Camellia 'Something Beautiful'

I caught a glimpse of something pink in the woodland garden as I was driving away from my house last week. I was going too fast to be certain, but from its location I thought it had to be Camellia japonica 'Something Beautiful.'

Blooming at last! This plant has been a disappointment since I planted it several years ago. Each year it produced only two or three blooms, though I know one sometimes has to be patient.

Growers often create an artificial environment that stimulates early, heavy bloom set that attracts buyers but promptly stops when the plant encounters normal garden conditions. It may be several years before the plant adapts and begins to produce abundant blooms again. Very young plants especially may need several years to mature. Too much or too little water, extreme cold, or insufficient light are also causes of poor bloom production.

When I went to check, it was indeed 'Something Beautiful,' finally living up to its name. It wasn't smothered in blooms, like some of my other camellias, but there were enough to impress.'Something Beautiful' is a Southern favorite, with pastel-pink flowers, edged with darker burgundy. My particular plant produced a variety of blooms, as you can see here.All of the flowers in this post came from the same plant at the same time.

'Something Beautiful' is a bushy, upright grower, reaching 10-12' high x 3-10' wide. It has glossy, oval evergreen leaves. It will grow in US hardiness zones 7-8, and it will produce blooms from winter into spring in acidic, well-drained soil, high in organic matter.

To encourage good drainage it is important to plant all camellias high, with their trunk bases above the soil line. Protect the roots with mulch and keep the soil moist but not soggy. Light shade under the canopy of tall, deep rooted trees that allow sun to filter through is ideal. To promote good health, keep spent blooms and fallen leaves cleaned from under the shrub. Wait until blooming has finished in early spring to fertilize. Camellias don't need a lot of fertilizer; once every two or three years may be sufficient. When you do fertilize, use an organic fertilizer created for acid loving plants. Any pruning should also be done immediately after the plant has finished flowering.

Here in the Deep South, winter is the perfect time to plant camellias; consider this one when you want something beautiful!

A Good Day In January

I remember seeing the sun. It was warm and glowing and lit the morning like blessings from Heaven. But that seems a long time ago. January has been sodden to the core with day after endless days of rain and more on the way. All normal for my part of the country.A typical January skySomewhere to the north, this moisture translates to idylic drifts of snow and winter wonderlands. (I can call it idyllic because I don't have to live with it.) Here we get mush.

Today between rain showers I went for a walk with Autumn the cat. An over exposed photo gives Autumn an angelic look. Talk to the ground squirrels about that!While I admired spots of color in the landscape, Autumn frolicked amidst the wet shrubs and rolled in clumps of moss and batted fallen twigs. She pretended to stalk hidden beasts until she was tired, then finally curled up in my lap as I sat on the arbor swing. It was a good day in January.

The old camellia bush at the top of the hydrangea walk is covered with buds and blooms. The air was warm today, but I fear for the shrub as freezing temperatures are predicited by next week, and I don't know how the flowers will do. For now the camellia is beautiful. I like how the bright red flowers contrast with the persistent dried blooms of the hydrangea 'Limelight'.

The hellebores are also beginning to bloom. These fabulous flowers will persist for months, beginning in purple, pink, and creamy colors, eventually all shading to pale green. For more information about hellebores, see my post, The Underworld of Hellebores.

Pieris japonica 'Cavatine' is growing well down from the patio. This dwarf andromeda grows to about two feet tall by four feet wide. It has lily of the valley type buds which swell over the winter, and they are nearly as pretty as the flowers.

Here are some more colorful accents to the gray January day:Clockwise from top left: I am amazed at this two year old decorative cabbage. It has grown atop a narrow stalk and is nearly two feet tall; Daphne odora 'Aureo marginata' is begiinning to bud; Nandina 'Firepower' is an evergreen shrub with lovely color year round; The first daffodil to bloom in my garden.

I really enjoyed all of these sights, but I was most thrilled when a Cardinal landed in a shrub about five feet from me.

I already had my camera in hand, focused in the direction of the shrub when this redbird arrived and posed for me, for just a few seconds — until he caught sight of Autumn! Could I have appreciated his scarlet vestments so much, if not for the gray background?