15, children (6-13) are $10 and 5 years old and under are free. For reservations and additional information, call (843) 556-6020 or visit www.middletonplace.org.

The camellia will also be the topic of a Free Seminar to be held at the Middleton Place Garden Market and Nursery on Saturday, February 18th at 1:00 pm. Participants will have an opportunity to learn more about the care of camellias, when and where to plant them and what varieties work best in the southern garden. Sidney Frazier, VP Horticulture will conduct the informative seminar.