Whichever path today’s gardener follows to this season’s trending garden sanctuary, you will find that including the camellia is spot on target. The camellia can boast of exceptional colour, texture, form and versatility.
Playing with the summer to winter transitional colour scheme is not only visually appealing, but can add significantly to our appreciation of changes in our natural environment. Use Camellia sasanqua ‘Yuletide’ and Camelia japonica ‘Bob Hope’ or ‘Debutante’ to carry the vibrant colours of your summer garden into winter or allow the more muted tones of ‘Buttermint’ and ‘Silver Waves’ show off the textures and forms that define your winter garden. Allow the richness of the blooms to contrast with the starkness of winter.
The relationships between varying textures of garden elements create an energy. This goes beyond the visual. We see and feel the smoothness of the camellia’s lush, evergreen foliage; we are excited by the contrasts of bold versus fine, rough, mossy, rusty…Combine this with the extraordinary variety of camellia forms in an airy woodland, a clipped and formal installation or a few pots on a patio oasis to achieve your design goal.
Winter camellias will grow in sun or shade. They are large, relatively fast-growing and sturdy. Their evergreen foliage is a rich, dark, glossy green. Trained espaliered camellias may be used as sculptural specimens, screens or hedges. Stronger pruned geometric forms establish mood and direct the eye’s flow through the garden. Taller columnar or conical forms act as focal points and accents. Repeat rounded forms for continuity or count on a taller dome-shape to open up and facilitate transition. Adapt this elegant shrub’s form to suit your purpose.
Yuletide Camellia
Camellia sasanqua 'Yuletide'