Volume 1 Issue 3________ _____________________________December 2004

IMPORTANT! Changes in December Meetings

If you were not present at the November meeting you will need to take note of the following changes in our two December meetings.........

There will be a minimum of Club business discussed - the meeting will be given over to a mini Camellia Show, complete with judges and maybe a small prize or two! Bring your best blooms and join in the friendly competition (Jim, Elaine and Walter will be judging so they won’t be competing, so you do have a chance of winning!). You will find out how a Camellia Show operates, how to fill out the competition cards, how to display your blooms to their best advantage including special little tips from our very experienced panel of judges. The judges will also explain how they pick the best blooms. You’ll learn about clerking and all the other easy tasks that make up a successful Camellia Show. This Christmas "in-house" show has always been fun and informative, plus a nice way to practice for our super 65th Anniversary Camellia Show in January 2005. After the mini-Show we will all sit down for a great Christmas feast provided by all our members. If you were not at the last meeting, and plan to attend this one, do get in touch with our Catering Co-ordinator Eileen Dwyer to see if there is anything she would like you to bring - tel. no. 988-1405 in Foley. A little bird (no pun intended!) tells me there may be a whole turkey being carved for our consumption. Don’t miss this meeting, it’s one of the best on our Camellia Club schedule.

Originally we were planning on having the Club Christmas Party at this meeting - but sensible minds prevailed and it was decided since we now seem to average over 50 members at each meeting that would be just too many to try to cram into the Smelleys’ camp house, and it did not seem like a good idea to plan on having it outside on the veranda since it could be cold in mid-December. So, as you see, we have moved the Christmas Party back to its traditional Club date and this meeting is an extra-special one since Club members will get to tour the greenhouses of two of America’s premier camellia growers. Jim and Elaine suffered some damage to their greenhouses during hurricane Ivan, but are recovering quickly. If you are interested in seeing superb plants and gorgeous blooms, don’t miss this meeting. All who attended our November meeting will recall the immense variety of blooms that Elaine introduced us to through her informative slide show, and those were just a few of what you can see in the Smelley greenhouses. If you are planning on attending please let Elaine

or one of the Board members know so that we can get a handle on how many to cater for light refreshments. Tours of the greenhouses will be given in small groups so you will get to ask questions on specific plants. How to get there from Alabama? 1. Go out Moffatt Road to Highway 612 (Old Natchez Hwy) turn left, go to T-junction with Highway 613, turn left to West Fire Dept. Rd. (between Agricola Fire Dept. & Service Station) turn right (west) and go .4m - you will pass 5 houses and a nursery field lined by pines on the right, turn right at next driveway/lane, you will see the Smelleys’ yellow house with green roof. Or: 2. Go out Airport Blvd.(MS614) to crossroads with highway 613, turn right to West Fire Dept. Rd. etc... If these directions are not clear (this correspondent does not drive!) please call the Smelleys or a Board Member. Remember, if you want to see camellia plants at their optimum, put this meeting on your list of things to do.

WEBSITE IS BACK!

Thanks to the efforts of Board Member Jim Dwyer our website is back and looking as good as ever. Visit us at mobilecamellia.org and you will find all sorts of information, pictures and even the Newsletter! There are literally dozens of links to sites that have information about camellias, their culture, history and places to buy and see them. If you can absorb all the information available through our website you will definitely be a camellia expert. Our thanks to Jim for all his work, and also to Jack Dempsey, Brenda Litchfield’s husband who originally got the Club started with this website.

Camellias are good for you, say doctors!

Doctors from several countries are lauding the health benefits of the camellia. They are specifically referring to the flavonoids or anti-oxidant compounds found in tea - which we all know botanically as Camellia sinensis. Apparently regular long-term consumption of green or black tea can combat stroke, improve bone density, reduce the severity of breast cancer. One article also referred to ‘white tea’ as the most effective, this apparently is simply air dried in natural sunlight... We do not suggest you go out and brew up from the foliage of your tea plant (and a lot of Club members do have Camellia sinensis) but it is nice to know there are additions to the benefits we already get from digging, planting and being out in the open air with our favorite flower.

Don’t miss this Show - The Wright Place, Wright St., Pensacola, Florida

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