Saturday 27th March, 2021
Outdoor rooms need walls... you need Camellias!
Hi
It's all go here as autumn kicks off with the arrival of a large number of the new seasons plants and it's not just Camellias. Over the next few weeks Ang has organised for Azaleas and Rhododendrons to start making an appearance in fact some have already arrived but there are a heap more to come. Also the Pieris or Lily of the valley shrubs so if you are out in the the garden centre and see empty space then you know its been cleared to make way for new stock.
It takes a bit of time to count and measure them, so we can display all the different grades on line, and then put them down in Alphabetical order, but it certainly helps make it easier to find them here.
It's not only plants that are rocking in... we had 20 pallets of pots arrive a week or so ago and they are all now unpacked and out there to check out. Just remember though that pots are pick up only so if you are looking for a pot for that special place then you need to come out and see it for real.
You know its Autumn when the Camellias arrive !!!
If you see a Camellia coming into flower now, take the time to sniff the fragrance as you can bet your boots that it's one of the sasanquas just starting to bloom, heralding in the Autumn. I know this because Sasanqua Camellias are always the first to flower, from now on, well there may be a few other minor species that do as well. I would say the flower type, range here is mostly informal doubles with a few singles and possibly just the one formal double that I know of, being Early pearly, but love them for their simplicity and fragrance.
There are many cultivars of sasanqua camellias, and are well worth checking out all of the flowers, but typically this Camellia species have smaller flowers and leaves and, often, quite a cascading habit. They also have the reputation of being hardy and the most sun tolerant but I personally think of Camellias on the whole as tough and hardy with little wrong with them.
Sasanquas are generally the species that one would choose as a subject for a hedge or topiary work or just generally shaping. Actually, if you look around at some properties, or older sections, then you will see they make pretty awesome, evergreen, small trees as well, it just takes a few years to get there. Alternatively you could keep them as a large shrub in the garden knowing they trim up readily.
Camellias would have to be my plant of choice for hedging as, on the whole, they are very hardy, long lived, very robust and can cope with quite severe trimming. I do also quite like that, dense hedge, look and the traditional deep green colour and of course there is the bonus of pretty flowers in the Autumn.
There is only one main season for delivery of Camellias, being Autumn, and like the roses, it is our years supply so if you are contemplating a hedge or shrubs for the border garden the range doesn't get any better than right now. If you have them on order we will be in the process of contacting you to let you know they are now in stock.
so... lets check out a few of the popular ones that we haven't had for a while...
Setsugekka This one is classic sasanqua with quite a simple, single, white flower sporting a yellow centre, dark green leaves and it forms the most amazing dark green hedge.
Silver Dollar is a fav of mine being a white informal double and again really nice green foliage but of note has a more dense form, leaves are closer together.
Early Pearly, which everyone loves the flower, being a classic white formal double.
Then there are the paradise series of sasanqua that are also very reliable. Check out
Paradise Helen that starts off with pink buds that open to an informal, double, white flower or
Paradise Pearl another informal double in white. Then there is
Little Lianne which has cutest small leaves and small, semi double, pure, white flowers.You can see I'm leaning a bit here to the white varieties but, of course, they are not just all white and
Yuletide is a great example of a red and one of the few reds in the sasanqua species again single and red with a yellow centre and probably the reason it's called yuletide. This beauty has compact form and makes a fantastic hedge.
Jean May is an informal double in soft shell pink and
Chansonette bright pink.
There is more to leaves than just green
Purple leaf Wattle AKA
Acacia baileyana purpurea and you have probably guessed that this small, quick growing, tree has purple leaves or at least the fresh new growth is decidedly purple. I imagine that this one would be a winner with any who dabble in flower and leaf artistry. If you kept it cut, like a large bush, then you would create a succession of foliage to get creative with.
Check out the foliage of
Osmanthus Goshiki. These pretty holly like leaves are beautifully variegated cream with what looks like splashes of green. Hedge it, trim it or just have it as a shrub, I can't go past its leaves.
Nandinas may be thought of as a tad old school but there are now some really vibrant new ones out there. Take a gander at one called
Obsession that has brilliant red new growth that ages to green... or another newbie called
Magical Lemon Lime whose new leaves start out bright lime green and mature to a deeper green. Both these Nandinas are compact, shrubby, awesome low maintenance and a great low border hedge option.
Phylica Plumosa or flannel flower is not about the leaves, though they are quite different, but another one for the florist artistry type with its soft creamy flowers that have an appeal all of their own. Grow in a sunny, well drained position.
Long weekend looming as Easter rolls around
It's all happening in the beginning of April and by my reckoning Easter is early this year. Good Friday, being the second day in April and on that note it's timely to remind you that we will be shut that day. (One of only two days the nursery is closed, the other is Christmas day) but rest assured, we will be open, for the remainder of the Easter weekend, daily from 8.30 to 5 pm. Easter Monday is a holiday so there will be no dispatch for mail orders until Tuesday 5th of April. Another holiday coming up is Anzac day and we wont be open until 1pm on the actual day and of course it is also a holiday on the Monday, under the new system, so couriers may also be affected that week as well.
Stock on sale
We still need to move some stock items and so all of last seasons roses are 25% off. The remainder of last seasons Camellias are all now off the web and marked for sale from $20. A small range of Apples that are well on the way to producing your next crop now 25% off and a selection of ornamental trees from just $10.00 to clear them out. Ang keeps adding other plants to the sale area so its worth coming out to give it the once over. I think you might even find some last season Rhododendrons in the sale area too, priced to sell.
Don't you just love the clear days of the Autumn, warm sunny days and those cooler mornings, though I daresay a tad more rain would be very welcome.
Enjoy this great gardening weather to get lots done and organised for planting as we roll further into the Autumn.
Have an awesome weekend
Cheers Lloyd, Tony and the Wairere team
