Margaret Thornhill 
Some of my happiest gardening moments have happened in the dappled shade beneath a stand of old oaks. That is where I first discovered just how perfectly shade garden camellias can transform a difficult, underused space into something genuinely breathtaking. I remember standing under those oaks about fifteen years ago, frustrated by the patchy, moss-riddled … Read more
A few winters ago, I nearly lost my favourite container-grown camellia. She was a magnificent ‘Nuccio’s Gem’ — a formal double white Japonica I’d been nurturing in a terracotta pot for six years. One hard freeze, a forgotten layer of fleece, and a pot that drained poorly nearly finished her off. She survived, just barely. … Read more
A few years ago, my neighbor put up the ugliest chain-link fence I have ever seen in my life. I am not exaggerating. It ran the full length of our shared property line — about 80 feet — and it rattled in the wind. That was the moment I decided to plant a camellia privacy … Read more
Every November, my neighbor stops at the fence and stares at my garden like I’ve broken some rule of nature. “How are those still blooming?” she asks. Honestly, I never get tired of that question. Designing a camellia garden that flowers for six consecutive months didn’t happen by accident. It took years of planning, a … Read more
A few springs ago, I made the mistake of planting a gorgeous ‘Kramer’s Supreme’ japonicaall by itself in the centre of a new border. It bloomed magnificently. However, the rest of the season it just sat there — a dark, glossy lump surrounded by bare mulch. That embarrassing patch of empty garden taught me everything … Read more
Every spring, I get some version of the same question in my inbox: “Helen, can you root camellia cuttings in water, like you do with pothos or coleus?” I completely understand the appeal. Water propagation looks magical on social media. You stick a cutting in a jar, set it on a sunny windowsill, and watch … Read more
I still remember the moment I decided to try grafting camellias for the first time. I was staring at a leggy, root-knot-nematode-riddled Camellia japonica ‘Nuccio’s Gem’ that I desperately didn’t want to lose. The blooms on that plant were extraordinary — pure white, formal double, absolutely flawless. Losing it felt unthinkable. A fellow Master Gardener … Read more
A few springs ago, I nearly lost my only specimen of ‘Royalty’ — a stunning Camellia reticulata with blooms the size of saucers — to a particularly brutal ice storm. That close call pushed me to finally get serious about air layering camellias, something I’d been putting off for years. I’d always thought it seemed … Read more
A few summers ago, I nearly lost a cutting of ‘Nuccio’s Gem’ — one of my absolute favorite white japonicas — because I got impatient. I pulled it from the propagation box too early, convinced it had rooted, and snapped off every tiny root it had managed to grow. That single mistake set me back … Read more
Every spring, I do a slow walk through my garden with my morning coffee. One April morning, I stopped dead in front of my ‘Debutante’ Japonica. The new growth looked wrong — curled, puckered, and coated in a sticky sheen. I leaned in close and saw them: hundreds of pale green aphids on camellias I’d … Read more
