Tag Archives: Camellia sasanqua

In A Vase On Monday—Camellias And Gardenias

In A Vase On Monday-Cameillias and Gardenias

Each Monday brings an opportunity to join in Cathy’s weekly challenge called In A Vase On Monday where the goal is to fill a vase using materials collected from the garden.

I had planned a quick arrangement today of newly blooming chrysanthemums, but a traditional design seemed more appropriate to honor the flowers I selected instead. My delicate pink-tinged Camellia sasanqua is blooming. While I was collecting some of these fragile flowers I noticed the neighboring Gardenia jasminoides had offered up 4 or 5 more blooms. What a fragrant pairing these flowers made.

Camellia sasanqua

Gardenia jasminoides

A few pink and white Echinacea are used to fill out the arrangement. Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’ (Coneflower) is still going strong after many, many weeks in flower, but I have not used it much indoors this summer.

Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’ (Coneflower)

Gardenia leaves are dark green and shiny, making them a perfect background to accentuate the flowers in this week’s vase. For this traditional round design, I first established a spherical shape using the foliage, before adding the flowering materials. Eventually I removed some of the foliage as the initial quantity made the arrangement seem too heavy.

Foliage of Gardenia jasminoides was used to establish the round shape of the design.

The goal of today’s vase was to create a traditional round design.

A few sprigs of ‘Carolina Sapphire’ (Arizona Cypress) lend an airy texture to the arrangement.

‘Carolina Sapphire’ (Arizona Cypress)

Today’s container is a piece of crystal that once belonged to my maternal aunt. It seemed like a good choice for this formal floral design.

Crystal Vase

The scent of the gardenias and the camellias made assembling this vase such a pleasure today.

Camellia sasanqua

In A Vase On Monday-Camellias and Gardenias (with Echinacea)

Materials
Flowers
Camellia sasanqua
Gardenia jasminoides
Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’ (Coneflower)
Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower)

Foliage
Gardenia jasminoides
‘Carolina Sapphire’ (Arizona Cypress)

Mechanics
Floral foam
Crystal vase
6-inch plastic Lomey dish

Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting. Discover what delightful things she and others are placing In A Vase On Monday. Perhaps you will be inspired to share your own vase.

Flowers And Other November Ephemera

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Today there was a very early morning light rain, followed by fog—a mostly gray, dreary but mild day. The clouds lifted a short time before sunset and the sky colored a bright clear blue, before mixing with apricot, red and orange hues.

A few minutes earlier I went out to inspect the Irises–the ones that have been reblooming for several weeks. As welcome as they are I do find it unsettling to see Irises (and many neighbors’ Azaleas) flowering at this time of year. This is an unknown cultivar passed-along by a friend. The bud is lavender but opens to white. [Note: November 9, 2013. Thanks to P&B at Petals and Wings for identifying this Iris in her comment below as ‘Immortality’ –the only reblooming white Iris.]

Reblooming Iris germanica (Bearded iris)

Iris germanica (Bearded iris)–the bud is lavender color

Iris germanica (Bearded iris)

In September I had expected the Jackmanii Clematis to flower again but it did not. Today I found one perfect flower under the shelter of neighboring Muhlenbergia capillaris (Pink Muhly Grass). This Clematis has interesting seed heads also.

Clematis ‘Jackmanii’

Clematis ‘Jackmanii’ seed head

Surprisingly the Ginger Lily still has several blooms even after the October frost. The leaves and stalks are turning brown.

Hedychium coronarium (Ginger lily)

A nice surprise during this garden wander was finding that rich orange hips have formed on Gardenia jasminoides ‘Chuck Hayes’ along the western border.

Gardenia Hips -Gardenia jasminoides ‘Chuck Hayes’

The sasanquas this year are as pretty as they have ever been. The red one is Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’ but the name of the delicate pink and white one is unknown. They have grown up into each other over the years. The pink one was supposed to bloom in autumn and the Yuletide was to wait until winter, but obviously there can be a lot of variation. [Note: November 21, 2013-Thanks to Christina H. in Raleigh who identified the pink and white Camellia as ‘Hana-Jiman.’]

Camellia sasanqua

One last image for today is that of the Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’ I planted in April. This is a dwarf variety and maybe has managed to reach about 12 inches. It was touted as having nice fall foliage and it is beginning to display red stems and burgundy tinges on the leaves.

Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Ruby Slippers’

Fragrant Camellia

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I noticed on Sunday the Camellia sasanqua on the north side of the house is blooming. Its name is lost, but I like it for the soft color and and gentle fragrance. The best way to describe its scent eludes me, but it is refreshing and clean. [Note: November 21, 2013-Thanks to Christina H. in Raleigh who identified the pink and white Camellia as ‘Hana-Jiman.’]

Camellia sasanqua in northern border

November Walk On Campus

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Yesterday was Garden Bloggers Foliage Day (GBFD) over at Christina’s which always highlights some interesting leaf, texture and color combinations that can carry the garden year-round. Busy with Thanksgiving and finding my own foliage pretty unremarkable this month, I did not prepare a GBFD entry this time, but today during a morning walk that included a visit to Coker Arboretum, I had a second chance to concentrate on autumn foliage.

Coker Arboretum

Just five and a half miles away, Coker Arboretum is a five-acre treasure on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (my alma mater). It dates back to 1903 when UNC’s first Botany professor, Dr. William Coker, began creating an outdoor lab to study native trees and shrubs. During the 1920s through the 1940s Dr. Coker extended the scope of the garden to include East Asian species, which correspond closely to many plants in North Carolina.

In spring there are beautiful displays of daffodils, in early fall, red spider lilies. Today the majestic trees dominated the landscape, including numerous conifers and magnolias, American beech, Northern catalpa, American Elm, Japanese Maple, pond-cypress and bald-cypress.

Taxodium distichum (Bald Cypress)

This morning a pair of Ginkgos were especially colorful.

Ginkgos At Coker Arboretum

Fallen leaves from the Ginkgos covered the lawn, pathway and the bench too. When school is in session someone is nearly always sitting and reading on the teak benches that are scattered throughout the arboretum.

Carpet of Ginkgo Leaves

The slender tree in front in the picture above is a western Florida native, Magnolia ashei (Ashe’s Magnolia).The USDA plants profile lists this deciduous magnolia as endangered.

Magnolia ashei (Ashe’s Magnolia)-western Florida

Firmiana simplex (Chinese Parasol-tree) is fascinating in any season, but today the white bark seemed very stark.

Firmiana simplex (Chinese Parasol-tree)

Chinese Parasol leaves form dense shade in the summer. This tree is listed as invasive in some states, but not here as far as I could determine. Coker Arboretum now is now under the management of the North Carolina Botanical Garden (NCBG), whose staff is well qualified to evaluate this and all the plantings here.

Huge leaves of Firmiana simplex (Chinese Parasol-tree)

Coker Arboretum’s collection is extensive and there are many more interesting trees and shrubs to share. This final scene for today shows the bright red blossoms of Camellia sasanqua.

Camellia sasanqua

Camellia Sasanqua

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Autumn is the time for Camellia sasanquas and on Tuesday I noticed the first blooms of the season. Colored a milky white and tinged with rosy-pink edges, the open flowers of this species are 2-3 inches across.

Camellia sasanqua

The variety name of this particular Camellia sasanqua has been lost, but even nameless, it is a carefree, reliable fall bloomer. Maintained at roughly 6 feet tall, at this time of year the plant is full of buds and promise.

Camellia sasanqua

Camellias are evergreen and for that reason this and several other Camellias were purchased around 2003 to hide utility equipment at the northeast corner of the house. The dark green leathery leaves, as well as its dense form, make Camellias work very well for screening hedges. The blossoms are an exceptional bonus.

Camellia sasanqua

Planted tightly adjacent to the shrub currently blooming is Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide,’ which will produce bright red flowers by November. Sometimes cold weather will damage the flowers but most often there are plenty of red blossoms to float in glass dishes for the Thanksgiving dinner table.

[There is one other Camellia in the garden, though not a sasanqua. It stands further down toward the garden entrance and is a late winter-early spring variety, Camellia ‘Coral Delight’ (C. japonica × C. saluenensis).]

Someday I plan to add more Camellias to the garden. In particular I admire the white formal double flowers of Camellia sasanqua ‘Autumn Moon’. It really is lovely and I believe more white flowers are always useful. There is an open house this weekend at a local camellia nursery—maybe I will have a chance to visit and explore the Camellia world a bit more.

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Sense of place, purpose, rejuvenation and joy

Tag Archives: Camellia sasanqua

In A Vase On Monday—Camellias And Gardenias

Flowers And Other November Ephemera

Fragrant Camellia

November Walk On Campus

Camellia Sasanqua