| [Image: Art Landry and Michael Polozola] |
|
|
The Camellia Gardens
Complementing Steele Burden’s original plantings, the AgCenter acquired 489 identified camellia varieties from the private collection of Violet & Hank Stone in 2002. When Violet Stone died in 2001, she left a Baton Rouge garden brimming with about 500 named varieties. With the help of Violet’s daughter, Stella Stone Cooper of Paramus, N.J., and longtime family friend Art Landry of Baton Rouge, staff from the Burden Center identified and collected cuttings, which were cataloged and propagated. Later, the camellia bushes themselves were removed from the Stone residence in Baton Rouge’s Garden District and transplanted to Burden Center.