Today Amy is sharing her beautiful garden in Suffolk, Virginia.
We are the third owners of a house built almost 70 years ago. Dr. James “Tubby” Habel Jr., who designed and built the house in 1954 with his wife, Allie, was an obstetrician by trade, but also a camellia propagator. Every part of the yard has camellias on top of camellias, thanks to him. My husband and I always appreciated the yard, but with busy lives, work, and family, it was back of mind and mostly pure maintenance.
Over the past year, that changed. First, on August 4, 2020, a tornado came through our neighborhood. We were fortunate to have little structural damage (several homes are still being rebuilt 11 months later), but we lost 11 trees, most of which were 75 to 150 feet tall. One large pecan tree wiped out a 30-foot by 18-foot border that had been full of camellias, trees, and azaleas, and several other borders were severely altered. At first this was sad and disappointing, but after months and months of working to clean up and beginning the task of replanting the areas destroyed, we came to be more intimately connected with the garden and its design. Then in January 2021 I got a knock on my door. Bob Black, a camellia expert and VP of horticulture at a large local nursery, was looking for a special camellia variety that he knew used to be in our yard and was asking if he could take a look around. As we trudged through the back hill filled with over a hundred or more camellias, hunting for something called ‘Virginia Sunrise’, Bob explained how he had met Dr. Habel in the ’80s when first out of college and learned and worked with him on all things camellias. He told me how Dr. Habel had been president of the Virginia Camellia Society as well as the American Camellia Society and that he’d registered dozens of varieties that he’d bred. He walked me through the yard, pointing out some special varieties, and answered my many questions on how to take better care of them. It was like a college course on the history of our yard, and I was so happy and thankful that Bob came looking for ‘Virginia Sunrise’ that day!
I don’t know if it was due to Bob’s history lesson, or the extra rain we got in January, or if being home all the time due to the pandemic gave us the space to spend more time in the garden, but the camellias and the garden were like a magical forest this year, and my husband and I would walk around almost every day appreciating the amazing gift of this garden. When we were fully vaccinated, our first trip was to see several historical camellia gardens. We have to say that Dr. Habel’s just might be better.
I know camellias are winter blooming, so this may be of interest for later, but also I want to encourage people to plant camellias this fall! I think they are underrated, and they are gorgeous year-round.
A camellia (Camellia japonica, Zones 7–10) in soft pink with darker petal edges
A beautiful floral fireworks display in red and white
A semi-double soft pink bloom
A rich pink formal double bloom
Stunning in bloom, the glossy evergreen foliage of these camellias always looks good as well.
Many camellia varieties have flowers that stay colorful and beautiful even after they drop off the plant, creating incredible carpets of color.
What a magical forest of blooms to explore.
This white camellia might be the variety ‘Allie Blue’.
Stunning red-and-white-patterned bloom.
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Comments
What a great story. I have always believed that the best gardens are those that tell a story, and yours certainly does. Thanks for sharing.
Amazing story. Don't you just love how camellia petals look when they are first littering the ground?
I'm always a bit fascinated with people who gravitate to only one flower. These are absolutely gorgeous and what a great bit of history for you to work with.
Simply glorious!! This zone 5 gardener is envious, and hopes someday to experience camellias in bloom.
Very beautiful, and unique.
Descanso gardens in Pasadena has a large collection of camellias - liked it and love yours
Although I can't grow these in my area, I can certainly appreciate their beauty. I especially love that double pink variety. Thanks so much for sharing your photos and your story.
What a great story and I know it increased your appreciation of your garden to have Mr. Black give you such a full history of the place and the people who originally created it. It's wonderful that you purchased this property and have continued to care for it instead of pulling everything out to make it "easy to maintain" like so many folks seem to do. Hope you have many years of enjoyment from these spectacular plants!
Nice story, all that was lacking were photos of 'Virginia Sunrise'
Please tell! Did you actually find 'Virginia Surprise'? I sure hope so!
Wow! Great garden story and amazing Camellia garden!
The lesson I have thoroughly learned, and wish to pass on to others, is to know the enduring happiness that the love of a garden gives.| Buffalo Deck Pros
Amy, Thank you for sharing your beautiful shrubs. I especially love the red & white beauty and the pink double bloom beauty.
I love Camellias. They put on a beautiful display at a time when very few things are in bloom. Thank you.
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