Pruning books tend to be unhelpful when it comes to pruning Camellias, typically saying that they require no pruning but may be cut hard if it becomes necessary. It's not how I go about it. This is Camellia japonica 'Bob Hope'. This had grown as big as I wanted it to get by about six…
Camellias
Six on Saturday – 20/3/2021
The frost and gales of last week are a distant memory and the camellias that were trashed have mostly made a good recovery, with others just getting under way. It's Camellias all the way down this week; if you don't like pink, look away now. Or you could go back to the running man's link…
Brrrr, baby, it’s cold outside.
The temperature dropped to -2°C overnight, -3.5°C the night before and -4°C the night before that. That's pretty cold for Cornwall and is what happens when you get a an easterly or north easterly air flow, low wind speeds and clear skies at this time of year. From all other directions the wind would be…
A wander round the garden.
The Rhododendron, Camellia and Magnolia Group South West Branch invited their membership to follow the example of their chair and post videos of their gardens. I can't compete with his and I can't persuade YouTube to let me upload it there, so I'm putting it here.
Six on Saturday – 22/2/2020
Too many twos in the date if you ask me. Actually managed to get a bit of gardening done yesterday, mainly chopping down grasses and Epimediums before the new growth gets any higher and makes it impossible. It looks barer, I'm not sure it looks better. A few more weeks will change that though, there…
Six on Saturday – 13/4/2019
I'm away gallivanting. Judging Camellias at the RHS show at Savil Garden. Which means I'm away from my computer and confined to an iPad. If I can pull this off it'll be a miracle. One. The blue riband class in camellias is the twelve. Twelve perfect blooms. Tragically the competitors who had staged their exhibits…
Six on Saturday – 23/3/2019
I suppose it had to happen. I've included a camellia in quite a few sixes and on a couple of occasions have indulged myself and gone with two. I wouldn't say it's the best year I've ever had for them but I do have several particularly good ones flowering just now so I'm going to…
Garden Camellia roundup
I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time looking at other people's Camellias for one reason or another. It seemed about time I focussed on my own. Don't ask me how many I have, I don't have a clue. There are several planted in the garden, more that I have had growing in pots…
Six on Saturday – 15/12/2018
After this there's just two more sixes to go and we're into a new year. It's cold and there's not a great deal happening in the garden, though I have camellias flowering, three sorts outside and four in pots. Some I have used before and don't want to repeat for now. For two of them…
The Sasanquas.
By mid October most people’s gardens are at best winding down. Such colour as is left is from late and weather battered Dahlias, Fuchsias, Salvias, the odd rose and the like. Very few plants chose late autumn for their main flower display and many gardeners have also given up and hunkered down to wait for…
garden ruminations 