Camellias

Soon it will be camellia season again. We've already started off with "Yuletide" ...

....and the lovely "Setsugekka", ("Snow flower"). These are both sasanqua camellias, autumn-flowerers with a strange, mossy, patchouli-like scent. The nice thing about these is that the blooms come out before the really cold weather damages them. The sasanquas  need sun to flower fully; my "Setsugekka" has been more prolific this year since I removed a shrub that was growing next to it and shading it out. Our climate here in Christchurch is not the best for camellias, it's too extreme; late frosts can brown off the flowers, particularly the whites, into an unsightly mess. A milder, wetter climate would be better for the japonicas.

Later on, we will have japonica and reticulata camellias. "Nicky Crisp" is one of my favourites.

"Barbara Clark" which usually flowers right through from August to November.

"Waterlily" a beautiful formal double

"Nuccio's Gem" - whiter than white.

I have several other camellias in the garden that I don't have pictures of. I've just planted a "Quintessence", a low grower, in the black spot of the front garden, and have another low grower, "Baby Bear" out there too. Camellias are well worth growing in a small garden. They are neat and easily managed and make a quiet background to the showier perennials during summer. There are even yellow camellias, which I do have a hankering for. "Jury's yellow" is a nice one that I covet, but it would have to be in a special spot away from the pinks. Oooo! sudden inspiration! Out the back, by the grey fence. Now all I have to do is shift the agapanthus...