Maybe it was mourning for my Virginia garden or maybe the crush of things to be done elsewhere after our move, but somehow it's been seven months since I recorded anything about this new garden. The whole winter has been one colorful surprise after another as the old camellias in our yard bloomed one at a time. I think I've seen them all now, but yet to identify each one. Here are a few in bloom now.
Unfortunately, the leaves are covered in what I am pretty sure is scale. Mama has helped me research what to do,
and it's looking like major surgery is the best bet: prune heavily and then treat with the oil potion as new growth starts. I'm usually so faint of heart when it comes to pruning, but my brother was merciless with his camellias and they have rebounded beautifully in just a year. Next week is Mardi Gras holiday for everyone here, so I'm sharpening the pruning equipment.Weirdly, the blooms don't seem in the least affected by this plague. Here is one that Mama thinks might be Hishikaraito, but I'm thinking maybe Herme. It's so exuberant, I find myself smiling every time I pass the arrangement on the table. There must be 100 buds on the shrub right now, so there's lots more joy to come! The blooms on the same plant are so different, ranging from solid cerise to this near white to (my favorite) the white-edged pink petals with the cerise flashes on them. I love the big bold stamen too.
This delicate bloom is on a tall, nearly skeletal, lichen-covered plant outside the kitchen window. I think it's the most delectable thing I've ever seen.
There are two huge plants in the front yard, both covered with blossoms for the past two months.
And then there is this monster bloomer right outside our bedroom window with such complex blossoms that I'm finding it difficult to search out a description:
Behind our house are several delicate pink japonicas - I'm still not sure if they are the same variety or different again. OK, now that I've posted them side-by-side, I see they are very different.
We've had so much rain lately that the resurrection fern on the oak trees is lush and the remnants of the banana trees and split leaf philodendron are pretty much compost before I had time to clean up the frost-bitten foliage. I'll update again after getting my hands dirty for the first time next week in LA soil!
