Visits

Come discover, in these pages, all the gardens, public ou private, I visited during the years. On every page describing a place to visit, a click on the globe will show its location on a map. The card below shows the gardens location.

PUBLIC GARDENS

In France

You can start by visiting Nantes, the camellia city, at the Jardin des Plantes, very famous by its camellia collection. Then you can continue at the Parc de Procé, where the camellias are free to grow at their wish, and at the Parc de la Gaudinière, the Cours Cambronne and the Cimetière-Parc, a beautiful arboretum, not only dedicated to camellias. Finish with the Parc floral de la Beaujoire, which should be visited later in the season to take advantage of the national collection of Magnolias. All these gardens can be reach by public transport (TAN).

Outside Nantes, don't hesitate to visit the Domaine de Carheil (in Plessé).

Then, visit the Domaine de Trévarez.

If you come to Paris, go visit the Parc Floral de Paris. Appart from the camellia collection, the rhododendrons lovers will be delighted (in april).

The Bambouseraie d'Anduze has also an interesting collection of camellias.

In Belgium

During the opening time (three weeks between april and may), visit the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken, the place is worth a visit because of the richness of its collections, not only for the camellias.

Then, you can also go to Het Leen (Eeklo).

In Switzerland

The festival of Locarno cannot be missed, end of march in general. The can discover, at the same time, the Parco dele Camelie and the public gardens of the city.

The Gambarogno parc and the Eisenhut greenhouses, next to Locarno, must also be visited.

You can also visit the Isole di Brissago.

In Italy

You can visit the Villa Anelli in Oggebbio Gonte (VB) and the Villa Taranto in Verbania Pallanza (VB) and discover the Borromean Islands with the Isola Madre. Near Stresa, discover the Villa Pallavicino and, after, the Villa Fedora in Baveno. If you go to Lake Maggiore at the beginning of November, do not miss the visit of Villa Maioni in Verbania Pallanza (VB). The collection of sasanqua is beautiful. Take advantage of its Mostra to visit Riviera Cannero.
After discovering the lake Maggiore, you can visit the lake Como and the Villa Melzi d'Eril. You will discover its park and a collection of old Italian camellias.
You can also visit the Villa Carlotta and its magnificent botanical garden.
In Tuscany, you have to see the Mostra at Pieve di Compito and visit the Camellietum Compitese.
In Genova, visit Villa Durazzo Pallavicini, for its botanical park and the oldest collection of camellias in Italy.

In Germany

In January, you can visit, in a greenhouse, the Francfurt Palmengarten camellia show.

Between January and April, you cannot miss the show and the outside collections of the Köln Botanisher Garten. You can also visit, in the suburbs of Cologne, the Japanischer Garten of Leverkusen.

In England

You can start by a visit in London during the Chiswick House show and discover one of the oldest camellia collection. You can also walk in the Isabella Plantation and enjoy a visit at Kew Garden to see the Camellia walk.

But, you cannot miss the very rich national collection of Mount Edgcumbe in Plymouth.

In Portugal

In portugal, you must visit the city of Porto, the city with many camellia gardens. Discover the Azores archipelago and the magnificent camellias of the island of São Miguel. Stroll through the gardens of Ponta Delgada, discover the magnificent collection of Terra Nostra Park and the Mata Jardim José do Canto. The optimum for the visit is mid-February, or a little later to take full advantage of the reticulata of the Terra Nostra Park.

In Spain

Discover Galicia and the Route of the Camellias. Visit the parks and gardens along the Camellia Route, such as Finca Areeiro in Pontevedra, Castelo de Soutomaior and Pazo de Santa Cruz de Rivadulla. Visit the exhibitions organized by SEC throughout the camellia season and other gardens on the Camellia Route.

In Japan

Here is a circuit in the Kurume region to do between the second half of March and early April. First, start with the Kumamoto Castle, Kumamoto, for its Higo Camellia collection. In Kurume, in addition to the nurseries, you can visit the Ishibashi Cultural Center, for its fine collection of camellias. You must also take time for the Kurume Camellia Garden, a Conservatory Camellias for past and present collections. Discover the temples with the Suitengû Shrine, where there are some very beautiful subjects and of course, the World's Camellia House for its greenhouse of wild camellias and the outdoors subjects.

PRIVATE GARDENS

To thank the collectors, breeders and camellias lovers, who allowed me to photograph and enrich the nomenclature through their collections, here is a section dedicated to them.
With some photos, you can discover their gardens. In the nomenclature, you will find the flowers photographed under the classification of 'private garden'.

To all, thank you for your hospitality.