Chronicles of a Crazy Collector and his Loving Wife

“Closed don’t bother (to go). They’re not opening again anytime soon; everything is dead and gone; even the roses were dug up. Waterfalls dried up, real shame, but at least it’s not getting developed into some ‘bs’ shopping center.” So read a Facebook post by Tavaroo on July 2, 2022, summing up the state of Hodges Garden, Park and Wilderness Area.

Stephanie and I set out to explore old cemeteries in southwest Louisiana that weekend when we decided to visit Hodges Garden, Park and Wilderness Area. Hodges Garden, Park and Wilderness Area is located near Many, Louisiana, and is comprised of 4,700 acres of a 100,000-acre tract purchased by A.I. Hodges and his wife Norma Trigg. When acquired, it was a cut over and barren lumber property and quarry. Its quarried rock was hauled from this area far and wide to areas requiring rock for construction projects. A parcel of 39,000 acres was re-planted with the rest left to re-forest naturally. Hodges is a relatively new development compared to some other major gardens, with its development dating back to only the 1940s. It was opened to the public in 1956. The property included formal gardens, a large lake, waterfalls, walking paths, and wilderness trails. Cabins and other amenities catered to longer term visitors. Uniquely, water from the lake was pumped throughout the gardens, feeding the cascading waterfalls, geysers, and fountains and finally returned to the lake. Water conservation practiced long before such became a buzzword in a supposedly more “woke” society. The property was temporarily transferred to a non-profit foundation and then became part of the State of Louisiana public parks system in 1960. It was the largest public garden/recreational area in the state. Unfortunately, primarily due to budget cuts, this park was also the shortest-lived state park, as it was closed and returned to the foundation. It was formally closed in 2017. Instead of welcoming visitors, fences and large no trespassing signs tell visitors to stay away. There are no definite plans for Hodges re-opening, although some discussions are underway between “the foundation” and two organizations regarding some form thereof. But, as the Facebook post indicates, this once beautiful paradise has fallen on hard times due to disuse. It will require considerable effort to return it to its hey-day status.

On our visit, we roamed the many paths, taking in the waterfalls, streams, and the scenic views of the lake, not only finding interesting flora but also the fauna (burros and buffalo stoically looking out from their enclosures delighting young visitors) and many varieties of birds that had taken up residence in the park. Wild animals were harder to spot, but deer and others made their way to the lake and streams in the early morning and dusk hours. Upon finding the camellia garden, Stephanie started the shutter clicking on her camera taking pictures of the blooms in this collection of older camellias. Like most gardens with large collections of camellias and the inability to pick up every petal, many blooms revealed the dreaded petal blight we all suffer in Louisiana, and leaves showed the ravages of the beetles which chew on the leaves. They lay in wait until nightfall in the mulch of fallen leaves. I hunted for tags or signage of the numerous varieties, finding many with which I was unfamiliar at the time. ‘Professor Charles S. Sergeant’ jumped out as easily identified as did ‘Mathotiana’ (Purple Dawn). ‘Herme’ and ‘Funny Face Betty’ (Charming Betty) also revealed themselves along with ‘Mrs. Charles Cobb’, ‘Lady Vansittart’, ‘Adolphe Audusson’, and its variegated version, as well as ‘Glen 40’ on a bush with both solid and variegated blooms. ‘Gigantea’ was also represented with both solid red and variegated blooms. A plethora of other older varieties, still labeled and unlabeled, stood before us in the multiple beds created for the collection. Less obvious varieties to me at the time were ‘Ruth Royer’, ‘Thelma Dale’, ‘Woodville Red’, ‘Yours Truly’, and ‘C.M. Wilson’. With the closing, unbeknownst to us at the time, these photos and the memories of the garden and its beauty remain.

The Hodges certainly created an impressive garden overall, and while I personally am not a lover of roses (I love the flowers, hate the plants; I don’t get along well with thorns), the rose plantings were spectacular, and Stephanie enjoyed them too (she was a big fan). After a thoroughly delightful afternoon, we headed to the gift shop. Naturally, I was hoping they also had plants for sale. I was disappointed in that respect, but they had lots of gift items adorned with camellia designs (paintings and prints), as well as other fauna and flora. The salesperson did, however, direct us to the arboretum/horticultural shed at the back of the property. Here plants propagated from the collection were available for sale. What I found were the most common old favorites, but one stood out—a ‘Jolly Roger’. I was pleased to find a variety that was new to me, and its acquisition would add to our growing collection. We departed for the several hours of driving to return home, pleased with our tour of this magnificent property and its camellias.

When we returned home and reviewed the nomenclature book for ‘Jolly Roger’ in order to learn more about this variety, to my dismay, I learned that ‘Jolly Roger’ was just another name for ‘Gigantea’ (which, by the way, was also known as ‘Emperor Wilhelm’, ‘Emperor Frederick Wilhelm’, ‘Magnolia King’, ‘Mary Bell Glennan’, ‘Fanny Davenport’, ‘Kilvintoniana’, ‘Monstruoso Rubra’, ‘Gaity’, and the aforementioned ‘Jolly Roger’). Sadly, ‘Gigantea’ was a variety I already had.

In the world of camellias, many varieties have several appellations. Some are because variegated versions were also given a separate name (like ‘Tomorrow Variegated’ is also known as ‘Maverick’ and ‘Tomorrow Supreme’). Some have an American name and also a name from its country of origin like most of the Chinese reticulatas brought to this country—'Lion’s Head’ (Shizitou) or ‘Jewel Flower’ (Baoshihua). Even Wang’s newer creations are known by both their Chinese name and an American translation thereof. Others just accumulate names as people thought they had something new and named their plant. So our ‘Herme’ is also known as ‘Hikaru-Genji’ (its Japanese name), ‘Jordan’s Pride’, and ‘Souvenir D’Henri Guichard’. ‘Souvenir De Bahuaud Litou’ has also accumulated several names, including ‘Lady Frances’, ‘Carole Lombard’, and ‘Queen Victoria’s Blush’. Even our beloved ‘Pink Perfection’ has had as its name ‘Frau Minna Seidel’ and ‘Usu-Otome’. ‘Margherita Coleoni’ is known as ‘General Douglas MacArthur’, ‘Campbelli’, ‘Red Queen’, and ‘Tokayama’. We all are well aware that ‘Mathotiana’ is commonly referred to as ‘Purple Dawn’ here in the United States, but few know its many other names—‘Julia Drayton’, ‘Mathotiana Rubra’, ‘Purple Emperor’, ‘Purple Prince’,

and ‘William S. Hastie’.

The world of camellias can often be very confusing when it comes to names that exist, existed, and those that persist even when no longer considered the “official” name. Another reason for multiple names is a nursery’s desire to avoid paying royalties on a patented plant. These added names may exist in the market but are not always recorded in the nomenclature. The variety ‘R. L. Wheeler’ was incredibly popular in its day because of its huge size. While having no “officially” recognized alternative names, it has been sold as ‘Louisiana Red’ and ‘Big Red’ at nurseries throughout the southern region.

We have lost a special Louisiana treasure; we can only hope sometime in the future it can be restored and re-opened to plant lovers of all types.