In a vase on Monday: first winter blooms

Though I'm not really a fan of cold weather, there is one winter spectacle I always look forward to: the first camellia bloom of the season.

Camellia japonica 'Debutante'

We are lucky to have three large established camellias in our garden. Judging by their size, I'd say they are the same age as our house, which was built in the 1960s. I also keep an additional five varieties in pots, the largest being C. japonica 'Black Tie', which is currently about 1.8 metres (six feet) tall. It has been happily growing in its container for many years now.

Brown glazed bowl: no ID camellia Green triangle bowl: C. japonica 'Black Tie' Round green bowl: pale pink peony form C. japonica 'Debutante', white peony form with pink edges C. japonica 'Margaret Davis', mid pink no ID Small green vase: C. japonica 'Debutante' Square plate: Ginkgo biloba leaves

While I was out picking flowers for this post, the beautiful golden leaves of a large potted Ginkgo biloba caught my eye and I couldn't resist plucking a couple for my display:


As you can see from the photo above, a certain feline also showed interest in my arrangement and wanted to investigate whatever was taking my attention away from him!

Cosmo, looking innocent with his knitted likeness in the background:


He knows he is totally irresistible (cuddles followed). Anyway... back to the camellias...

The camellia show lasts for several months, so I always have lots to give away to friends and neighbours. We have eight varieties in total, some of which are not blooming yet, so I'm sure they will feature frequently in future IAVOM posts.

Head over to Cathy's blog, Rambling in the Garden to see this week's vase-worthy creations from bloggers around the world.

Do you patiently anticipate the blooming of a particular flower in your garden?

Location: Adelaide SA, Australia

Comments

  1. Kris PetersonJune 5, 2022 at 4:13 PM

    Your Camellia collection is exquisite, Horticat. I had quite a few Camellias in my former garden even though it was tiny. I miss them now. One of the first plants I installed when we moved in to our current place 10+ years ago was a Camellia williamsii 'Taylor's Perfection'. I still have it but it's struggled, especially the last 2 years with rainfall so low. This year a poorly timed heatwave caused 80+ percent of the flowers and much of the foliage to just drop. The garden we inherited had a few well-established Camellia sasanqua, which have fared somewhat better but, under present circumstances, planting any more Camelias here isn't on the table.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HorticatJune 5, 2022 at 7:54 PM

      'Taylor's Perfection' is a beauty, Kris, I'm sorry it's struggled with your poor rainfall. I wish we could send you some of our rain!

      Delete
  2. Susie @ pbmGardenJune 6, 2022 at 6:47 AM

    Oh, what a gorgeous display. 'Debutante' is a real stand-out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HorticatJune 6, 2022 at 4:18 PM

      Thanks Susie, 'Debutante' was also a favourite of the elderly lady who owned our house previously. Her son would come and pick a bowl of them to take to her when she was in a nursing home. I'm going to have a go at propagating it from cuttings.

      Delete
  3. CathyJune 6, 2022 at 10:17 AM

    What a wonderful display - and they grow successfully in pots? That's interesting to know. You have a very pretty selection

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HorticatJune 6, 2022 at 4:16 PM

      Thanks Cathy, yes it's surprising about the pots - they really do well in them. Some of mine have been potted specimens for almost 10 years now and a couple of people I garden for also have some very old potted camellias in large planters. It's nice to know I'll be able to take them with us when we move house.

      Delete
  4. AnonymousJune 6, 2022 at 2:40 PM

    You have some gorgeous Camellias, and that is a lovely way to display them. Love the photo with Cosmo's paws in it! 😉🐾

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HorticatJune 6, 2022 at 4:13 PM

      Thank you, yes, he manages to get those little paws into everything!

      Delete
  5. DonnaJune 6, 2022 at 6:10 PM

    Wow to have flowers in winter. We just have snow. Camellias are a flower we don't; see here as we are too far north. But they are beautiful made even more so with your stunning display.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HorticatJune 6, 2022 at 6:18 PM

      I can't even imagine having snow for winter, Donna! I guess it makes the flowering season even more precious where you live.

      Delete
  6. AmeliaJune 7, 2022 at 6:57 AM

    I like your pottery as well as the Camellias, one of my favorite plants. I am from about six hundred miles north of where I am currently living and had Camellias in my former garden (now too far south to grow them successfully) Debutante was a local favorite. My fav was Yuletide! I agree with you about winter.

    ReplyDelete
  7. HorticatJune 8, 2022 at 1:28 AM

    Thanks Amelia, it's a pity you can't grow camellias where you are, but having heliconias in your garden is a pretty good trade off!
    Yuletide is such a pretty camellia, I don't have one of those, but might have to find a spot for it :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In a vase on Monday: blue, silver and red (and lime and burgundy)

Image
Still more rain this week (will it ever be summer?) which has meant that the cooler season blooms such as Nigella damascena and larkspur Consolida ambigua 'Imperial Mix' continue to bloom happily (when we get a heatwave, the nigella in particular, tends to go straight to seed). I made two bunches this week, both to give away to friends. The first features flowers and foliage from my own garden: This bunch featured: catmint Nepeta 'Walker's Blue', larkspur Consolida ambigua 'Imperial Mix', love-in-a-mist Nigella damascena, Rosa 'Camp David' , apple mint Mentha suaveolens , liquorice plant Helichrysum petiolare , lamb's ear Stachys byzantina and statice Limonium sinuatum My arrangement briefly looked good sitting on our red kitchen table until it was given away a couple of hours later. The bowl of fruit on the right are loquats Eriobotrya japonica , one of my favourite fruits, given to me by a friend. I've never seen them for sale in a
Read more

In a vase on Monday: bright delight

Image
Just a quick one from me today, as we are madly packing for a trip away. I love how these nasturtiums self seed and pop up all over the place. I recall planting about a dozen seeds about 10 years ago - they have done their own thing every year ever since. The mug is Polish pottery, collected on a backpacking trip around Eastern Europe in the early 2000s. We are off to enjoy Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park , located several hours' drive north of Adelaide in a semi-arid region with amazing geological features and diverse flora and fauna. The area has experienced significant rain recently, which means this usually dry country will be green and potentially full of wildflowers. I hope to have some photos to share.  Thanks to Cathy for hosting the weekly In a Vase on Monday meme. To see what's blooming in the gardens of other gardeners around the world, check out her blog, Rambling in the Garden . Perhaps you have a vase of your own you would like to share?
Read more

In a vase on Monday: a bright little bunch

Image
I'm back this week after getting through the first trimester of pregnancy (too sleepy for gardening) and hubby's Covid (he's all good now). We are both feeling fine and finally enjoying some proper spring weather, although it continues to be very wet. Despite not contributing lately, I have enjoyed following along with everyone else's seasonal bunches, even if I haven't left a comment. Your bunches brighten my week! This week, I decided on a quick little posy of the brightest blooms in the garden: This bunch features the bright blooms of Freesia 'Bergunden Mix', Nemesia stumosa 'Patchwork', Tritonia crocata, Calendula officinalis 'Honey Babe Mix' and stocks Matthiola incana 'Imperial'.   I love all the pumpkin colours in this bunch Though parts of the garden are a total mess, having being neglected lately, other parts are looking beautiful. With some newfound energy, I enjoyed working on my yearly display of cymbidum orchids. Usua
Read more