Display ideas perfect for holiday entertaining
Blue-and-white china offsets pink petals
‘Yuletide’, ‘White Dove’, and countless more camellias are in bloom this month, and as they dress the landscape in festive red, white, and pink, they also take their customary places on tables around town. “Floating camellias in bowls of water is a lovely tradition,” says Charleston garden editor Joan McDonald. “It’s the best way to highlight the convex-shaped flowers.”
Here, McDonald shares display ideas perfect for holiday entertaining, plus tips on achieving the longest-lasting arrangements.
Select Your Vessel
Create the classic look with a shallow bowl, or get creative with repurposed tableware of all sorts
Display Fresh Blooms
Follow these practices to keep blossoms looking lush for three to four days
Croghan’s “Charleston Camellia Bowl” amplifies the blooms’ elegance.
Shop Local Cultivars
It’s common knowledge that America’s oldest and largest collection of camellias—dating to the 1840s—is at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens (3550 Ashley River Road). But did you know that over the decades, Magnolia has created about 140 of its own cultivars? “And this fall, we began selling 50 of them to the public,” says Kate White, who heads the horticulture department and manages the Gilliard Garden Center.
Shop the inaugural collection—plus 175 cultivars from additional growers—at Magnolia’s Yuletide on the Ashley holiday market and craft fair on December 12 and 13. All the details are available at magnoliaplantation.com.