Camellia Festival returns to Planting Fields
February is peak season at the Camellia House at Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
If you’re in need of a respite from dreary, cold winter weather, Planting Fields Foundation’s annual Camellia Festival returns on Feb. 18.
The Coe family’s extensive Camellia collection will be on full display in the Camellia Greenhouse, a structure that was designed by Guy Lowell and Andrew Sargent in 1917 and later expanded upon by the Olmsted Brothers in 1922, through the addition of the east and west ranges, which more than doubled its original size. The original Camellia Greenhouse collection included 114 plants, while the current one boasts more than 300.
The camellias at Planting Fields are about to bloom. Visit during the Camellia Festival. Credit: Planting Fields Foundation/Planting Fields Foundation
Experts will be present in the Greenhouse as part of the festival, so that visitors can learn about the history behind and the significance of the Camellia sinensis species.
The festival will also feature musical performances by the Como Brothers, as well as several activities inside Coe Hall, the Tudor Revival mansion on the property. Here, you can partake in tea tasting with SerendipiTea, as well as arts and crafts. Additionally, there will be self-guided tours of Coe Hall, with tickets costing $15 for adults and $10 for children and seniors.
Later this year, Planting Fields will also host its annual Arbor Day Festival, on April 29 and 30.
Heritage Farm & Garden is the sponsor for this year’s Camellia Festival. The event is free, but registration is required for entry.
Camellia Festival
WHEN | WHERE 1395 Planting Fields Rd., Oyster Bay; Feb. 18 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
COST Free; 516-922-8680; Register at plantingfields.org/happenings/camellia-festival-4.
