The Natchez Garden Club, the Pilgrimage Garden Club and the Historic Natchez Conference are sponsoring a Camellia Tour from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Natchez Pilgrimage. You are invited to tour several of the fabulous gardens in Natchez to see beautiful camellia flowers and learn about the interesting history regarding many of the city’s unique plants.

Admission to the gardens is free, so there’s practically no excuse to miss this one-of-a-kind affair! This is a “rain or shine” event, so bring your galoshes if it rains and plan to splash around a bit in extraordinary southern landscapes. Information will be available to help guide you through each site, as well as someone who is familiar with the garden to advise you.

Five locations have been selected for the tour based on historic records of plants that are still in existence. Magnolia Hall, 215 South Pearl St. is home of a “Sarah Frost” camellia. G.G. Gerbing, in his 1943 book “Camellias: The first Camellia Book published in America with full color pictures,” recognized this selection as “A variety that needs no introduction, for it is one of the oldest Camellias.”

Ruthie Coy shared the heart-warming story about how the “Sarah Frost” behind Magnolia Hall got its start. “Eliza Macrery Britton (Coy’s great-great grandmother) planted it about 1868, when she and her family moved to the house. She brought it with her from her parent’s house a block away, now called the Van Court Town House.”

Green Leaves landscape, 303 South Rankin St. (or rear entrance on M.L. King Street), is also featured and is home to an “extensive collection planted in the 1920s, 30s and 40s.” Coy’s grandfather, Melchior R. Beltzhoover, kept comprehensive records of his precious plants. In his files is the information concerning the “Sarah Frost” at Magnolia Hall, as well as notations relating to a planting at Green Leaves in 1926. Coy explained that her “grandmother’s sister started a layer of the original bush in the yard at Green Leaves, and it is still there and blooms prolifically!”

As Coy reminded me, many men were “camellia fanatics” in the 1920s-40s. Within Beltzhoover’s files, many of the plants were from “Maier” or labeled as “Maier cutting.” These notations indicate that the source of some of the plants at Green Leaves was Chris Maier, another camellia aficionado and owner of Maier Nursery, which he started in 1902.

Another landscape on the tour is located on Liberty Road at Montaigne. Interestingly, another camellia devotee resided there during the height of the plant’s popularity in Natchez. William Kendal was one of Beltzhoover’s friendly competitors in the quest to produce the most dazzling camellia ever. Maier was instrumental in the landscape design at Montaigne, where visitors will see “a spectacular garden where the camellias have been allowed to grow to their natural size.” It is surely the largest collection in Natchez.

Melrose, Natchez National Historical Park, located at 1 Melrose Montebello Parkway, has a landscape that includes large early 20th century camellias. Kathleen Jenkins and several garden volunteers have been working hard to “rescue” the camellias there.

The landscape of Routhland, 131 Winchester Road, includes “a collection that was planted a little later in the twentieth century.” Refreshments will be available at this location and at 3 p.m., a special ceremony will be held to honor the descendants of Job Routh, an early Natchez settler.

American Camellia Society Horticulturist, Tom Johnson, has visited Natchez and “was astounded by the variety and age of the Natchez camellia collection. He suggested promoting Natchez as a “Camellia City.” Unbelievably, there are camellia fanatics living all over the world — and garden fanatics love traveling to see special plants.

Mark your calendars so that you don’t miss this special occasion and if you know any camellia fanatics, invite them to Natchez for this spectacular celebration. They will be forever grateful!

Traci Maier writes a weekly gardening column for The Natchez Democrat. She can be reached at ratmaier@bellsouth.net.