Tour of Descanso Gardens’ Camellia Forest Trail. From left: John Kao, Mia Suh, Emi Yoshimura, Autumn Ayers, David Bare, Arian Noorzai, Mary Uyematsu Kao, Wendy Cheng.
By Mary Uyematsu Kao
On Feb. 19, the Huntington Library hosted a talk by Professor Wendy Cheng (American Studies and Ethnicity, USC), titled “What Camellias Have Seen.” Her talk explored the impact of camellias in a sweeping historical context, from the earliest days of British colonialism in the 17th century, up through the settler colonialism of the 20th century. Originally migrating from East Asia, camellias became an esteemed treasure of the elite classes in the Western Hemisphere.
Cheng is currently a Simon and June Li Fellow at the Huntington Library. Simon and June Li are actively involved donors of the Huntington. June Li was the founding curator of the Chinese Garden: its first phase opened in 2008; second phase in 2014; and final phase in 2020.
Through June’s skillful stewardship, the garden was named Liu Fang Yuan — the Garden of Flowing Fragrance, and today is among the largest classical Chinese gardens in the world. Simon Li is on the seven-member Board of Trustees that leads the institution.
While not touted as a Day of Remembrance event, Cheng’s talk explored how Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 resulted in the forced sale of camellias by Japanese growers who were being forced to leave the West Coast. As such, camellia history became intertwined with the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
While the Huntington Library has the oldest camellia collection in Southern California, Descanso Gardens has the largest camellia collection. Manchester Boddy, the original proprietor of Descanso, bought 320,000 and 30,000 camellias from the nurseries of F.M. Uyematsu and Fred Waiichi Yoshimura, respectively, within days of Executive Order 9066’s declaration.
Professor Wendy Cheng speaking at The Huntington, Feb. 19.
Cheng concluded with the contradictory unity of “beauty and plunder,” which she will be exploring in her forthcoming book, through the vision of camellias, and nine other plants with migrations brought by imperialism. Her perspective gives us pause to reflect on history as witnessed by the plants that continue to inhabit our environment.
Her talk can be seen at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7W5c6Dc0x0
Cheng describes her mission on her website: “In my research and public-facing work, I am committed to efforts to transform landscapes and institutions in order to create accountability to the past as well as more socially just futures.” (https://wendycheng.com/about/)
Descanso Gardens is known to be North America’s largest camellia collection — designated an International Camellia Garden of Excellence by the International Camellia Society. According to americancamellias.com, Descansco has a total of 15,000-30,000 camellias of 700+ distinct cultivars/species.
As former Descanso executive director (2005-2016), David R. Brown exclaimed: “This beautiful garden has special significance to me because it is tangible, enduring recognition of the role/contribution of Japanese Americans in the very existence of Descanso. If Mr. Boddy had not purchased those camellias from the Uyematsu and Yoshimura families, there would in all likelihood not be a Descanso Gardens for the public to enjoy today.”
Wendy Cheng has been instrumental in connecting Descanso Gardens with the Uyematsu and Yoshimura families, to recognize how its base crop of camellias were a product of EO 9066. This work is certainly testament to a dedicated commitment to her mission. Her continued support has evolved into new signage and a newly planted Camellia Forest Trail.
The trail opens with cherry trees, memorializing F.M. Uyematsu, the “Camellia King” who preferred to think of himself as “Grandpa Cherry Blossom.” The new signage is dedicated to Uyematsu, the Yoshimura family, and the Nuccio family. The Yoshimuras’ San Gabriel Nursery recently celebrated their 100th anniversary. Julius Nuccio, founder of the Nuccio Nursery, was first struck by the beauty of camellias as a young boy living across the street from the Mission Nursery (now the San Gabriel Nursery) — as learned from Wendy’s talk at the Huntington.
The Nuccio nursery fell victim to the recent Altadena fire, forcing a sooner-than-planned closure. The Nuccios made large donations of camellias to Descanso and The Huntington.
The Camellia Forest Trail features camellias from many different collections acquired over the years. As Autumn Ayers, manager of horticulture & collections, explains:
Current Descanso staff: Kelly Fernandez, Andrew Fleming, Autumn Ayers, Emi Yoshimura, and Shannon Dillon.
“Along the Camellia Forest Trail, in addition to the Uyematsu Collection and the Nuccio Nurseries Collection, we also have the Camellia Species Collection (showcasing the diversity of different wild species of camellia), the Higo Camellia Collection (particularly loved by the samurai that come from the Kumamoto Prefecture), and the Reticulata Collection (celebrating the role that Descanso played in introducing Camellia reticulata plants to the United States from China).”
Descanso has had a dedicated camellia staff, including recently retired David Bare, who has been succeeded by Kelly Fernandez, Autumn Ayers, Andrew Fleming, and former camellia specialist Arian Noorzai. As an Afghan immigrant, Noorzai was attracted to work at Descanso because he identified with the WWII Uyematsu/Yoshimura story. Noorzai planted dozens of new camellias in record time for the opening of the new trail.
Ayers, a walking camellia encyclopedia, recently applied for registration of a new cultivar identified as a wild offspring from an Uyematsu cultivar. She gave the Uyematsu family the honor of naming it, and a new “SachiKumiSonoko” camellia is forthcoming — named for F.M.’s three daughters: Sachiko Marian, Kumiko Alice, and Sonoko Flora (in order of youngest to oldest).
Continuing commendation goes to Emi Yoshimura, former director of education and currently chief operations and administration officer, who has been the mainstay through many different iterations to give recognition to the Uyematsu and Yoshimura families. She is of no relation to the San Gabriel Nursery/Yoshimura family.
Emi has partnered with Wendy Cheng, Mia Suh (great-granddaughter of F.M.), myself, and the late Amy Uyematsu to honor F.M. Uyematsu’s camellias at Descanso — the lasting beauty despite the plunder of Executive Order 9066.
For future interest in F.M. Uyematsu, I have donated a “F.M. and Kuni Uyematsu Collection” of photographs and other papers to the Huntington Library. It will not be available for public view for at least two years. The collection contains many 1930s studio portraits of Uyematsu friends from the Japanese American community, and collections of tanka by Kuni Uyematsu (F.M.’s second wife).
Note: The Uyematsu and Yoshimura family exhibits that were housed in the Boddy House Library in December 2023 are no longer there. A new iteration of the history of Descanso that will include the Uyematsu and Yoshimura contributions is in the works.
Mary Uyematsu Kao is the author/photographer of “Rockin’ the Boat: Flashbacks of the 1970s Asian Movement” (Second edition, 2025) and formerly the publications coordinator of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center (1987-2018). She received her MA from UCLA Asian American Studies in 2007. She welcomes comments, questions, and/or criticisms at uyematsu72@gmail.com. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of The Rafu Shimpo.