Marjorie O'Malley'southward Woodside Camellia Garden: Over Half a Century of Camellia Introductions

The O'Malley home in Woodside, California under a valley oak (Quercus lobata); tall specimens of Camellia japonica 'CM Wilson' flank the main windows. Photograph by RGT

The O'Malley habitation in Woodside, California nether a valley oak (Quercus lobata); tall specimens of Camellia japonica 'CM Wilson' flank the chief windows. Photograph by RGT

Seemingly a earth apart from the intensity of urban Northern California, imperial oaks tower overhead and camellias cover the hillside equally we enter the driveway of this enchanting Bay Area estate. Here, in the heart of Woodside, on the San Francisco Peninsula, serenity surrounds u.s. on this sunny March afternoon, with birds singing and squirrels scurrying up and downwards the magnificent old trees. We have been invited past the owner, who was a friend of my father'south over thirty years agone, to come for a visit and to learn about her garden. Burgundy-leafed Loropetalum chinense cascades over a stone wall, picking up the ruddy and pink tones of nearby camellias, while the gray stone echoes the color of the depression French-inspired firm only ahead. Yellow daffodils—a sign of early on spring—grab the sunlight. The owner'southward collection of over three hundred camellias in total bloom stretches in every management. Planted far enough apart to reach maturity without crowding each other, these specimen plants stand as individuals, allowing appreciation of non just their cute blooms, but the habit and grade of each constitute also. A bear upon of humor emerges near the house every bit we spot whimsical garden signs for "Fighting Irish," "Notre Dame," and "Great Dane Crossing." This is the garden of Marjorie O'Malley and her late husband Charles. Marge'south unique sense of humor is legendary: it is her great Dane, Karl, whose bulletin can be heard on the answering motorcar, reminding visitors to bring him cookies if they insist on coming to the house.

Camellia 'Spring Festival', carefully shaped against the bedroom wall; the distant hedge is C. japonica 'Katie Variegated'. Photograph by RGT

Camellia 'Spring Festival', carefully shaped against the bedroom wall; the afar hedge is C. japonica 'Katie Variegated'. Photograph past RGT

How it all Began

Marge was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She always felt a strong tie to the University of Notre Dame: her begetter, Hubert A Mendelson, served on the advisory lath for the College of Business Administration, while her female parent attended nearby Saint Mary'southward College. In 1953, Marge and her husband moved to Chatsworth, in Southern California, where, according to friends, they developed a cute garden. Throughout her life, Marge'due south loves have been music, horticulture, and riding, the last a passion shared with her hubby. Soon after their move to southern California, Marge met brothers Julius and Joe Nuccio, owners of the highly respected Nuccio's Camellia and Azalea Nursery (at present Nuccio'southward Nurseries, Inc). Marge quickly became an avid camellia collector, calculation new introductions to her garden each year, as before long as they were released. According to Julius, some of her early on favorites included Camellia japonica 'Guilio Nuccio', 'Tiffany', 'Tomorrow Park Hill', 'Betty Sheffield Supreme', and 'Kick Off'; her favorite Camellia reticulata was 'Howard Asper'.

The breakfast terrace, with an espaliered Camellia japonica 'Masterpiece' on the far wall; to its right is C. reticulata 'Drama Girl'. Photograph by RGT

The breakfast terrace, with an espaliered Camellia japonica 'Masterpiece' on the far wall; to its right is C. reticulata 'Drama Girl'. Photo past RGT

In 1966, when the O'Malleys moved to Woodside and began to develop their garden from a design by Jack Stafford, the Nuccio brothers moved her camellias up to the Bay Area; in 1969, they planted a hedge of Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide' to serve as a horse leap in her riding ring. In those early years, Marge and her husband, both accomplished riders, exercised their hunter-jumpers right there on the property. The formal terrace behind their dwelling house disregarded the riding ring, and was frequently used for entertaining friends, especially their friends from the Peninsula Camellia Society. Among them was Jack Mandarich, a well-known camellia hybridizer who later became president of the American Camellia Social club (ACS). He really moved the O'Malley's befouled so that a 2nd greenhouse, specifically for camellias, could be added. Marge took her new hobby seriously, condign a certified ACS judge, traveling the circuit, and entering and judging camellia shows all over California. With the assistance and encouragement of her friend Jack, she tried her paw at hybridizing and grafting. From her plants, she harvested camellia "apples"—the about spherical fruits, each containing no more than a few seeds. She planted and grew these seeds in her new greenhouse, evaluating their flowers, and later on naming and registering those of greatest merit. Her introductions include: Camellia reticulata 'Notre Matriarch' (1977), 'Dr. James W Frick' (1981, C. reticulata 'Buddha' 10 C. reticulata 'William Hertrich'), and 'Heralding' (1984, C. reticulata hybrid 10 C. japonica 'Marking Alan Variegated'). She too introduced C. japonica 'Irish Mist' (1982) and 'Charles F O'Malley'(1989), a lovely large mankind pink formal double named for her husband. She also joined the Peninsula Camellia Guild, served as its president and supported its activities over several decades, all the while developing her boggling woodland camellia garden.

Stone walls retain the gentle hill along the driveway; drifts of Narcissus add to the late winter flowering of camellias and the burgundy foliage of Loropetalum chinense. Photograph by RGT

Rock walls retain the gentle loma along the driveway; drifts of Narcissus add to the late winter flowering of camellias and the burgundy foliage of Loropetalum chinense. Photograph by RGT

Cultivating Camellias

The O'Malley garden provides all of the elements necessary for camellias to flourish. The high canopy of trees, by and large valley oaks (Quercus lobata), creates open up shade, protecting the plants from the hottest sunday, as well from the heaviest wind and rain. Oak leaf drop provides an ideal, slightly acrid mulch (pH v.v-six.5). The gentle slope generates natural drainage in add-on to good air apportionment.

Anyone visiting is struck by the extraordinary wellness of the plants and past their beautiful pruning. Thinning the branches accentuates their natural form while opening them up so that flowers course in the eye of the plants rather than merely on the outer branch tips. The resulting improved air circulation conspicuously has benefited the plants by helping to go on them relatively complimentary of affliction.

One of the most extraordinary features of Marge's garden is that it represents l years of acquisitions, thus presenting a chronology of hybridization. Each autumn, the Nuccios delivered their newest plants for her to include in her ever-expanding collection. Her garden is one of the rare ones that have stayed true to a single genus. Many collectors lack such subject area, succumbing to temptation and straying into collecting plants from other genera. While Marge's garden includes a few magnolias, rhododendrons, Japanese maples, and azaleas, it is decidedly a camellia garden. The exception might be the azaleas, which are planted in drifts to provide islands of color that echo the hues and tints of the camellias.

Left: Camellia japonica 'Ay-Ay-Ay' (semi-double). Author's photograph Right: Camellia japonica 'Charles O'Malley' (formal double). Photograph by Robert Ehrhart

Left: Camellia japonica 'Ay-Ay-Ay' (semi-double). Author's photograph
Right: Camellia japonica 'Charles O'Malley' (formal double). Photograph by Robert Ehrhart

The Camellia Species

Camellias take been grown in California since 1852, thriving every bit landscape plants in our mild climates. Flowering eight to ix months of the year, they add colour to the garden for an extended flavor. More chiefly, fifty-fifty when they are out of bloom, their glossy light-green foliage makes them marvelous background plants.

More than 260 species of camellias have been identified to date, and over 32,000 cultivars are listed in the International Camellia Society Registry. Camellia japonica, C. sasanqua, C. reticulata, and C. sinensis (the tea we potable is fabricated from the foliage buds and almost tender leaves of this species) are the most commonly grown. Other interesting but less mutual species in Marge's garden include C. chrysantha, with crayon xanthous blooms; C. lapidea, with narrow, heavily serrated leaves; C. lutchuensis, with tiny, intensely fragrant white flowers covering its weeping branches; and C. cordifolia, with tiny white blossoms and soft, un-camellia-like leaves. Camellia leafage in the O'Malley garden tin exist just every bit interesting as the flowers. The leaves of C. sasanqua 'Silverado' are a frosty, lite gray greenish, those of C. japonica 'Kujaku Tsubaki' are long and peach-like, and those of C. japonica 'Unryu' are bundled at opposing forty-five-degree angles, creating a distinct pattern.

Left: Camellia japonica 'Lily Pons', (single). Author's photograph Right: Camellia japonica 'CM Wilson' (anemone-flowered). Author's photograph

Left: Camellia japonica 'Lily Pons', (single). Author's photograph
Right: Camellia japonica 'CM Wilson' (anemone-flowered). Author's photo

The mainstay of most camellia gardens, Camellia japonica cultivars comprise but about one-half of the named plants in Marge's collection. This surprisingly low percentage does not, in any way, imply a mundane grouping of plants, but instead a collection of unique varieties, amongst them: the glossy, deep cherry 'Black Magic'; 'Dahlohnega', a small to medium-size, canary yellowish, formal double; 'Feathery Bear on', a white to blush pink semi-double with fimbriated petals; 'Oshima' (red, white, and pink), centuries old from Oshima Island in Japan; and award-winning 'Miss Charleston Variegated', a vivid red and white alloy. In that location are besides a number of Higo camellias from Japan in the collection. Higos are a category of C. japonica that originated in Kumamoto and are recognizable because of their unmarried form, flat petals, and huge cluster of stamens forming a loving cup in the center of the flower. (Dr Franco Ghirardi's book Higo Camellia: A Flower for the Third Millennium provides a comprehensive groundwork on this fascinating group.) Some of the camellias, like 'Gilt Dome' and 'Irish Mist', are no longer being grown, and the plants in Marge'due south garden may well stand for the only ones currently in tillage. 'Kujaku Tsubaki', with its weeping form, is an one-time cultivar, commonly known as the peacock camellia, while 'Corkscrew Egao', with its naturally contorted branches, was but introduced in 2001. The lovely white 'Masterpiece', 1 of Marge'southward favorites, forms a magnificent espalier on the wall of her breakfast room terrace. A twenty-foot-tall 'Dolores Hope' presides over the rear garden near the greenhouse that contains camellia seedlings, grafts, and bonsai in various stages of maturity.

Selections of Camellia sasanqua, fragrant camellias that flower in the fall and early on winter, are in abundance. Marge has used them in some innovative ways in her garden. A low hedge of the white C. 'Silver Dollar' greets us as we emerge from our car, and a hedge of the red-flowered 'Yuletide' curves to edge the rear terrace. Regrettably, the old 'Yuletide' bound in the riding ring no longer exists. In another interesting use, 'Pink Showers' fills a formal boxwood bed near the forepart of the business firm.

Left: Camellia reticulata 'Kohinor' (semi-double). Author's photograph Right: Camellia reticulata 'Notre Dame' (double). Photograph by Robert Ehrhart

Left: Camellia reticulata 'Kohinor' (semi-double). Author's photograph
Right: Camellia reticulata 'Notre Dame' (double). Photograph by Robert Ehrhart

Judging from the number of Camellia reticulata cultivars in the garden, this is clearly Marge's favorite species. The largest, now tree-sized, include 'Mandalay Queen', with its vibrant pink, six-inch or larger blooms, marking the entrance to the rear garden. Across the path is a bright pinkish 'Kohinor', along with the bright, variegated, pink-and-white 'Cornelian', which came to the Bay Area from Kunming, China, in 1948. Numerous plants of Marge's introduction, 'Notre Matriarch', are set nearly the house where she could hands enjoy them.

The diversity of bloom forms and sizes in this drove is exceptional. Flowers range in size from the tiny one-inch blooms of Camellia transnokoensis to huge reticulata selections such as 'Shanghai Lady', with lite orchid pink, semi-double flowers measuring over six inches in diameter. Some of the jump-blooming camellias are fragrant, such as the not-reticulata hybrid 'Sweet Emily Kate'. Marge'south collection includes 'Elegans Champagne', a large, creamy white, anemone-form flower with a row of outer petals that lie flat around a mass of convex petaloids and stamens. 'Miss Tulare', a total peony-form reticulata hybrid, presents its flowers as a solid ball of vibrant ruddy petals intermixed with yellow stamens. Formal doubles include 'Valentine Day', a beautiful, medium pink reticulata with a bud center, and 'Nuccio's Gem', a clear white with rows of layered petals simply with no stamens visible.

At the cease of a delightful afternoon, walking dorsum under 'Mandalay Queen' as the fading rays of the sun illuminate its enormous blossoms, I cannot assist but reflect on how rare it is to see a collection like this, built year by year, and representing half a century of thoughtful effort, vision, and delivery. Marge's sincere beloved and respect of this magnificent plant and flower take enabled her to create a garden that provides unique views of camellias, and offers inspiration for novices and experts alike.

Editor'due south Note:

Marjorie O'Malley passed away in January 2004, just days after losing her dearest dog Karl. Thanks to the generosity of the new possessor, her garden was open up for one last fourth dimension in March 2004 for the San Francisco Peninsula Camellia Society's garden bout. The proceeds of that tour are being used to create a new Camellia Species Garden for the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum. The new garden will include many of the camellias from the O'Malley garden.

In celebration of this new garden, the San Francisco Peninsula Camellia Society will hold its Camellia Evidence in the County Off-white Building at the San Francisco Botanical Garden on Saturday and Sunday, February 19 and xx, 2005. Held in San Francisco for the first time, information technology will be open up to the public at no charge. There will exist exhibits, floral displays, educational programs, plants for auction, and a camellia auction. For farther data, visit world wide web.camelliaspcs.org or phone call 650/728-3775.