Camellias

Camellias are often found in old southern gardens growing beneath grandfather oaks.  The grandfather oaks here at My Garden Path are the perfect environment for these lovely winter blooming shrubs. 

Camellia Sasanqua 'Mine-No-Yuki'

Over the past year, four camellia sasanquas were added to the path.  At first, a lone 'Shishi Gashira' was planted beneath my bedroom window in the backyard garden.  It has bloomed beautifully and been pest free.  Since my budget was very small, this was a very small plant and looked lonely and lost all by itself. 


Camellia Sasanqua 'Shishi Gashira'



This winter two more bushes have been added under the window.  Another 'Shishi Gashira' and a white ruffly blooming 'Mine-No-Yuki.'  All are small but spaced to allow them to fill in over the next few years.  They are still blooming adding a much needed shot of color to the late winter garden. 



Camellia Sasanqua 'Yuletide'

Around front, a 'Yuletide' was planted in the entryway garden this past fall.  It replaces a gardenia standard that succumbed to mealybugs.  The cheerful Christmas red blooms greeted visitors all through November, December and January.  There is one last lingering bloom even now.  Its single blooms with bright yellow centers is quite different from the full, blousy blooms of the other sasanquas.

These evergreen shrubs will help add much needed structure to the garden.  They also will add beauty with their colorful blooms during an otherwise drab time for the garden. 

A Cold Calculating View

As I walk around the garden these days I do so with a view to assess what has worked well during this cold winter season.  I want to be sure to place more of these plants to help keep some structure going at all times of the year.

Sweet Alyssum, Lobularia maritima, is still blooming and reseeding on the sunnier side of the garden.  It and the Pansies, Viola x wittrockiana,  make a great winter annual combination.  There are lots of little seedlings of something sprouting up in that area.  I sure hope they aren't really weeds.  Since there were blanket flowers and some other butterfly attracting flowers there this past spring, I'm waiting to see what they turn into before pulling them.

Two baby Cardboard Palms, Zamia furfuracea, live along the path and amazingly they both have come through the cold unscathed.  The oak canopy must offer them just the right amount of protection.  This is just another example of micro-climates within the same gardening zone.  Often, I see plants that seem cold-hardy or heat-tolerant in another garden only to find they don't react the same way in my garden.  In this case the opposite happened.  I saw freeze-dried Cardboard Palms in another garden and thought for sure mine would never make it as my garden tends to be in a cold pocket.  The tree coverage seems to be the key to helping these little cycads survive.  The Neoregelia 'Burgundy' are doing quite well placed in front of the Sweet Almond bush.  The poor Sweet Almond, Aloysia virgata, while not seemingly affected by the cold, has had it's leaves pierced and beaten by an overabundance of falling acorns.

The Birdsnest Fern, Asplenium nidus 'Osaka', and Holly Fern, Cyrtomium falcatum, have earned their spots with their ability to not show even a smidgen of winter stress.  Definitely, I am on the look-out for more of these.

The Abutilon is still blooming and producing new leaves.  There seem to be many cultivars of this plant, different colors, and different flower sizes.  I do like the light peach color with dark red veining of this one, but I'm going to be on the look-out for some other colors too.  After the last December freeze some of the larger leaves turned yellow and dropped off.  You would never know it now as it is full of new green growth and weathered the January freeze just fine.  Sometime in February, when the promise of spring is more sure, I plan to take cuttings and spread this cold survivor around in other places along the path.  As an added bonus, the hummingbird visited this plant quite often this past fall.

Lots of Florida gardeners are singing the praises of Camellias this year.  This, Camellia sasanqua 'Shishi Gashira', is blooming in the backyard garden.  Two more Sasanquas have been purchased to add to this area, another 'Shishi Gashira' and a 'Mine-No-Yuki.'  The second one has a ruffly white flower which I'm hoping will be showing up in future posts soon as it is presently covered in buds.

I am thoroughly enjoying the glorious Florida weather we have been experiencing this week.  It sure gets the gardening juices flowing. 

My Favorites....This Month

December 2010 Favorites

This has been a busy month filled with Holiday activities from beginning to end.  Time for the garden has been short around here.  Most of the garden activity has consisted of bringing potted plants and newly rooted cuttings in and out of the house and back porch.  Watching the weather report has also taken up a lot of time here at My Garden Path.  There have been a few shining stars out in the garden this month in spite of my neglect and I certainly want to give them credit for the great job they have done keeping my garden from being just one big brown patch.

The two camellia bushes have been blooming all month providing lots of color and shiny green leaves.  I am seeing that I need to add more of these to my garden.  The roses have shown how much they love the cooler drier air by blooming profusely. The honeysuckle was purchased this spring just for it's cold hardiness and it is rewarding me by not only keeping it's leaves but also putting out wonderfully scented blooms.  Of course, the Christmas cacti shone bright this month.  It always amazes me how they bloom right on time.  I'm only showing the creamy white one but there are two other colors in my collection, a fuschia and a red.  The two big surprises have been the red shrimps and the flowering maple.  Both have been blooming since October and neither have been fazed by all the freezes we've experienced this month.  I will definitely be adding more of these.  Since they are easy to root from cuttings they'll even be budget friendly. 

Drop by Simply Susan's blog to share your December favorites.

Happy New Year!

Selective Sights After a Cold Winter's Night

The garden thermometer under the big double-oak showed 29 degrees this morning at first-light. 

Smiling Pansies

As a native Floridian who has never lived anywhere else, I remember cold winters like we have been experiencing these last few years.  However, I had been lulled into forgetfulness by the decade or so of milder winters occurring prior to 2008.

Bamboo, Multiplex 'Fernleaf'

I've lived on the same piece of property for 25 years now.  When the children were still small my gardening efforts were limited to a few hedges of ligustrum, viburnum and lots of azaleas.  All of those plants are cold-hardy and have never been fazed by winter.

Budding Azaleas


A few hibiscus bushes and pass-along bromeliads were in the landscape but I don't remember winter ever ravaging them like it has recently.

Native Saw Palmetto

The last four years have afforded a slower lifestyle that fueled a new interest in gardening.  Yep, just in time for a cold winter cycle to hit.



Flowering Maple

All the beautiful tropicals and butterfly nectar and host plants that drew me that first spring of 2007 gardening have taught me much.  Old stand-by plants once considered "boring" are now appreciated for the structure they provide during just such times as these.

African Iris

Oh, the tropicals and other tender perennials will always be loved and grown in this garden, but more thought is being given to a reliable frame-work to define the garden during the dormant months.

Shrimp Plant

This thought began after last January's eleven days of freezing temperatures.  By April, the thought was hidden beneath the exuberance of seeing those tender plants returning.  Soon, the thought of providing a form that would be cold-hardy was completely forgotten, or at least, ignored.



Sasanqua Camellia 'Yuletide'

A few reliable garden residents are rewarding my initial effort and refueling my resolve to follow-through better this next gardening year. 

My blog title says "Learning and Growing in a Florida Garden" and, albeit slowly, I am.

Red & White Delight

The prominent colors around My Garden Path this week have been the reds and whites of winter blooming plants. 

These red and white Christmas cacti bloom reliably every holiday season.  Several years ago they were purchased at my favorite fruit stand as tiny babies.  Planted together they now are intertwined and when they bloom it looks like they are one plant. 

It's difficult to have a favorite between the colors, but the white with that tinge of pinky red always commands my attention.  They grace the back porch table with festive flair most days but whenever holiday guests arrive they can be found prominently displayed indoors. 

It is hoped that the Yuletide camellia will become a reliable bloomer as the seasons pass.  As a new addition just this fall, it's buds are bursting with Christmas cheer along the front entry path.

 Each year at Christmas, poinsettias are purchased to place in the flower bed by the front door.  One of last year's plants was planted out in the back garden.  The first time ever to grow one of these beauties looks to be a success.  Bracts are coloring up and the plant has branched nicely. 

New poinsettias have been placed in the front bed for this year but there are no plans to keep them after Christmas.  They will be put in the compost pile.   In a way they will be a part of  the garden too, just in another form.

It's very interesting to watch the plants bloom and flourish in their season.  Until a few years ago most of the plants here were at their peak in the spring and summer.  Now, there are lovely things growing in the fall and even the winter.  There are not many true winter surviving plants around the Path but there are a few more than last year. 

Red, white and green colors  are heralding the holiday season and helping this gardener to quell her fears of frost and freeze....so far.

My Favorites....This Month

"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving."  Psalm 69:30

Simply Susan  invites bloggers to share their favorites each month on the 25th of the month.   My garden brings me joy all year long and so it is fitting to share my thankfulness for these favorite flowers on this day. 

The candy corn plant, Cuphea micropetala, was killed to the ground this past January and it was feared that it was not coming back.  A few spindly sprigs did return to bloom this month.  The blooms are pretty enough that it will get a reprieve from the shovel and given a chance to return to former glory.

Another favorite bush that isn't quite back to full size after being frozen, the Cassia bicapsularis, is popping out with it's lovely yellow blooms.  This bush has been providing suphur butterfly caterpillars with food since spring, yet is still able to produce a cloud of blossoms. 

Camellia sasanqua, 'Shishi Gashira,' was planted last January just after the freeze that took away so much of my garden.  It's still a very small bush, but it is loaded with buds ready to explode into bright pink double flowers.

Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide' is opening single red flowers just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. It should continue blooming right on through the Christmas season after which it is named. These cheery flowers will be greeting guests to My Garden Path when they arrive at the front door. 

My favorites for November are all, with the exception of the Cuphea, only winter bloomers.  The 'Candy Corn' will bloom much of the year if we have a mild winter.  I hope you are enjoying your November garden and will join Simply Susan in sharing your  favorites this month. 

I am thankful for the joy my garden brings.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Sometimes It Just Doesn't Work Out

I often think I have the perfect plant for the perfect place.  Research is done to learn the plant's needs as to water and light requirements, whether it is tender to the cold or can withstand a Florida humid and hot summer.  Even so, some plants just don't thrive.  One such plant is the Gardenia bush I planted at the front entrance to my house.  It was in bloom and smelling wonderful when planted.  Perfect part shade location with acidic soil should have been to its liking. 



Gardenia - May 2010


I loved enjoying its scent as I would pass by that little standard gardenia on the way to or from my front door.  Gardenias are Spring bloomers but maintain glossy green foliage all through the winter.  The green foliage in winter was one of the main motivations for purchase.


Gardenia - May 2010

You can guess where this is going can't you? The mealy bugs just wouldn't leave my Gardenia alone. I lovingly washed the leaves with soapy water. It thanked me by producing new leaves. The mealy bugs came back. I sprayed it with Neem oil. It produced very small new leaves this time. The mealy bugs came back. I washed it with soapy water. I finally admitted defeat.


The front entrance bed looked pretty pathetic with that brown leaved Gardenia standard and limp Caladiums. Something had to be done.

Camellia Sasanqua - October 2010

The Caladiums were clipped back to the ground to snuggle in the soil until Spring arrives again. The little Gardenia was placed at the curb for yard waste pickup. A new, lovely Yuletide Sasanqua Camellia was planted where the Gardenia had been.

 

Camellia - October 2010 
 Red Blooms w/ Yellow Centers Coming Soon


This is a Fall/Winter bloomer and while not fragrant, hopefully will add beauty to this area for a long time.  There is another Sansanqua Camellia around back that has done very well here at My Garden Path, so I'm counting on that as a sign that this new one will be happy too.  Time will tell.