The Camellia Gardens at Beeland Park
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Registered Camellias of Butler County

The Camellia Gardens at Beeland Park, also, Registered Camellias of Butler County. . The Camellia Gardens at Beeland Park . Large camellias grew prolifically all over Butler County, many of them one hundred years old. Since the mid-1930s, Glenn Stanley, Editor of the Greenville Advocate used the slogan "Greenville, The Camellia City" in each weekly edition. The slogan was adopted by city officials, civic organizations and businessmen. , At this site, approximately 500 camellias from seedlings and cultivars donated by citizens were planted in honor of loved ones who served in world war two. The site became known as the Camellia Memory Garden. The Beeland Park Gardens are comprised of lower garden of eight acres with over 300 seventy-year-old heirloom varieties. Mayor Dexter McLendon commissioned a planting of 100 camellias in the upper garden in 2013. The Beeland Park Gardens were named to the American Camellia Society's American Camellia Trail in 2023. , Registered Camellias of Butler County. Camellias probably came to Butler County between the 1820s and 1850s by pioneer Butler County settlers migrating from South Carolina. The Greenville Men's Camellia Society began propagating and registering camellias growing in their yards. Friendly competition led to local camellia shows, and ultimately, national ones. In 1952, five thousand people attended the camellia show in Greenville. , Early registered camellias included the McFerrin, Pride of Greenville, Pride of Greenville Variegated, Robert Hendrick, and Stabler Pink. Later registered camellias were Alabama's Lurleen Alice Jernigan, Blood of China Variegated, Dr. Cy Echols, Ed Jernigan, LaMont Glass, Lillian Jernigan, Glenn Stanley, Lee Ryan, True Echols, and Webb Stanley.