Der Kamelienwald

World-famous through literature: In Alexandre Dumas' "La Dame aux Camélias," the morbidly beautiful heroine bears the name of the magnificent flower. The camellia arrived in Western and Central Europe in the 18th century. Cultivating exotic plants was primarily a hobby of the high nobility. However, the emerging bourgeoisie's culture of introspection soon included an interest in the beauty of plants and the mysteries of nature. Gardens, no matter how small, became refuges for people in an industrialized and urbanized modern society – especially in Germany. Against this cultural and historical backdrop, Mustafa Haikal traces the story of the famous Saxon gardening family Seidel. At its beginning stands Johann Heinrich Seidel, who was the court gardener in Dresden. In August 1894, Goethe visited him, and they engaged in "familiar conversation" several times about the apparent secrets of nature. Seidel became the patriarch of a dynasty of Saxon gardeners – four of his sons took up their father's profession, and two daughters married esteemed gardeners. Thanks to the camellia, the commercial nursery founded by Friedrich Jacob Seidel in Dresden in 1813 developed into the first German export nursery, survived two world wars, and only ended under the management of the Treuhand. Today, the Seidel's camellia splendor can still be admired in the botanical collections of Pirna-Zuschendorf, not far from Dresden. The enduring appeal of this exotic tree is evident in the over 200-year-old camellia in the Pillnitz Castle Park, whose up to 35,000 crimson-red flowers attract thousands of visitors each year.