Camellia Archives - Oceanside Garden

April is starting off with plenty of plants in bloom. A couple of the little bulbs have shown themselves in the past couple of days. One is Tritonia deusta, a very pretty small flower in a delightful orange color with interesting markings on the petals. Those markings allowed me to identify it as being subspecies deusta.

Another flower provided a little surprise. This little Gladiolus came into bloom. It was meant to be G. watsonius, but as soon as the flower opened up, I knew it was something else. A little research led me to believe that it is G. virescens. IT really is quite pretty up close, but it is not something you would notice from more than a few inches away – but not everything has to be a show stopper.

Being that it is April Fools Day, I have a conundrum for you. Which came first, the tea or the tea pot? Find out here.

April 10th

So much is blooming, budding, and growing that it is almost a struggle to keep up with everything and to enjoy that special moment that each plant or combination gives us. The Dog’s Tooth Violets opened today and in Tuxedo lane the Leucadendron ‘Ebony’ is providing a backdrop for the white Fritillaria. We watched a seminar put on by the Rut Bancroft Garden this morning titled Proteaceae and Pals. While interesting, I am beginning to think that my knowledge levels are approaching that of many experts even though I known I don’t yet have the years of experience growing them.

In the greenhouse, cuttings of Grevillea aquifolium were potted up with 100% strike rate. Not quite so good on the Grevillea thelemaniana with 50% and one that may still root. Lots of stuff coming out to harden off and I managed to keep both of our peppers alive over winter, and are now growing on strong, plus it won;t be long before we get our first tomato!

April 21st

It is always difficult at this time of year to keep the activity log going. The weather is improving and there is so much to actually do in the garden that it become more difficult to write about it. Progress has been made on the garden for the “giants.” This garden area features plants where something about them is outsized. That may be in flowers or flower stalks, trunk shape or size, leaves etc. The garden is traversed via a boardwalk which is now finished. It is trimmed and stained, plus the transition pavers that connect it to Wimsey Way are finished. A fair amount of the space has been cleared for planting and the Bauhinia is in. This tree is a bit of a gamble for us, but hopefully it will do well. It’s common name is the Purple Orchid Tree and while it could reach 35′ it will probably stay a lot smaller in this location. If successful, it will have 5″ wide blossoms in September through November.

Lots blooming right now, including the cherry and this lovely German Iris. While it is in the cutting garden, it is just too nice to pick right now and this is the first time it has bloomed.

Iris germanica 'Halloween Halo' — Iris germanica ‘Halloween Halo’

April 22nd

Yesterday I noticed a bloom on one of my Leucadendrons. This is an important plant for me because it proves that I can grow and get it to bloom in our Oregon climate. All of the other Leucadendrons that have bloomed here had already set bud when purchased, but this one came from a cutting taken in 2019 and has been grown on from there.

Leucadendron floridum 'Pisa' — Leucadendron floridum ‘Pisa’

Weather

As the month comes to a close, we knew that April this year had been a year of extremes. We were hotter, colder and dryer than last year, but it was the rainfall that was the real standout feature – or lack of it. This year we saw a total of 1.34″ that came in 4 rain events across the month. Last year was 3.15″ spread across 13 rainy days. While that may sound like a dramatic difference, 2019 was very similar to this year and 2018 had over 10″ of rain. So, while Portland had their driest April on record, we were close to other years.

Plant

Which came first?

There is probably no way to win the debate as whether the chicken or the egg came first. This conundrum may be a little easier – which came first the tea plant or the tea pot? In this case it was the tea plant, although the idea originally stemmed from a tea pot. When out shopping for artifacts to go into Whimsy Way, our version of a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, we acquired a few tea pots, bowls and other things with interesting shapes or colors. At the time, I knew I wanted a teas plant to go into one of the tea pots.

The Tea plant

Not any Camellia would do – it had to be Camellia chinensis – a true tea plant. I had searched online and wasn’t really happy with what I was finding at the prices they were asking. Then, while we were going around a nursery, sitting on their herb section was this plant.

Perfect, except I then realized that none of the tea pots that we had were large enough. I don’t mind doing a little Bonsai on it, but once this goes into something like a tea pot, it is not coming out. It is often bad enough getting a plant out of a regular container if it has been allowed to sit in there for a couple of year.

The Tea pot

So – once again we go off antiquing in the hopes of finding a suitable tea pot. This one caught my eye based on its shape. While a little bigger might have been better, we shall see how well it does. I also know that this is a water pitcher and not a tea pot, but hey, give me a little slack. It is now in its new home and recovering in the greenhouse for a while given the amount of root disturbance it took. 5 holes were drilled in the bottom of the pot, so hopefully that will provide sufficient drainage.

While the original plan called for this going along Whimsy Way, there are two problems with that. First – it hasn’t been constructed yet, although I am sure it will be during this season. Second – deer love Camellia and they wouldn’t give the poor thing a chance. It needs to stay somewhere more protected. It could live in the tea house – even though it is not quite the right “tone” for that.

Wherever it goes, I hope it provides people with a little chuckle when they make the association.

Gardener’s Log – April 2021

April 1st