UMass Amherst Durfee Conservatory features blooming Camellia trees at an open house Sunday the 29th from 2-5pm.
UMass Amherst Office of News and Information
Durfee Conservatory is hosting an open house on Sunday, Jan. 29 from 2-5 p.m. to celebrate the blooming of historic camellias given to Massachusetts Agricultural College President William S. Clark by the emperor of Japan in the late 19th century.
According to interim director Armand P. Prevost, Durfee is the oldest plant conservatory in the country and many of its specimens date back to its opening in 1867.
Prevost said the camellias were given to Clark in appreciation for his assistance in the founding of the Imperial Agricultural College, now Hokkaido University.
The weekend opening, billed as “An Historic Camellia’s Blooming Event,” is intended to showcase the conservatory and its collection to the campus community and visitors, said Prevost.
Half-hour tours will be offered at 2:30 and 3:30 and light refreshments will be served.
A suggested donation of $5 per adult will support the construction of new camellia tree boxes.
The snow date for the event is Feb. 5.
The event is sponsored by the Western Massachusetts Master Gardeners Program
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