camellias
SO NOT READY!!!
It’s really September and I am so not ready for the change of seasons. The Camellia sasanqua ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ is blooming….
and all the berries on the viburnums are full & beautiful…
Neglected area..or should I say areas I left to Mother Nature are actually lovely, nurturing many beneficial insects, Humming birds and other wildlife
…including deer. I’ve stopped chasing them away.. they love these hydrangeas!
Once again, The Season of The Mourning Bench………….
CAN IT BE ….SPRING?
I can’t believe I went from this..
to this in one day!!
How wonderful to be back in Georgia, where it appears we are in full-blown spring….
The gardening to do list grows daily as the overwhelming season is upon us. Trying to separate the list into A) what will make an impact in the garden visually, and B) plant requirements. e.g. weeding and feeding.
All the camellias, both in the Circle of Friends, and the Camellia Walk are in bloom along with the Hellebores.
Permeating the air is the fragrance of Daphne odora…. The garden is truly magnificent. A celebration of all the senses.
The daffodils… well, they deserve their own post.
CAMELLIA MADNESS
THE WINTER GARDEN
With all the holiday activities over I finally got into the garden. What a relief! It is so quiet and peaceful, in stark contrast to the last weeks. It truly is my sanctuary… just as I planned it.
Gardening in Georgia, one can have a winter garden that BLOOMS. From time to time a hard freeze will turn my magnificent camellia flowers to brown mush….
but in a day or two when it warms, the new buds open and the show begins again.
Even if they did not bloom, their evergreen presence create the ‘bones’. I always start with the winter structure when I design landscapes. Without structure, a collection of plants scattered about without any rhyme or reason, is just….. well, a collection of plants just scattered about! Below,’ BEFORE’ at a client’s.
While I love the warm spells, my hydrangeas (the macrophylla types) are all too anxious to welcome spring and start to break bud. Not a good thing!!
The next frost will damage the flower buds that are already exposed. I’m going to try covering with ‘Remay’ a protective covering , or ‘floating row cover’ used in the nursery trade. Hopefully they will be spared. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
© All photos & text 2011
THE GARDEN UNFOLDS
An overcast and rainy day. Great for the garden, good for photography. In the last post the photo of the entrance to both the Camellia Walk & Circle of Friends was not clear so here are some taken today.
This is where the Camellia Walk begins. a few yards over to the right lies… (keep your eye on the pink flowering camellia)
the walkway that leads to the Circle of Friends. Note that the pink flowering camellia plays a role in both garden rooms.
The east side of The Circle of Friends, punctuated by variegated boxwoods (Buxus sempervirens ‘variegata’). This space is actually oval in shape. All the plants in this little garden were gifted to me or were cuttings from the gardens of friends, hence the name. It is encircled by camellias (as background structure) and hydrangeas.
On the west side, the structure of camellias is the back side of the Camellia Walk. Like most areas in the garden it is unfinished however, what I plan can be found here.
Leaving this area and following the path we intersect with the Camellia Walk . (it curves round)
This is marked by the interesting texture of four upright Japanese Plum Yews (Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Fastigiata’) and underplanted with variegated Japanese Sedge (Carex morrowii); the idea being to tie in the variegation and create an ‘Elizabethan Collar” around the yews.
A few yards past this intersection lies the Mourning Bench. As I have said before; one can pass it without noticing. It sits between the two variegated boxwoods on the right. Below…
If this path is followed further,one gets to the Potager. We have been walking north. Below, the view from the north looking south back through to the meadow.
The repetition of the Variegated Box & the Carex create rhythm and serve to tie the sequential spaces together into a coherent whole.
To be continued…
© All photos & text
CAMELLIAS! CAMELLIAS!
Blooming now
Camellia sasanqua ‘Maiden’s Blush’ above
Camellia sasanqua ‘Jean May’ above & below
Camellia sasanqua “Daydream’
Below, one of the Ackerman Hybrids, C. ‘Winter’s Charm’
Does this look familiar? I posted on this area in spring when the Azaleas were blooming. This is the walk to the compost.
Dr. William Ackerman of the National Arboretum crossed Camellia oleifera & Camellia hiemalis or C. sasanqua to produce a plant hardy to 10F. If you live in colder climes…the Ackerman Hybrids are for you.
It has been said that the trinity of Southern Gardens are azaleas, hydrangeas & camellias. The latter two giving the longest show. These Camellias will bloom a full 6 weeks. THAT, is a show!
The above beauty never had a nametag. AND speaking of a long show…
Some hydrangeas are still stunning.
On a personal note, the last weeks have been very difficult. I will try to post more often in the future.
© All photos & text 2010
STRUCTURE IN THE GARDEN
NEW GARDEN SEASON!
We finally got some rain…
a good, long, soaking, rain and temperatures have dropped to somewhere near ‘normal’ for this time of year. Hard to believe we are at the end of September begining of October!
One of the self sowing, perennials in my garden is the Toad Lily (Tricyrtis hirta). This plant has graceful arching foliage of matt, fuzzy, texture and flowers that look like orchids (below) which open along each axil of the leaf.
Its bloom time coincides with the first camellias, marking a NEW GARDENING SEASON.
In my garden, the first Camellias to bloom are the Tea Plant, (Camellia sinensis)
Camellia sasanqua ‘Sparkling Burgundy’
and Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana Jima’. (below)
Typically the sasanqua camellias bloom through the autumn followed by the japonica type that will continue all winter. More on the differences in the next post, when I welcome you to ‘The Camellia Walk.’… another part of the garden.
© All photos & text 2010
HYDRANGEA TIME!!
The very first bloom on ‘Mini-Penny’. (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Mini-Penny’)
Oakleaf hydrangeas line a path below
leading to more heavenly hydrangeas.
Above, a glorious mix of Hydrangeas. Oakleaf (Hydrangea quercifolia) Annabelle (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’) and blue mopheads,(Hydrangea macrophylla) assorted, many of them Penny Macs.
Variegated kerria (Kerria Japonica ‘Pictum’) weaves it way through Hydrangea “Annabelle’ (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’) Gold Heart Ivy (Hedera helix “Gold Heart’) climbing the trees.
The ‘Circle of Friends’ consists of camellias and hydrangeas, either gifted to me, or those that arrived via cuttings from friend’s gardens. The identity of some have been lost, they therefore wear ID tags that read ‘From Penny’s back door’ or ‘Lacecap at Penny’s stream’, indicating where they originated.
The inverted pot served as a plinth for St. Fiacre, but he is temporarily needed elsewhere. (I have a shortage of statuary.)
Above,’ Penny Mac’ (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Penny Mac’) Blue, and ‘Madame Emile’ (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Madame Emile Mouillere’) White.
This show is just starting. I rely on the hydrangeas to carry the ornamental garden through the summer months. As the blossoms age they become papery. They can then be harvested for winter arrangements.
© All photos & text