Surprise, surprise, it’s still winter. Still cold, still nothing much happening, still a Saturday turning up every week and demanding attention. As ever, it’s my Camellias that are providing the most colour at this season of the year, though I had hopes for Crocus to open in the sunshine. It wasn’t to be, just too cold.
One.
Start with a Camellia then. Camellia lutchuensis is a species I’ve only had for a few years, though I’ve been growing some of its hybrids for longer. I mentioned it in late November when it first started flowering and it’s still going strong, with every indication it has a few more weeks in it yet. It has small white scented flowers and a fine twigged, upright habit with small leaves; very different from a “typical” japonica type Camellia.
Two.
I have a number of Begonias which are hardy enough to be left in the ground if given enough protection, by which I mean a heap of leaves over them. They die down with the first serious cold but when it comes to re-emmerging, they fall into two camps, the early risers and the slug-a-beds. This one, Begonia emeiensis, is an early riser, too early for its own good, or mine. It’s already pushing through its leafy blanket and will get cut back by any frost we get. I scraped some more leaves together and covered the exposed bits.
Three.
Corydalis ochroleuca. This is a short lived perennial that keeps itself going by self seeding. In all the time I’ve had it, probably the better part of twenty years, I have had only one or two plants, that being all that survives of the carpets of seedlings that appear. This year there seem to be a lot more, though I’m wary of counting my chickens. They’re in the dry shade on the north side of my fastigiate yew, a place of their own choosing, as it was for the Cyclamen.
Four.
Another Camellia methinks. This is ‘Show Girl’, which may well be looking as good as it’s going to get this winter. If I’m wrong you’ll be seeing it again. This is a hybrid between an autumn flowering sasanqua variety and a spring flowering reticulata variety, so it flowers mid winter with five inch flowers that are not good in wind or frost, never mind both.
Five.
Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ was flattened early on by a very small snowfall, recovered enough to get a stay of execution, was condemned again when all its leaves dropped off but the sentence was delayed by idleness on my part and now it’s back fully upright, catching the winter sun and looking good for a few more weeks. By then its new shoots will be pushing up, the old ones can be removed and it will make a gap for the shortest time possible.
Six.
Neither my Crocus or Snowdrop pictures are in focus so I’m going to put a few pictures from Heligan Garden in as number six, having been down there again this week talking to their gardeners about pruning and propagating Camellias. I’ll use my Hellebore picture for the header.
Slugs are already active in my garden, even with it being so cold, and the few things that are coming up are the more vulnerable for there being so few of them. It seems painfully early to have to be taking action against them but I think I may have to. There were two hellebore flowers, or more accurately, one and a half. Grrr.
See, it’s easy, this six on Saturday thing, six things from your own (or an adopted) garden, post them online and stick a link in my comments. Still baffled? You need the participants guide.
garden ruminations 
Ahh, your amazing and gorgeous Camellias! It’s a treat to see them, Jim. You have taken some lovey shots at The Lost Gardens of Heligan – my absolute favourite is SOS3856! Beautiful!
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The begonias have such lovely coloured leaves. Hopefully the early risers will survive.
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The Heligan Garden is lovely, lush, and healthy. And your Camelias…beautiful! My climate is too cold for Camelias, so I’m envious. I so enjoy seeing them when I travel. Happy Six!
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Showgirl is a beauty. I noticed my Begonia nelumbiifolia looks particularly wonderful and I have no idea why?!
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I guess that even within their native range, plants like Begonias have above and below average years, when everything or nothing comes together. It’d probably be quite difficult to find detailed information about optimal growing conditions for most Begonias.
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This particular begonia grows in drainage ditches by the side of the road in Central America. It could be it liked the rainy January.
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I always enjoy your lovely camellias. I am surprised to see you can have white ones looking so good outside. In a previous garden where I had lots of camellias the white ones were always the first to be ruined with brown petals when we had frost. https://thebloominggarden.wordpress.com/2025/02/08/six-on-saturday-february-cheer/
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C. lutchuensis has clusters of buds opening over a long time period and the flowers drop as they go over, so the brown flowers thing doesn’t really apply. I’ve no white japonicas and no plans to get any, they’re the worst offenders for hanging onto dead blooms.
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This time your first two sentences had me laughing out loud. I always look forward to your Saturday entertainment.
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The Heligan Garden is beautiful. I love that photo with the tree ferns, wow.
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I have yet to visit the Lost Gardens and your pictures really do the place justice. I watched Monty’s visit there on catchup yesterday. I rather like your white camelia. Here are my six: https://noellemace.blogspot.com/2025/02/six-on-saturday-8-february-2025.html
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Camellia lutchuensis looks so bright and clean, and still with so many buds. Weirdly although I see your header photo on my phone (using the Jetpak app and Reader) I do not see it on my computer when I head to your site. Such a lovely double hellebore, my single pink one had both flowers snapped off – slugs perhaps, they are certainly nibbling my white ones.
It’s been a few years since I last visited Heligan, nothing much changes there though it is a nice walk around the estate. If it belonged to the NT I’d probably visit more, but at £20 an adult it is expensive.
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That delicate little camellia is quite nice! I also very much enjoyed the Heligan pictures. As I put together my pictures from the greenhouse, I was wishing there has been more space so I could frame the images better, but alas, backing up would have me falling into some other plants behind me that have it so full in there. I especially like the last picture which draws my eyes along to the water and beyond. So cold, so dry where I am so all I can do is post six more from the greenhouse. Enjoy!
https://wisconsingarden.wordpress.com/2025/02/08/february-8-2025-six-on-saturday/
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I’m about ready to cut my miscanthus back, as you say those green shoots are on their way. Once again you triumph with your winter six, mine is decidedly scrappy but the new greenhouse is up and running. https://n20gardener.com/2025/02/08/six-on-saturday-february-scraps/
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Like Fred, I’m also surprised to see the Miscanthus standing upright. My tall one blew over and over it stayed (until I cut it down). ‘Silberfeder’ is shorter and more sheltered so is still upright. Slimy beasts are very active here as well, demolishing Hellebores and Snowdrops. Do they eat your Camellia flowers?https://thequiltinggardener.wordpress.com/2025/02/08/six-on-saturday-08-02-2025/
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I was really surprised that the grass pulled itself back upright. I’m going to try a YouTube slug trap recipe with flour, sugar and yeast, see if it does any good. The only Camellias they are a problem on are the two near prostrate varieties ‘Quintessence’ and ‘Sweet Emily Kate’.
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That Camellia lutchuensis really is a beauty – and fragrant flowers too. I had a delicious rhubarb and strawberry slice in the cafe at the no longer lost Gardens of Heligan. Lovely gardens too. https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2025/02/08/six-on-saturday-8-february-2025/
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I lunched at Heligan on Thursday and was admiring, and coveting, a couple of epiphytic ferns growing on the trunk of one of their tree ferns just outside the window where I was sat. I shall cadge a few bits when it warms up some. C. lutchuensis is shaping up to be a real winner and fortunately seems quite a fast grower, mitigating my regret at not having discovered it earlier in my life.
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Would you believe that my wax begonias may have gotten too frosted to recover?! Dang! That is embarrassing. I should have protected them, but did not believe that they needed it. This is not that sort of climate. I would not expect them to survive outside through winter there. I am impressed by some of the other begonias there, though. I am also impressed that Miscanthus can stand up after getting knocked down. Although it does not get too frosted here, it gets shabby and floppy through winter. We just cut them down without waiting for new growth to start. Anyway, these are my six:
https://tonytomeo.com/2025/02/08/six-on-saturday-eric/
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The wax begonias may be my least favourite of the genus but I did have some a few years back and they surprised me by surviving winter outdoors here. The tops died right down but they came up again in the spring. I didn’t much like the rose bush they were planted around so I gave it away and dumped the Begonias.
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Wax begonias do not seem like your style anyway. I mean, they are common bedding plants. I like the white flowers with green foliage, but none of the others. The pink with chocolate foliage looks icky to me. Red with chocolate foliage is not much better. White with chocolate foliage looks like a cappuccino, so is a bit more tolerable. Anyway, the white with green works nicely within the White Garden, although I would not recommend it for anything more than simple bedding.
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The camellias must be a lovely sight on drab days, I don’t (yet) have any but I must rectify that this year.
I’ve not been to Heligan for nearly 30 years so I’m jealous!
My six this week is here: https://mysanctuarygarden.wordpress.com/2025/02/08/six-on-saturday-08-02-2025/, I had to re-take my snowdrop pictures as the first lot weren’t in focus.
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I hadn’t been down to the jungle in a good few years, it’s really come on since I last saw it. The main garden is kind of frozen in time, as historic gardens often are and about which I am very ambivalent.
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Hello, it seems that the cold and frost are a little further north because here we have been spared for a week. I’m surprised to see your miscanthus still standing? You don’t cut it back to the ground for the winter? At the same time it protects the new shoots…
There are amazing trees in the garden that you presented to us in #6 as well as wonderful tree ferns! I love it. https://fredgardenerblog2.wordpress.com/2025/02/08/six-on-saturday-08-02-25/
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Since the Miscanthus picked itself back up without any help from me it would seem ungrateful to cut it down and I quite like how it looks, especially in the sun. Heligan has some great trees, the one at the top of the picture with the upside down reflected tree ferns is the champion Podocarpus totara for the UK and a fabulous tree.
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