Each Monday Cathy at Rambling In The Garden invites us to share a vase of cuttings from our gardens.
There are two sasanquas in my garden along the north side of the house. They were planted a couple years after we moved here as replacements for wax myrtles (part of the original landscaping package that came with the house. The wax myrtles had unceremoniously become upended after a minor wind storm.) These camellias just happened to be the ones I found at the nursery the day I went to shop: Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana-Jiman’ and ‘Yuletide’. At the same time I bought one hybrid Camellia ‘Coral Delight’ (C. japonica × C. saluenensis) that blooms early spring. I had beginner’s luck with these three camellias—none I have planted since have survived. The rest of the garden is too sunny and harsh and probably too dry.
The two sasanquas provide flowers for the Thanksgiving table and continue well into January. ‘Hana-Jiman’ began this year around October 24, 2020 and ‘Yuletide’ around November 4, 2020. I find them difficult to arrange. Often they are simply floated in a shallow dish where the entire flower can be easily viewed, but this week I attempted to mix them with greenery and force them into a more complex design.
Look quickly. Twice already I have found the floor covered with camellia petals. Soon the foliage and anthurium harvested from a house plant may be all that remains.
Materials
Flowers
Anthurium
Camellia sasanqua ‘Hana-Jiman’
Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’
Foliage
Arum italicum
Camellia sasanqua
Gardenia
Vase
Black-glazed ceramic square, floral pin
Thanks to Cathy at Rambling In The Garden for hosting and giving us an opportunity to share flower-filled vases across the world. Visit her to discover what she and others found to place in a vase this week.