Locarno celebrates the camellia and spring
Published: Wednesday, Mar 20th 2024, 12:21
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This plant brings color to nature: from deep red to pink, white-red speckled to bright white. The park of the same name in Locarno is home to over 1100 varieties of camellias and is hosting the 25th International Camellia Show from Wednesday.
Between white, light pink and classic red flowers, the cheeky "Lipstick" variety flashes out between lush green leaves in the Camellia Park. While the outer petals glow coral red, yellow, white and pink spots of color dance around inside.
It is no coincidence that Locarno is home to the largest collection of camellias in Switzerland. The plant, which belongs to the tea bush family, loves the acidic soil of the Locarnese, as Francesco Murachelli, head of the green spaces department of the city of Locarno, explains on the tour of the park. The balanced temperature on the lakeshore and the shade provided by the tall trees are also beneficial to the plants.
From Piedmont to Locarno
The love story between the camellia and Locarno began in the interwar years. At that time, a camellia festival was held on the Piazza Grande. However, it is said that the first plant arrived in Locarno by barge from Verbana in Piedmont around 1900. 99 years later, the Swiss Camellia Society was founded, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
The camellia show has been held in the film city on Lake Maggiore since 1997. Apart from the two-year forced break during the coronavirus pandemic, the camellia show was only canceled in 2007. The latter triggered a "tragedia cantonale" - a cantonal tragedy - as the President of the Swiss Camellia Society, Daniele Marcacci, explains. Back then, the plants in the park had already bloomed in January and the show planned for March had to be canceled.
This year, too, he briefly feared in February that the camellia blossom might start too early, says Marcacci. But then it got cold again and rained a lot. The damp weather gave the fungus Ciborinia camelliae an ideal breeding ground, as evidenced by the sometimes brownish edges of the flowers.
Nevertheless, Marcacci is not worried about climate change. Perhaps the camellia will one day even thrive in German-speaking Switzerland due to the rising temperatures, jokes the camellia expert.
©Keystone/SDA
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