President's Monthly Message

May 2026  

Confirmation of International Camellia Gardens of Excellence (GOE)

GOEs should be inspected every ten years to make sure they are aligned with excellence. The inspection is conducted by an ICS director and, for Europe, by a director from another country. The confirmation, proposed by the President, shall be approved by the ICS directors. Let us summarize the GOEs visited in France, Japan, Italy in March and April.

• FRANCE: The Jardin des Plantes in Nantes is a city park, visited by 1.5 million people, with vintage greenhouses and with an extensive collection of Camellia japonica. Trévarez is a forest (0.85 square kilometers) around a Belle Époque castle, with huge oaks and beech trees under which live centennial camellias and rhododendrons. Both gardens were visited during the 2028 Nantes Congress.
• JAPAN: Oshima Island includes three famous camellia gardens. Tsubaki Hana features a wide collection and offers a wonderful view of Fujiyama. Metropolitan Oshima Park has a wide collection of species and greenhouses. Finally, the camellias of Oshima High School are planted around the school building. Many ICS members know about these gardens, which were visited during the 2025 Tokyo Congress.
• ITALY:  Camellietum Compitese (Italy) extended the camellia collection with new sections for wild species, Sachsen camellias (in honor of the Pillnitz camellia), sasanquas, sinensis, reticulatas, fragrant camellias, Higo, and black camellias. An educational area shows the various forms of flowers and leaves in C. japonica, consistent with the popularization philosophy of the Camellietum, which was visited during the 2023 Italy Congress.

Sasanqua Symposium (Shanghai, 3–6 December 2026)

Further detailed information will follow shortly and will also be posted on the International Camellia Society website.

Victoria Medal of Honour to Jennifer Trehane

Our member Jennifer Trehane has been awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) by the Royal Horticultural Society. This distinguished award is limited to 63 recipients at any given time, reflecting the years of Queen Victoria’s reign, and is granted to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to horticulture.

Jennifer Trehane is a long-standing and highly respected member of the ICS. She is internationally recognized as a leading expert on camellias, author of several authoritative books on the genus, and former head of the Trehane Nursery, earning widespread respect within the global camellia community. Within the ICS, she has served as Editor of the ICS Bulletin, Vice-President for Europe, and Director of the U.K. Region.

We warmly congratulate her on this well-deserved honor and are proud to have her among our members.

Your thoughts and feedback are most welcome. Please feel free to contact us.

Prof. Gianmario Motta gianmario.motta@unipv.it  

President, International Camellia Society

Anke Koschitz

Secretary, International Camellia Society