Last spring, a gardener from North Carolina emailed me a question that stopped me in my tracks. She’d been reading the usual camellia companion-planting advice—the same azaleas and hydrangeas everyone recommends—and asked something wonderfully practical: “What actually grows there in nature, where camellias come from?” It’s a question I’d never been asked directly, but it … Read more
Every spring, someone stops by my patio and asks the same question while eyeing my collection of potted camellias: “Can I plant something else in there with it?” I understand the appeal completely. A 50-litre pot devoted to a single camellia can feel like wasted space, especially when you’re juggling dozens of containers in a … Read more
Three years ago, I redesigned a bed around my beloved Camellia × williamsii ‘Donation’. It had become a lonely specimen, gorgeous in February but surrounded by bare earth and the wrong neighbours. I realised then that camellia companion plants weren’t a luxury—they were the difference between a specimen shrub and a garden that sings for … Read more
Ten years ago, I stood beneath my oldest camellia—a magnificent ‘Donation’ japonica that had dominated a shady corner of my garden since before I bought the house—and felt a twinge of guilt. Here was this architectural marvel, heavy with rose-pink blooms every winter, and directly beneath it was bare, compacted earth. Not a single thing … Read more
A few years ago, my neighbour knocked on my gate and asked why my garden looked so private and lush while hers felt exposed to the street. I pointed to the dense wall of glossy green foliage running along my eastern boundary and said, simply, “camellias.” She looked genuinely surprised. Most people think of camellias … Read more
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
