2022 Gulf Coast Camellia Society Conference

The Gulf Coast Camellia Society’s annual meeting is hosted this year by the K. Sawada WinterGarden Camellia Club, based in Mobile, AL. The meetings have informative programs on camellia culture, the latest camellia varieties, and other topics of interest to gardeners. Meetings also provide opportunities for members to socialize with other camellia enthusiasts and establish friendships that can last a lifetime.

When: October 21-22, 2022
Where: Mobile, AL
Event Locations: Mobile Botanical Gardens and Bellingrath Gardens and Home

Registration

Event registration is closed as of October 15th at 2pm. You mail email us if additional information is needed.

Event Schedule

Friday, October 21, 2022 
2:00 pm Board of Directors Meeting – Holiday Inn 
5:00 pm Wine & Beer Reception and Seafood Buffet Dinner, and Plant Auction (Part I) – Mobile Botanical Gardens 

Saturday, October 22, 2022 
9:00 am Educational Program – Mobile Botanical Gardens 
12:00 pm Box lunch and Plant Auction (Part 2) 
1:00 pm Guided Tour of K. Sawada Wintergarden with Bobby Green
4:00 pm Complimentary bus transport to Bellingrath from Holiday Inn  
5:30 pm Sunset Wine reception in the Garden – Bellingrath Gardens 
6:30 pm President’s Banquet – Bellingrath Gardens & Home 

Educational Program: 
Mobile’s Great Camellia Nurserymen – Maarten van der Giessen 
New Breakthrough Hybrids – Bobby Green (4-time Ralph Peer winner) 
ACS/Gao plant trials update – Kip McConnell (PDSI) with Mark Crawford 
K. Sawada Wintergarden story – Bobby Green, Forrest Latta, Seth Allen, Robin Krchak 
Restoring Bellingrath’s Camellia Legacy – Todd Lasseigne (Banquet)
GCCS – Sixty Years of Excellence – Forrest Latta (alternate) 

Accommodations

Holiday Inn, Mobile-Airport 
GCCS Group Rate $129/night – breakfast included (40-room block expires 9/21) 
Telephone 251-344-7446 (Robin Perkins) 
Book Online

Event Highlights

Seafood Buffet at Mobile Botanical Gardens - What's on the menu and other great details

Catered by Georgia Roussos

CHARCUTERIE & CHEESE BOARD with flatbreads, assorted crackers & baguettes, BACON WRAPPED CONECUH, ANTIPASTO SKEWERS, SEAFOOD GUMBO with rice, FRIED CRAB CLAWS, BOILED PEELED SHRIMP tails on, FRIED FILET OF FISH, FRIED OYSTERS, FRIED SHRIMP, FRIED CHICKEN TENDERS w/honey mustard sauce, CORN FRITTERS, COLE SLAW, BUTTERED GREEN BEANS, FRENCH FRIES, BREAD PUDDING with praline sauce

Raffle Item

This year's featured raffle item is: A Derek Norman signed and framed camellia poster of 24 specimen camellia blooms selected from The K. Sawada WinterGarden. Derek is a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists, with his works exhibited internationally. He has won Gold and Silver Gilt Medals at the Royal Horticultural Society in London and he is represented in many private and permanent collections including the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Pittsburgh, the Library of Congress, the British Museum and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Florilegium Society. He now is the artist in residence at the Mobile Botanical Gardens. Tickets are $5 per ticket; $10 for 3; $15 for 4; $20 for 6; $25 for 7; $30 for 9; $35 for 10; or $40 for 12. Raffle tickets may be purchased when you complete your registration for the event online or by mail. Raffle to be held during the President's Banquet at Bellingrath Gardens and Home on Saturday, October 22, 2022.

Auction Items

Auction Item: Framed giclee entitled ‘Dancing Camellia’ by the international artist Nall Hollis. Nall was inspired by our magnificent winter-blooming state flower to produce the “Alabama Camellia series” of paintings which are now exhibited across Alabama including the Grand Hotel at Point Clear, the Battle House and Riverview Hotels in Mobile, Ross Bridge in Birmingham, the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery, and the Nall Gallery at Troy University. Raised in Alabama, Nall trained in Europe under Salvador Dali and other masters.
Auction Item: 8x11 framed reprint of this watercolor painted by the renowned plantsman K. Sawada of Overlook Nursery. It is the classic variety ‘Lady Clare’ (also known as ‘Empress’)
Auction Item: Original watercolor of ‘Sawada’s Dream’ by Louise Estes. Mrs. Estes was one of America’s greatest camellia artists, who died in 2017 at age 94. Her camellia paintings now hang in the Alabama Governor's Mansion as well as Bellingrath Gardens, Massee Lane, and other arboretums throughout the nation.

Mobile Botanical Gardens: K. Sawada WinterGarden

This garden is named in honor of Kosaku Sawada who immigrated from Japan in the early 1900’s and settled in Mobile. Sawada hybridized many camellias which are now famous around the world. This collection has been named a Garden of Excellence as determined by the International Camellia Society. Reclaimed materials from old Mobile were used here to create the Dodd Quarry at the upper end of the garden. The large, granite slabs as well as pavers and cobblestones were once part of an old graveyard in downtown Mobile. The massive decorative iron columns date to mid- 1800’s and once adorned the façade of a commercial structure long since destroyed.

Bellingrath Gardens and Home

Bellingrath Gardens and Home is a 65-acre estate of year-round beauty. Visit the Rose Garden, stroll along the Great Lawn, relax at Mirror Lake, learn about the wildlife and ecology of Fowl River on the Dwight Harrigan/ExxonMobil Bayou Boardwalk, wander through the Gazebo Garden and discover the peacefulness of the Asian-American Garden. Tour the Bellingrath Home, complete with its original furnishings and Mrs. Bellingrath’s extensive collections of antiques, china and silver. Built in 1935-36, the 10,500-square-foot home was designed by the prominent architect George B. Rogers.

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PDSI Nursery: Loxley, AL

Plant Development Services, Inc. introduces plants that solve landscape challenges and have a high impact on the marketplace. Working closely with the nation’s top growers and breeders, Plant Development Services brings plants to market that have highly marketable and recognizable trait improvements, providing the resources and services necessary to ensure these new plant introductions are a success in the marketplace. Each plant is the result of evaluations, trials and research.

About the GCCS

The Gulf Coast Camellia Society was organized in 1962 for the purpose of extending appreciation and enjoyment of camellias. Members come primarily from the Gulf Coast Region which covers states from Florida to Texas.  Camellia lovers from other states are welcome to join. The Society strives to provide information to its members about allaspects of the care and culture of camellia plants as well as the exhibiting and showing of camellia blooms. The Society also serves as a forum for members to share and exchange information and experiences with other members.