Or to put it another way, notes from my day at Mount Edgcumbe yesterday. There were a lot of things blooming in the park yesterday. The sasanquas are in some cases going over, for example 'Hugh Evans', 'Tanya' and 'Plantation Pink'. Some, for example 'Narumigata', 'Bonanza' and 'Gay Sue' are still in full flow, a few … Continue reading Sasanqua season – 4
Author: Jim Stephens
Sasanqua season – 3
Yesterday, wanting a change from Mt Edgcumbe, I paid a visit to Trewithen. The garden is closed now for the season, reopening March 1st 2018, but head gardener Gary kindly let me loose with my camera. Part of the reason that the winter flowering camellias are not so well known is that many of the … Continue reading Sasanqua season – 3
Sasanqua season – 2
Sunday took me to the other side of Devon, to the garden of a camellia enthusiast with a particular liking for scented blooms. Outside of the National Collection it was certainly the biggest range of autumn/winter flowering camellias I have seen in one place. Some were varieties I was familiar with, some varieties I knew … Continue reading Sasanqua season – 2
Sasanqua season
I put this montage together to post on Twitter but couldn't do names. Here they are: Row 1 Winter's Toughie Unknown Hugh Evans Rainbow Daikagura Plantation Pink Row 2 Baronesa de Soutelinho Tanya Narumigata November Pink sasanqua Paradise Glow Row 3 Gloire de Nantes Winter's Dream Lavender Queen Gay Sue Show Girl Snow Flurry Row … Continue reading Sasanqua season
The season is under way.
It was late in the day before I finished my planned jobs and set off to see what I could find in flower. C. sasanqua 'Hugh Evans' is flowering in areas 1G and 10. 'Tanya' is out in 1G but the flowers are small and few in number. It's a variety with small leaves and a … Continue reading The season is under way.
First of the season.
I almost missed it, but today, in my greenhouse, I spotted my first camellia flower of the 2017/18 season. Camellia sinensis 'Benibana-cha', flowering on a scruffy little plant about a foot tall that has been in the same 2 litre pot for several years. It has plenty of buds to come but sadly its new growth … Continue reading First of the season.
What happens when nothing’s happening.
The flowering season for camellias at Mount Edgcumbe runs from October to May. Last summer I was still trying to sort out a host of nomenclatural issues from the 2015/16 flowering season. This summer there has not been much that I could add to that, so my last four weekly visits have been spent strimming … Continue reading What happens when nothing’s happening.
New shoots.
I have now spent fourteen months trying to identify with certainty the many camellias at Mt Edgcumbe which appear to be wrongly named. I have had my successes but they are woefully outnumbered by my failures. What is lacking is a range of characteristics that, if not set in stone, are at least reasonably consistent … Continue reading New shoots.
A Trio of Awkward Aussies.
'Jean Lyne' is an Australian variety raised in the 1940's. Its register description is semi-double white with pink stripes and flecks. Two sports are listed, 'Edith Linton' and 'Nancy Bird'. There is a plant labelled 'Jean Lyne' in Area 4D. I took these pictures of it yesterday. 'Edith Linton' seems to have been released … Continue reading A Trio of Awkward Aussies.
Unravelling Julia Drayton.
There are some groups of camellias that seem particularly problematic as far as correct naming goes. One such group centres around 'Julia Drayton'. The variety was found and named at Magnolia Gardens, John's Island, South Carolina but is thought to have come from Europe originally. No similar variety has been found in Europe so it … Continue reading Unravelling Julia Drayton.
Jim's Camellias 