Region’s camellia celebration begins Saturday in Folsom

It’s camellia season! The Sacramento region’s annual celebration of all things camellia kicks off this Saturday, Feb. 28, with Camellia Day at the Murer House and Gardens in Folsom.

The free event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The featured speaker Saturday will be Greg Gayton of Green Acres Nursery & Supply; his talk featuring tips for growing camellias will begin at 11 a.m. Free tours of the Murer House and Gardens will be offered through the day.

Representatives of the Camellia Society of Sacramento will be on hand to help identify varieties and answer questions.

Members of the public can enter up to five blooms and/or arrangements of camellias in the competition. Entries will be accepted starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Ribbons will be awarded for “People’s Choice” as well as other divisions.

A drawing for camellia plants will be held at 1:30 p.m.

The Murer House, built in the mid-1920s by Giuseppe (Joe) Murer, is at 1125 Joe Murer Court in Folsom, across Folsom Boulevard near the city’s historic Sutter Street.

For more information on the Murer House spring events, go to murerhousefoundation.org.

The Sacramento area has had a long love affair with camellias. The first shipment of the plants arrived in town in 1852, and Sacramento eventually earned the title of the Camellia Capital.  The camellia has been the city’s official flower since 1941. This shade-loving, drought-tolerant shrub thrives in our climate.

Sacramento’s camellia revels this year continue March 7-8, when the Camellia Society of Sacramento presents its 102nd show, at the Scottish Rite Center on H Street in East Sacramento. (More about that next week!)