{"id":2782,"date":"2016-03-01T03:17:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-01T08:17:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2020-08-13T17:34:40","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T21:34:40","slug":"a-weekend-at-americas-oldest-flower-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardern.co.za\/2016\/03\/a-weekend-at-americas-oldest-flower-show\/","title":{"rendered":"A Weekend at Americas Oldest Flower Show"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An entrants camellias await being groomed and set out on the benches at America’s oldest flower show, the 187th Camellia Show held by the Massachusetts Camellia Society held this past weekend at the Tower Hill Botanic Garden.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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\nIt’s as if Downton Abbey meets the Philadelphia Flower Show, or as if a greenhouse from the nineteenth century suddenly came to life again in the middle of winter. This weekend, I participated in the Massachusetts Camellia Society’s 187th annual show – which happens to hold the honor of the oldest continuous flower show in the United States. So special and rare today, at least in the North, camellias continue to capture the imagination of flower lovers, and maybe, just maybe, they are making a comeback, even if only a handful of people can raise them today.<\/div>\n
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Some very nice Semi Double camellias, waiting to be benched.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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\nIf you live in California or in the south, it may seem rather unimpressive, the idea of a camellia show, but in the north where camellias are not hardy, they are today, a very special thing, as few people can grow this somewhat tender Asian tree unless they have the luxury of a cold greenhouse. I would would go a step further and say that not only do very few people raise camellias anymore, but most people north of Washington D.C. have even seen a camellia, let alone touched one or smelled one (some can be very fragrant, although most have no scent.).<\/div>\n