Off-Season Flowers

We don't really have an off-season, per se, except the middle of the summer when everything just sort of sighs and either keels over dead or goes dormant for a month or two, but foliage and blooms can be a bit thin in the landscape in January and February, so I wanted a Camellia.

So on my way home from taking a somewhat silly beekeeping class in Sebastopol this morning, I stopped at one of the many fine nurseries up there and bought myself one. This is the time of year to buy them, when they are flowering, so you can see what they look like in bloom.

And here it is. I chose a variety called 'Tama Peacock' (inexplicably mislabeled 'Peacock Tam' by the nursery). It's a somewhat weeping variety, with semi-double flowers. A very striking tree.

Camellias theoretically grow to be about 8 ft. tall, but can get very wide (horrid things happen when people plant them as if they were shrubby foundation plants; they are trees). So I planted this one in the shady driveway area between our house and the neighbor's. Then I top-dressed it with a sack of coffee grounds from Starbucks.

And here is the blossom. A deep pink with white edges.

In other news, we have germination, at least for some of the seeds in the first batch. The Bellis perennis (English Daisy) are quite happy with conditions in the germination trays, I guess.

And further proof that spring begins in February in this state: we have bud break on the quince.

If you're seething with jealousy, you know how I feel when I hear it's raining in Michigan in July. I'm just saying.

Technorati Tags: california, camellia, flowers, quince, springtime, trees

posted by ayse on 02/16/08