THE CAMELLIA

The wall that borders this estate is surrounded by camellias, an ornamental plant that can be found in many Galician gardens. The camellia comes from China and Japan and arrived to Europe carried by missionaries and merchants, establishing itself as an ornamental plant in the 18th century. It arrived in Galicia, probably from Portuguese plant merchants. In the second half of the 19th century it was already present in many of the country estates. 

Camellia is a very popular type of plant that is currently in many public parks and private gardens. This presence has much to do with the existence of active associations dedicated to promoting everything related to their cultivation, care, knowledge and history. In this sense a route of the camellias has been promoted; a tour through the historical patrimony that are created by the gardens and parks.

The camellia genus encompasses more than two hundred species. The Camellia japonica is the one which is more present in gardens such as in the Pazo de Mariñán, by the Betanzos River. It’s a species of slow growth and it’s rather large flow appears before spring, when the other plants don’t yet have them.