Pendleton King Park - Augusta, Georgia

Pendleton King Park - Augusta, Georgia

Pendleton King Park is a 64-acre bird sanctuary of great topographic diversity with pine forests, sand ridges and marshes. The park was donated by the King Family and is managed by the Augusta Richmond County Recreation and Parks Department. It is located in the heart of Augusta and houses a variety of gardens and natural resources. PKP offers many opportunities for recreational activities including new playgrounds, an 18-hole disc golf course, nature trails for walking and cycling, cross country trails, the historic Bugg family cemetery, an educational tree trail, an off-leash dog park and open spaces for picnicking and play. An information kiosk has maps of the park, park information, history of the King Family, and upcoming events.

The park includes two camellia gardens, the Walter Alfred Wilson Camellia Garden and the Jim Stutts Camellia Garden. Wilson’s horticultural career began at the world famous Fruitland Nurseries in Augusta and it was there that Wilson fell hopelessly in love with the beautiful camellia. It was his love for camellias led to him becoming a Charter member of the American Camellia Society. As Augusta’s most notable camellia authority, he carefully selected each of the 38 camellias for the garden, including 13 that he developed and registered.

The Wilson garden includes ‘David Wilson’, ‘Jonathon Wilson’, ‘Julia Wilson’, ‘Mrs. Walter A. Wilson’, ‘Walter A. Wilson’, ‘Barbara Botts’, ‘Elbert Botts’, ‘Betty Sheffield’, ‘Ville de Nantes’, ‘Lady Kay’, ‘Donckelarii’, ‘Bob Hope’, ‘Carter’s Sunburst’, ‘Governor Mouton’, ‘Marie Bracey’, ‘Grand Slam’, and ‘Drama Girl’.

Wilson left behind a legacy of beauty which continues to evolve and to be revered. Jim Stutts, also a long-time park volunteer and member of the park's foundation, took over the task of maintaining Wilson's Camellia Garden. He continued Wilson’s legacy by planting locally developed cultivars as well as other nice camellias.

When the Wilson garden ran out of space, a second garden was added and Stutts began to plant locally originated camellias, along with other popular varieties. Stutts is well-known for giving camellias as gifts and is credited with being responsible for many of the nice camellias found in Augusta gardens today.

Without his knowledge, plans were made to name the new garden after Stutts. The Stutts garden includes ‘Grover Chester’, ‘Lucile Dickson’, ‘Jean Kernaghan’, ‘Eleanor Greenway’, ‘Katherine Maryott’, ‘Sea Foam’, ‘Desire’, ‘Fashionata’, ‘Tiffany’, ‘Mathotiana’, ‘Glen 40’, ‘Black Magic’ and numerous other nice camellias.

Together, both gardens contain well over one hundred camellias and during the peak season in January and February, the gardens provide visitors to the park a spectacular sight of beauty and color during a time of year when nothing else is blooming. Both gardens have benches and plaques marking the dedication of the gardens to these two Augusta camellia lovers. The gardens are currently being maintained by members of the Aiken Camellia Society and local master gardeners.








'Mathotiana'








'Easter Morn'








'Fragrant Pink'








'September Morn'