CAMELLIA CLUB Of MOBILE Inc. Issue 4 Vol. XII December 2015

Don’t miss our Christmas Party December 13, 2015

All our Club members are cordially invited to attend our annual Christmas Party and Auction which will be helCf at the Mobile Botanical Gardens beginning at 2:00 p.m. The Club is furnishing the holiday meats, potatoes and gravy, meat cooked by David Brackin so you KNOW it will be delicious! The side dishes and desserts are being provided by Club members, so if you missed the sign-up sheet at the last meeting call Tammy Brackin to see what she still needs. After the meal we will have our traditional Christmas Auction done by one of our members plus an elf or two, hopefully they will have everyone laughing (and parting with their cash!). This auction benefits the Club and if you have anything that you think our members would like to buy to support the Club, bring it along. By the way, if you've overlooked paying your $5.00 dues for the 2015/2016 season, just bring a check or cash to the party - our Treasurer Martha Terry will happily accept either. If you don't remember if you've paid, Martha will have the up-to-date list

 

"HOW TO" Meeting in November very well attended

Over 40 members turned up for our how-to-do-it meeting in November. Walter Creighton gave a most interesting talk on how to hybridize camellias - one important fact I learned was to pick a parent plant that has a propensity to set seeds. If you can cross a japonica with a reticulata you could end up with a big retic hybrid that will happily grow outdoors here. Vickie Baugh gave a very thorough instructive talk on how to prepare blooms for exhibition in camellia shows. lots of great tips, but "hydrate, hydrate, hydrate" seemed very important.

Camellia Chat

If you are not yet in a holiday mood, I've three places that I think will remedy that sad problem. First, in Mobile, take a trip to Robert Moore's Everything Christmas shop on Hall's Mill Road. It is a magical place crammed to the rafters with gorgeous Christmas goodies. Guarantee you'll find yourself wandering through the rooms oohing and ahhing at the variety of treasures available. Second, if you're blue in Baldwin County, take a trip to the Silverhill Market on Highway 104. Just found this place the other day, it has gifts, plants (including camellias) and a clothing boutique. It is in an old home place with lots of small outbuildings full of interesting items, plus a delightful bamboo garden and an enormous camellia sasanqua. Third, while you're in Pensacola for their 77th Camellia Show (yes, they are older than us) make time for a visit to the Pensacola Hardware Store - this is a real hardware store (I love hardware stores) with lots of other gifts and goodies. I do know that several of the Camellia Show judges who come from out-of-state for the Pensacola Show make a point of visiting this Store each year. Had a great time at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Camellia Show, at least eight of our members exhibited. Nicest thing was when Jim Smelley showed up to take part in the judging - the crowd of people who rushed over to greet and hug him was heartwarming. Jim has had a tough 2015, with heart valve surgery, broken hip surgery and installation of a
pacemaker. We are all so pleased that he is back on his feet, driving and caring for his beloved camellias.
PENSACOLA CAMELLIA SHOW - 12 December 2015 - First Presbyterian Church. Blooms entry 7 - 11 a.m. Open to the public at 2:00 p.m. Don't miss this Show - it is always very good.

Enclosed with this Newsletter is the Show Brochure for our 2016 Camellia Show. The awards have not changed and trophies will be
awarded as we have a/ways done. If you have sponsored an award (unchanged
at $20.00 each) and have not yet been invoiced
please accept this as the invoice
- the number in the Brochure of the award(s) you have sponsored will be at the bottom of this
Newsletter so you can pay our Treasurer Martha Terry, 6501 Sugar Creek Drive N
., Mobile, AL 36695. Thank you.