A week ago I was getting a bit excited about a pot of snowdrops I’d been given. This week I have nothing to get excited about and last week’s excitement was probably overblown, now that I’ve realised what I had been gifted. Oops, that sounds very ungrateful, which was not my intention.
I’ve done the usual rounds and have come up with six things for this Saturday. It looks like the far south-west may be the only place in the UK to escape a frost tonight, which I’m very happy about as the garden is slowly waking up and there are a few more flowers out there. As ever, you are invited to join us on SoS, the guide is here and you would be most welcome.
One.
Last weeks snowdrop is probably Galanthus elwesii. The leaves are pretty much a dead giveaway, I now realise. I tried to get a stacked image but it needs work to get rid of the halos and frankly, life is too short.
Two.
I had been thinking the Camellia flowering in my propagator was the same as the one I’d featured in mid July. It isn’t, it’s Camellia ‘Mimosa Jury’. The Jury’s, in New Zealand, have raised a lot of top notch camellias over the years and this one, raised by Felix Jury and named for his wife, is amongst the very best. I planted one in the National Collection but it was trashed by deer within a few years of being planted and never recovered.
The rolled in edges to the petals is not something it usually does in our climate but I believe is more common in warmer conditions.
Three.
Let’s have another Camellia while I’m at it. This is Camellia ‘Francie L.’, a reticulata hybrid with a somewhat weird parentage. It has very large deep pink flowers and makes a large and somewhat rangy bush.
Four.
Crocus tomasinianus is having quite a good year for me and I’m now seeing the slightly later, darker flowered form ‘Ruby Giant’. I’ve bought batches of crocus tomasinaianus under various names and from various suppliers and it’s getting hard to be sure what I have any more. They also self sow, presumably having cross pollinated between varieties. ‘Ruby Giant’ seems to stay in a tidy clump, unlike any of the others I have, and is a striking deep purple. Ruby it most certainly isn’t, though looking at the photograph I took in the sun this morning, it looks more reddish purple than it had looked in the garden.
Five.
Sometimes, perhaps especially at this time of year, it is a grouping of plants that is the story, since most of what is happening is dotted around with nothing much for company. In this picture, on the bank held up by my one and only foray into dry stone walling, are Camellia ‘Quintessence’ and Polypodium cambricum ‘Richard Kayse’. The Camellia is just about prostrate even without me having to cut out any upward growing shoots, so far at least. It’s even cascading down the wall to a degree; I was expecting it to grow out horizontally. It’s also lightly scented. In late summer 2025 the fern had almost died down completely but seems to have grown very slowly through the winter. Narcissus ‘Tete a tete’ has been in the same pot in the same compost for years, they even get bedding plants on top of them for the summer. I cannot grow them in the ground, they disappear within a couple of seasons at most.
Six.
I put Camellia lutchuensis in my six of 3rd January when it had just started to open its very numerous buds. This is a species that flowers moderately over a long period rather than looking spectacular for a short period. It’s twiggy and the flowers and leaves are small, it’s growing in shade and has a bush behind it with similar sized leaves and flowers. All of which is aimed at excusing my rubbish picture of it. Hopefully you get the idea. This is the species that has given ‘Quintessence’ and a couple of other varieties that I grow, a lovely perfume.
What was I talking about at the top when I said I had nothing to get excited about this week? Ignore me. I resisted the temptation to put in slugs, fortunately there were six alternatives available. On 24th January I mentioned my slug traps. Earlier this week I set out nine of them for a couple of days and you may be interested to know how many slugs I caught in them. 237, an average of 26.3 per trap. I think it’s fair to say they work. I did a post on the method a while back.
garden ruminations 
It’s still a desirable Snowdrop though. Beautiful Camellias and an ugly slug statistic. I still can’t look on them as friends.
https://thequiltinggardener.wordpress.com/2026/02/14/six-on-saturday-14-02-2026/
LikeLike
Wow, that prostrate camellia is amazing! Is it readily available? And have I got anywhere to put one…? I am fascinated by your slug traps and will need to start buying pots of hummus to try it out… Thanks for hosting, Jim, as you do so ably each week https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2026/02/14/six-on-saturday-ready-and-waiting/
LikeLike
I absolutely love all your camellias, what a joy. And a cheery pot of ‘Tete-tete’ is a lovely sight in February.
LikeLike
I did not know there was such a thing as a prostrate camellia! Would have been so great at my previous garden which had lots of different levels.
I planted lots of two different very common snowdrops over a few years and this year have had none appear. And yet my crocuses are still rampant. No idea why. I wanted clumps of established snowdrops!
My six publishes early before I even wake up. Here it is….
LikeLike
Thank you for sharing the Camellias. I can’t grow them here because my climate is just a bit too cold. They’re lovely–especially ‘Mimosa Jury’ and ‘Francie L.’ And that combination of the beautiful ferns and the flowering Narcissus and Camellias is attractive, too. I have nine items this week–too many to participate. But I’ll join in regularly in the weeks ahead.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My six would have looked so much better today! Late adding my link because I’ve been out in the garden all morning. Joy.
https://wp.me/p88ZiK-cPn
LikeLiked by 1 person
A beautiful selection this week, Jim, and thank you for now showing off your current slug collection. I’m grateful we don’t have the challenges with snails and slugs you have, though we do find them occasionally. Or rather, find the slime and damage left behind… But I love your Camellia photos and particularly the grouping with Narcissus, Camellia, and a happy Polypodium. I wasn’t aware of prostrate Camellias, and your stone wall certainly shows it off beautifully.
My six are all about green in our garden this week: https://woodlandgnome.com/2026/02/14/six-on-saturday-grateful-for-green/
I’ll hope to have flowers to share by next weekend.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t think Camellia ‘Quintessence’ is usually prostrate; it’s not described as such in the literature. It suits me fine that mine is and I will keep it that way if I can.
LikeLike
I discovered 6 on Saturday this morning and thought I’d have a bash! https://potsandplots.blog/2026/02/14/six-on-saturday-14-2-2026/
LikeLiked by 2 people
A very warm welcome to you. Now, lets see what you’ve got…
LikeLike
The camellias are always a hit in your photos for me. That is a very good tip on the slugs. I shall file it away. My snowdrop are also awake.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is so lovely to browse and enjoy your camellias. Camellia ‘Mimosa Jury’ is absolutely gorgeous with those curling edges and the form of Camellia ‘Quintessence’ was a surprise.
Here are my six: https://frogenddweller.wordpress.com/2026/02/14/six-on-saturday-whats-left-after-a-deer-visit/
LikeLiked by 1 person
I had hoped to be posting today but I am having technical problems with my wordpress theme. The default setting has changed to an unreadable typeface. Trying to sort this out atm. Wish me luck.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Good luck!
LikeLike
The camellias are amazing, and I also really like the snowdrop. It’s very interesting-looking with those markings.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely camellias, such variety! Like your snowdrop too, I find that G. elwesii inner markings tend to vary, they are all very lovely. Your crocus are looking very happy, hope they enjoy the sunshine today.
My six are here…………………..https://www.leadupthegardenpath.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely camellia Jim, mine will be another 4-5 weeks before they flower. The east of Scotland feels like a gardening world away from your bit of the UK. we are still in full winter, but finally some SUN:
https://balmerino.ddns.net/geekygarden/
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was talking to my sister north of Aberdeen yesterday and she still had snow on the ground. As you say, it seems a world away.
LikeLike
Dear Jim, I’m glad I usually write my blog before looking at yours.
I have a smattering of spring bulbs to share in my six this week, with a much smaller selection of blooms, including crocus and daffodil. I aspire to have a carpet of crocus like yours one day 🙂
This week I’m also sharing a lovely little rainbow, some butterflies from last year, and a fascinating film about coppicing. And I’m wondering why my web data shows a surprisingly high number of visits from China, and how to say hello to them politely 🙂
https://doingtheplan.com/2026/02/14/rainbow-crocus-daffodil-viburnum-forest-film-butterflies-and-hello-world/
LikeLiked by 1 person
I made a comment over on your blog but I think it went kaflooey when I was trying to fill in my name, just to say that my and my spouse’s blogs also got “booming stats” from China, and I read that it was AI “scraping” websites for information, I guess about how to write like human beings. And that some blog hosts let you block whole countries, but WordPress does not.
LikeLike
I never look at where my web visits come from. There are things I’d rather not know.
LikeLike
A lovely selection of Camellias and Snowdrop ‘probably Galanthus elwesii’ is always a beauty. I’m going to check if my Crocus are still standing after a blustery night https://onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com/2026/02/14/six-on-saturday-14-february-2026/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, I remember ‘Francie L.’ It was one of the relatively popular cultivars of the Camellia reticulata types. I do not think that we propagated it, though. If I remember correctly, we brought in small grafted specimens and grew them to larger sizes. We also grew a few Camellia lutchuensis.
Here are my six.
https://tonytomeo.com/2026/02/14/six-on-saturday-last-wednesday/
LikeLiked by 1 person
That snowdrop is cute! Still waiting for mine to bloom here. I see your garden is quite flowery, much more so than mine at this time of year… https://fredgardenerblog2.wordpress.com/2026/02/14/six-on-saturday-14-02-26/
LikeLiked by 1 person