Camellia Club of Mobile  Newsletter

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Volume V  Issue 2                                                                                                                                                              November 2008

Camellia relatives - native to the U.S?

The featured speaker at our November 9th meeting will be Dr. Bill Bennett, our friend and camellia expert from Pensacola, Florida. Dr. Bill,

who many know from his monthly horticulture program on the PBS station  WSRE-TV, will be talking about plants closely related botanically

to the camellia.  We know this will be a most interesting program introducing us to a whole range of plants to grow to complement our camellia collections.  Bring a pen and notepad - Dr. Bill’s programs are always very informative and enjoyable.  Don’t miss this meeting!

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Smelleys “double act” a great success!

Our October  meeting featured Jim Smelley talking about cultivation of camellias in a protected environment, and Elaine Smelley  treating us to

a slide show of many fabulous old, new and as-yet-unregistered blooms.  Would not be surprised to see a proliferation of greenhouses soon

appearing in Mobile and Baldwin counties!  Our thanks to the Smelleys for sharing their vast experience and camellia knowledge with us.

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CAMELLIA TOURS  - EARLY START THIS SEASON....

Our Club is pleased to continue to offer members the benefit of group garden tours.  The tour season will be starting early this year with an

autumn tour. The schedule of 2009 winter tours will be announced at upcoming meetings and in the Newsletter.   The first tour will be co-

ordinated by Florence Nelson on the grounds of Children & Women’s Hospital Sculpture Garden, where you will stroll through the public park

and view sasanquas in bloom in a wonderful art setting.  Following are directions, etc:

Sunday, l6th November 2008 - 1:30 p.m.  Children & Women’s Hospital Sculpture Garden, Mobile. Florence’s cellphone 251-367-1016

From I-65 turn east on Springhill Avenue and head toward downtown Mobile.    Pass Mobile Infirmary Hospital.   Turn left onto Children &

Women’s Hospital Drive.  Pass Ronald McDonald House on the right.  Turn left into the gravel parking area.

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CAMELLIA CHAT

The first Camellia Show for our area’s 2008-2009 Season will be put on by the Greater Fort Walton Beach Camellia Society on Saturday,

8th November 2008.  It will be held as usual indoors at the Westwood Retirement Resort, 1001 N.W. Mar Walt Drive, Ft. Walton Beach.

It will be open to the public from 1:00 p,m, until 4:00 p.m.  However, if you’d like to enter some blooms, you should be there between

8:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. A number of our members will be there as judges and you will see many familiar faces, so if you’ve some nice

blooms, do take them down to FWB and help them have a really good 45th Camellia Show.  (There are some nice shopping areas plus a

lot of good restaurants, so it is worth making a day of it - plus you could bring home an award!).

There is a really lovely camellia site on the internet - which has a rather unfortunate name....  The first time I came across “lovcam.com”

it sounded too much like a rude site and I didn’t investigate it further.  My mistake, it is done by a person who loves camellias, in Europe

I believe, and it is full of delightful pictures and information.  Just make sure you click on the Union Jack icon so you get the stuff in English.

Those members who attend our Meetings at the Mobile Botanical Gardens are reminded  the beautiful camellia garden, “Wintergarden”,

designed and planted by Bobby Green of Fairhope, will be blooming for the next few months, so don’t miss taking a stroll before or

after each meeting to enjoy these beautiful plants. 

Several members have queried if we give out our Membership list for use for non-Club purposes.  Apparently quite a number of people

have received unsolicited E-mails  which have nothing to do with our Club.  We did not sanction this and apologise to our members for this

unethical use of our mailing list.  We do not use our member list for anything except Camellia Club of Mobile business.

Most members know that 2010 will see the 70th anniversary of the founding of our Club.  Vera Curry has made a lap quilt which shows l9

different camellias.  This quilt will be raffled at the January 2009 Camellia Show and all the proceeds  will be used for the Camellia Club of

Mobile to celebrate this anniversary.  Tickets are $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00.  They can be purchased at Club Meetings or by contacting

our Treasurer Kay Calloway, P. O. Box 507, Point Clear, AL  36564.  Checks are accepted, and your tickets will be put in the box and the

stubs mailed to you.