On 2013-10-25 16:38:10 +0000, Jeff Layman said:

On 25/10/2013 11:25, Sacha wrote:
On 2013-10-25 10:15:44 +0100, Jeff Layman said:


I made a mistake about the other camellia - I just checked what we had
bought. We looked at "Crimson King", but eventually decided on C.
hiemalis "Bonanza", as the double flower had a little more going for
it. Now all I've got to do is find a suitable "hot spot" in the
garden for them!

I don't know Bonanza so I looked it up - what a beauty! My ex pa in law
grew Clematis up and through some of his Camellias and as long as it's
not a variety that's too thuggish, it looks spectacular and adds
interest once the Camellia has stopped flowering. He liked Camellias a
lot but there's a danger of people in Devon & Cornwall getting
over-Camelliaed! I've always wanted to copy his Camellia Walk though
which looks spectacular when in flower - sadly it takes rather more
space than we have and it is definitely made more interesting by being
on a very steep slope, imo. Unfortunately this pic was taken in
November so little was happening then. But at the very bottom, Istr he
had Clematis Madame le Coultre growing through one of the shrubs but
that's the only one I can remember now.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/93694401@N03/10473017854/

Impressive! Must look superb when in flower. But what else would you
expect on Jersey?
I wonder if Clematis alpina would look good through growing through
C.hiemalis "Bonanza"?

Charlie is the one to advise you on that. The idea is to have something
that won't smother the Camellia and take light from its leaves but
allow a certain 'use' to be made of it as a support for another plant.
The Camellia would have to be a bit mature though! Jersey is (mostly)
very fortunate in terms of climate but it's had a couple of hard
winters recently, whereas, when I lived there, one snowy winter (not
hard frost) in 5 years was more the norm. We did have one winter in
the 80s when snow accompanied by gales, so while you could see grass
poking through the snow on the fields and lawns, the lanes were filled
and impassable. The Camellia Walk is impressive in the photo because
firstly there's plenty of space for it so it's part of the garden and
not the focal point and also because it sort of 'sits' in the landscape
and one comes upon it by just walking around. I'm no good at all at
designing beds and borders because I want too many plants and muddle
myself, as a consequence. But in this particular garden, the origins
were empty fields, except for the bit right up beside the house front
and a walled garden, which was probably fruit and veg. For me, it's an
example of how thinking within the space available and not
over-cramming it does work on any scale.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon