the camellia journal

 ‘David Wirth’ cried out, “‘Kathryn Land’ was just ripped from her home.”

‘Kate Smith’ called to ‘Adolphe Audusson’, “the wind is picking up some, it seems like it’ll be a windy and rainy night.” ‘Linda Margaret’ recalled later how right Kate was. In fact, the wind reached nearly 130 mph in gusts. The rain pelted down, and ‘Sam Baranco’ complained his feet were soaked as did ‘William Penn’ and others; ‘Kathy Fiscus’ cringed as her “clothing” was

torn away. ‘Susan Fuatson’ cried out as she lost one of her limbs. Then Linda heard the awful shriek as ‘David Wirth’ cried out, “‘Kathryn Land’ was just ripped from her home.” Kathryn was not the only one to lose her nice home as “Old Long Needles” and his brother “Pines” crashed down, ripping Linda’s friends from their homes and tearing many apart. The screams of terror were only drowned out by the howling of the wind and the cracking of major branches and trunks. ‘Trade Bait’ and several others were crushed. ‘Lila Naff’ took a beating as did ‘Alice Wood’. Many were left homeless, or their homes were badly damaged. The winds were relentless, and in the morning, at dawn’s first light, the devastation was clear. The camellia inhabitants of the Hody Wilson Garden were severely affected, some beyond resurrection, and the nearly 800 residents were in desperate need of care. So went the night Hurricane Ida hit the Hammond Research Station of Louisiana’s AgCenter and its Hody Wilson Garden.

The garden Stephanie and I grew to love from our first introduction to it (and to this day) was the Hody Wilson Garden. We visited many times during the blooming season, taking pictures and constantly being amazed by the beauty of the flowers and the myriad of varieties. The Hody Wilson Garden was the inspiration for our Camellia Heaven Preserve. Unfortunately, many had lost their tags, and the system Hody had created for mapping the plants was lost or removed (rows and columns numbered on the fences on two sides of the garden). After Hurricane Katrina, we visited to clean up fallen branches and other debris. That’s when we met a Master Gardener doing the same thing, helping to maintain the garden. An amiable older man easily engaged us in conversation. He suggested we apply to become Master Gardeners in Tangipahoa Parish after we told him we had been rejected in Jefferson Parish because we had indicated what we wanted to do for our public preservation project was help in the Hody Wilson Garden (in another parish). While there was clearly damage to the garden and the camellias by Katrina, it was far worse in St. Tammany where our camellia property suffered from 200 trees falling on and amid the camellias. We also went to help at the Burden Center and found one camellia nearly uprooted that could be saved if attended to right away. We informed the garden’s officials, and, although they made an attempt to save the plant, the lack of regular watering ultimately lead to its demise. Luckily, we took cuttings of the plant and years later provided a growing plant to be returned to the garden. The devastation of Katrina was immense overall, but the camellias

mostly survived unscathed at the Hammond AgCenter.

Many of the members of the American Camellia Society enjoyed walking through the Hody Wilson Garden at the time of the 2018 National Convention presented by the Northshore Camellia Club. At that time, the cold weather did not allow the full beauty to be appreciated, and the garden had been partially pruned to encourage the older plants to leaf out and become more vibrant. Fast forward 16 years from Katrina’s attack, Hurricane Ida came ashore with winds reported to be as high as 193 mph in gusts. The result was not some old branches falling and a tree or two blowing over, but devastation. Massive pines, likely 80 years of age and older and 3 to 4 feet across, fell on the camellias, crushing some under their weight and bulk, breaking plants asunder when falling in the V of a branching bush, and ripping plants totally out of the ground that were entwined in the root balls of the huge pines. Over 30 large pines and several other tree species fell on the camellias. These overgrown pines were loosened from their hold in the ground by all the rain the weeks before the storm and then the storm itself and were toppled by the winds. Camellias were up in the air clinging to the massive root ball. I suggested that immediate action was needed, and with the help of the staff of the AgCenter, most notably Jason Stagg, these camellias were cut from the pine roots before their roots could dry out and placed in 150 gallon pots. Four plants were cut, pulled, and dragged from the pine roots and so far have been successfully cared for. Three remain in excellent shape while one is clearly traumatized. They should, however, all survive; the summer will tell if the rescue was successful. Some of the camellias were crushed by these pines as well as some pines that cracked or split, raining their canopies down onto the camellias. Some camellias were totally obliterated, and only a few branches stretched out from under the huge pines. Mobilizing some help of Master Gardeners, which as a group has undertaken much of the care of the garden, all plants in this condition had cuttings taken. These were stuck at Camellia Heaven for propagation; however, due to their lack of water after the hurricane, the hot September weather, and being mostly severed from their trunks and roots, they were on the dry side, and many are struggling. Despite the efforts to save as many plants as possible, some will be lost, and more importantly, some that do not necessarily exist any place else will be lost.

But as we all know, camellias can be resilient despite the worst of conditions whether covered by snow, frozen in temperatures down to zero, or pelted by hot winds and 110-degree heat. As the blooming season came, the camellias made it known they would not accept obliteration, and despite their condition, half crushed, broken, or just wind ravaged, they put out their blooms. Due to ongoing efforts with the complicated insurance reimbursement process, the AgCenter’s debris clean-up contractor has not yet started to clear the garden of the downed trees and branches. Hopefully, this will happen

soon as funding for this immense effort is available, with the final step being backfilling the massive holes left by the fallen trees’ root balls. The Hammond Research Station will supervise the debris removal process in hopes of minimizing any more damage to the camellias, although some will undoubtedly occur. Initial FEMA contractors removed trees and debris in the highway right of way, and the research station’s staff improved access by clearing some trees that could be moved with their smaller equipment. With luck and more hard work, the garden should be reopened to the public next year for a 2023 Camellia Stroll (the 2022 event had to be cancelled). Any assistance toward the cost of this effort would be appreciated. Contributions will be accepted by the Tangipahoa Master Gardener Association, 305 East Oak Street, Amite, LA 70422 for this specific effort.

The Rest Of the Story

I have frequently said this is a small world. Not long ago I “ran into” Mary Mizell (Mizell’s Nursery, Folsom) at a Ford dealership. She mentioned reading the story about the Christmas Tree farm and “the bordello” and enjoyed it. But an interesting factoid emerged. Her husband David’s parents acquired the Wallace property from June Blackwell shortly after she purchased it from the Wallace’s. Mary and David actually owned the Folsom house of the “last madam.” Small world, isn’t it?