It’s not getting any easier to find six things to include. Things are sort of happening, two or three camellias with one flower apiece, crocus blooms that don’t open because it’s dull and cold, daffodil buds, weeds, slugs. Anyway, here goes.
One.
Camellia ‘Quintessence’. This was planted out a year ago having been in a pot too long. It improved a bit over the year but has some way to go to be stunning. Small single flowers, white with a pink flush, scented. Another New Zealand raised lutchuensis hybrid.
Two.
I was running some prunings, mixed with assorted kitchen scraps, weeds and dead leaves through my shredder in the week and there was a bit of a banging noise. Usually it’s a stone I’ve accidentally picked up, this time, for a change, it was a very tarnished 1952 20 francs coin. Where it came from I have not the slightest idea. Makes a change from plants though. I guess they don’t do the Liberté, égalité, fraternité thing with Euros.
Three.
Chrysoplenium macrophyllum. This is another of those plants that fills in while the main performers are taking their winter break. It will quite soon disappear beneath Astilbes and Impatiens omeiana, giving it the shade which it needs for the summer.
Four.
Hellebore seedling. A few years back I bought a couple of double hellebores, a white one and a purple one. The white one is barely hanging on while the purple is doing really well. I collected seed from it a couple or three seasons back and planted a dozen or more out in the autumn. They’re looking very promising, mostly double if with fewer petals than their parent.
Five.
Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’. I moved this before Christmas because it seemed unhappy in full sun. It’s a lot more unhappy now. Perhaps something else was ailing it. I shall cut it hard back and see what happens.
Six.
Primula vulgaris sibthorpii. My two plants of this disappeared under Dicentra for most of last year but seem none the worse for it. This is its first bloom of the season, hopefully it won’t be the last.
Right, things to do, places to be. The Prop has just done a placeholder post, for now I’ll link to that.
garden ruminations 
Nice picture of the primula. Quite perfect, where are your slugs feasted?
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Nerines have been popular, crocus buds and Chrysanthemum shoots too. I’m going to try nematodes when it warms up a bit.
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Good start with that beautiful camellia! I’ve got the chrysoplenium in a pot ready to go out. Only a baby at the moment, though. Love that primula, it rings a bell, perhaps I grew it at Cliffe. Who knows!
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I remember being stopped in my tracks by Primula boothii or bracteata or some such, ice blue and exquisite, but virtually ungrowable. P. sibthorpii has a little of that quality.
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I laughed at the photo of the coin. It made a change!
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Fred tells me it’s would be almost worthless even in perfect condition; at least I didn’t mince a valuable coin into worthlessness.
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That’s a relief!
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That’s fun to see a 20F coin. I was curious and went to see its value so far. If it were in good condition, the price would be… €1 ! Apart from that, I really like this double hellebore and of course the camellia
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I’m glad you didn’t tell me the coin would have been worth a lot of money if I hadn’t trashed it. I’m quite pleased with the hellebores, I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the hellebores in flower, they look very promising.
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Lovely photo of Primula sibthorpii, I moved mine to the rockery a couple of years ago, but think it is now getting too much sun, probably have to move it again!
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Not as tough and tolerant as P. vulgaris but mine seem fairly happy where they are. I must divide them and spread them around.
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I had to stop and look up Chrysoplenium macrophyllum. hmmmm . . . What does it . . . do? It looks sort of like Bergenia crassifolia, with bloom out of season. It is available by mail order, so must be appreciated by those who are familiar with it. Is it popular because it is resilient to harsh climate?
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It’s what is often described over her as a connoisseur’s plant, at least by the people who grow it and like to see themselves as connoisseurs. A bit weedy, of limited ornamental value. We have two native species, not grown in gardens, with lime green flowers, and I have grown C. davidianum, which is very similar to the natives but bigger. They all grow in wet ground and hate drying out. I grow it because there isn’t a bigf choice of plants that do something in boggy ground in winter. The leaves are quite like Bergenia and it’s in Saxifragaceae, as is Bergenia. It produces runners and can spread quite quickly if conditions suit it. I don’t think it’s very cold hardy but it’s survived here for several years without protection.
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So, it is a resilient and reliable perennial for potentially difficult situations, like Agapanthus.
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Yep.
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. . . although I do dig Agapanthus.
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Very pretty hellebore and, of course, the camellia.
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I love the camellia and what a pretty primrose. Your poor mahonia does look unhappy. Maybe it will cheer up when it gets warmer.
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It was the second move for the Mahonia, I should dig it up and examine its roots, that’s where any problems will be.
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Hellebores from seed are on my to do list but somehow I miss collecting the seeds! As always, enjoying the camellia shows.
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I’ve seen seed of Hellebores with a far better pedigree than mine offered for sale, I should get some, they’re not especially difficult to grow. Now where did I see it?
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Lovely camellia, do many have a perfume? I have very few scented plants in my garden. The peonies do smell nice though, I notice it when I try to tie them up to stop them collapsing.
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Not many Camellias have perfume, some of the species, hybrids with lutchuensis and the autumn flowering sasanquas is about the lot.
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Funnily enough, I found a Franc in a garden just before Christmas. They must be migrating North.
I do like the Chrysoplenium. I seem to remember admiring it last year too!
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So the franc crossed the channel, carried by a magpie?
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I’ve got the same Mahonia but it never seems to really get going and also disappoints in the flower department. Lovely picture of the lovely Camellia.
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The Mahonia is on a last warning; shape up or go.
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I wonder if the mahonia is getting caught by wind?
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I doubt it’s wind, more likely honey fungus.
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The coin is definitely a fun find. My grandpa once found a George III penny while digging his garden in Hampshire, but I have never found anything more interesting than a crushed coke can, presumably buried by the house builders.
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I might have to drop the coin in someone else’s garden on a visit. It’s an odd one, the land was fields for many years after it was minted.
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