CityView Magazine

26 Februar y 2023 Karma camellia Flower lovers mark 75 years of annual showcase of colorful and distinctly Southern beauty BY JASON BRADY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WOOTEN FEATURE J udy Capps remembers a couple of camellia bushes outside her family's home when she was growing up in Parkton. It wasn't until she and her husband bought a house on Devane Street in Haymount that she was all-in on the colorful blooms. e Cappses' new yard was full of camellias — about 100 plants — thanks to the previous owners' love of the Southern favorite. Fred and Louise Mayo lived in the house from 1962 to about 2015, Capps says. She had never seen so many camellias in one place when she moved there in 1996. e Mayos were early members of the Fayetteville Camellia Club, which in March will celebrate the 75th edition of its annual show that rewards beautifully cultivated blooms in multiple categories. Capps is the club's current president. e Mayos hosted Camellia Club parties in their garden, where they grew award- winning varieties. Capps has a couple of inscribed award plaques from the 1960s that were bought at the Mayos' estate sale. "ey gave real silver back then," she notes. Some of the camellias are now 12 to 15 feet tall, Capps says. One of her favorite varieties is "Pink Perfection." Joining the club e 1979 winter edition of Carolina Camellias credits Dr. W.T. Rainey with organizing the Fayetteville Camellia Club on March 23, 1955. (e shows actually began before the club was formed.) A month later, the club had 75 members. In its early years, the club piggy-backed on the Fayetteville Garden Club's annual flower show, providing a display of camellias. In 1960, the Fayetteville Camellia Club staged its own show, and except for several years when bad weather or the COVID pandemic halted it, the show and plant sale have been a March staple. Capps says the Camellia Club attracts avid gardeners, but for some of the 50 or so members it's more of a social club. It meets once a month nine times a year, according to the club's website. Guest speakers talk about camellia sinensis, from which tea is made; how birds help pollination; and other garden topics. Members visit private camellia gardens and commercial nurseries and have workshops on gardening skills. e 2014 Camellia Show featured 725 blooms, the website says. Next month's 75th annual show is a milestone for the club, Capps says. It will be the first since 2020 because of a break during the height of the COVID pandemic. Camellia growers will bring their blooms to Cape Fear Botanical Garden for the March 4 show. A panel of judges will award prizes. Contestants do not have to be members of the club to compete. "If the weather cooperates, we will have anywhere from 800 to 1,200 blooms," says Ross Kubeny, a club member and co-chair of the show. ere's no charge to enter a bloom or attend the show, but there are a few rules for competitors. For example, judges can reject an "inferior" bloom; only one bloom to a stem — although you can add one or two leaves; and the plants must have been owned by the Judy Capps, president of the Fayetteville Camellia Club, discusses what to expect at this year's show.

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