Captain Martin's Favorite

Magnolia Gardens and Nursery Catalogue, 1942-1943: A medium sized, 8-9 cm across, light, rosy-red on white, formal double, symmetrical, imbricated and does not show stamens. The petals are incurved. Some blooms are deep pink, splotched white. Long flowering, early to late. Leaves, medium sized, 6 cm x 3 cm, light green, acuminate. A slow grower, compact and symetrical. Origin as given by Mr C. Norwood Hastie Jr. of Mag­nolia Gardens: Captain Martin was the Captain of a boat which used to bring visitors to the gar­dens. He was somewhat of a dude, always wearing a tall plug hat. After his visits the family noticed many flowers missing from a particular plant. One day my grandmother (Julia Dray­ton) met the Captain in the garden, face-to-face. He tipped his hat with a flourish and flowers cascaded to the ground. From that day the plant was known as ‘Captain Martin’s Favorite’. The name has been used in Magnolia Gardens from about 1860. See colour plate p.37, Camellias, 1945 by G.G. Gerbing. Its actual origin is uncertain. It is either a seedling from the gardens or an unknown European import. It is somewhat similar to Vittorio Emmanuele II.