Just a reminder that we have over 200 different varieties of camellia available for sale and we are open this weekend starting 8.00 am and closing at 3.00 pm.
Drop in and see the sasanquas flowering and the early japonicas starting to flower.
C. japonica - Grape Soda - the bee is ours
Despite the forecasted rain, the camellias are still flowering – well the sasanquas are and a few of the early japonicas – and we have lots of beautiful camellia plants ready for sale – so we are still open to the public this weekend.
This the first of our opening days for this season, and already we have had enquiries for those hard to locate camellias. We don’t have them all, but this season we have over 200 different varieties/cultivars available – so drop in – you might just find a camellia you just must have.
We have had another 133mm of rain this week and it is raining again.
Great weather for playing in the garden.
Joey - the guard dog
We will have our first ‘open to the public days’ 13 and 14 April, then each weekend after that in April and May. This is the first time we have been open this early – it gives people a chance to see the sasanquas in flower – and flowering they are.
Early varieties like Mikuni Ko, Sparkling Burgundy have been out for a while and now there are heaps – Violet Weymouth, Gay (such a great single white), Rainbow, Pure Silk, Narumi Gata – lots and lots – and the birds and the bees are loving them. Who said you need natives to attract the Australian native birds and bees into your garden – we have rosellas, king parrots as well as honey eaters and honey bees and a couple of different stingless native bees. See pics in a earlier blog.
Also, lots of folk lining up for that first open weekend 13 and 14 April – people wanting just the one special camellia – someone the other day wanted just one Betty Ridley and couldn’t get it anywhere – and folk wanting to plant a hedge or screen – some 5 metres, one 30 and one 60 metres. So there is a lot of interest in camellias.
We are still doing mail order for small quantities, we try for a minimum of three, but drop us an email if there is something you are chasing after.
And the big news today is that we have lots of flower buds on C. nitidissima – one of the yellow flowering camellias. Sometimes a bit shy to flower, our shrub is now about 3 to 4 metres tall and has dozens of buds. Can’t wait to see flowers again.
A bit hot today – like 33C, but the start of autumn will see cooler days and then the camellias will own the garden – again.
Get out into it.
The Nursery will be open again Saturday 29 and Sunday 29 July – 8.00am to 3.00pm.
Apologies to the folk who visited this past weekend and who were turned away or found us closed. We had a bit of an issue which ended up with me in an ambulance and off to hospital – but nothing broke and we are back on deck.
So we will be open to the public again 28 and 29th July. Come for a drive, walk the garden – now that the rain has stopped – enjoy the camellias – and buy some, if that is what you would like.
Grafting – now is probably the best time to try grafting that favourite camellia if you are wanting to get a few new plants of difficult to acquire varieties. Quite a number of japonica camellias are inconsiderately difficult to propagate from cuttings which we prefer to take in summer (December and January for us) when the new growth is just hardening off, and many reticulata camellias just about have to be grafted to be able to get a nice plant within a reasonable time.
There are many places on the internet that will give tips on grafting. Now is a good time to give it a try.
Some folk have indicated that some of their camellias are looking poorly – and one possible reason for us is the considerable rain we have had lately in SE Queensland. Have a walk around your garden and see where the water runs, either on the surface or below the surface, see if the water lies around for a few days or the ground is wet and slushy for an extended period of time. These are areas that camellias will not like – it is quite possibly too wet. Camellias insist on a well drained soil, and moving your new camellia plants to a better position, or one prepared so as to give good drainage, will give you better results. Using coarse sand or gravel mixed in with the back-fill and mounding the plant up on a little hill is often sufficient to give enough drainage for the plant to survive those high rainfall events.
This is a great time in the garden with many camellias in full bloom, some just starting and the retics yet to reach their peak – our magnolias are starting to colour up with flowers on Felix, Vulcan, Picture, Brozzonni, Royal Crown, Butterflies, soulangeana x Rustica Rubra (one of my favourites) along with many michelias like Silver Cloud and All Spice, with their fragrance filling the air all around the garden.
The vireya rhododendrons are still flowering up with a dozen or so flowering with their heads of pinks, yellows, orange, bi-colour and reds splashing their colour around the garden.
Get out and enjoy it.
If it’s cold, put some extra clothes on, if it’s hot then take some off – just remember to be sun smart and leave your hat on!
What a great time of the year to be a gardener!
More open days in June and July as follows:
Sunday 17 June – 8.00 am to 3.00 pm
Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 June – 8.00 am to 3.00 pm
Saturday 30 June – 8.00 am to 3.00 pm
Queensland Garden Expo Friday 6, Sat 7 and Sun 8 July – Nambour Show Grounds – see us there – www.qldgardenexpo.com.au
Saturday 14 and Sunday 14 July
Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 July
Probably more later. Just call if you would like to visit at other times.
We still have many varieties available for sale – about 175 – but we are out of some – still a few thousand plants available. We are happy for folk to visit and just wander the garden – it’s not a display garden, but you can see a couple of hundred named camellias in flower as well as a number of vireya rhododendrons. The magnolias have a few flowers and will start in ernest in the coming few weeks.
Look forward to seeing some of you.
Our nursery and gardens will be open to the public for a number of weekends now that the camellias have started flowering. See about 400 garden camellias in flower and hopefully some vireya rhododendron and magnolias.
We have over 200 varieties of camellias available for sale with about 40 varieties of sasanquas, about 150 varieties of japonicas and hybrids, and a number of reticulatas and species. Not all varieties are available each year.
We also provide a mail order service to the east coast Australia mainland only. We prefer to have a three plant minimum. All plants are available in 140mm pots. Just email us and we will communicate directly with you regarding details.
We will be open on the following days – 8.00 am to 3.00 pm
Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 April
Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 April
Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 May
Saturday 12 May
Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 May
26 and 27 May – closed – see us at Beerwah at the Glasshouse Sustainability and Garden Expo – Sunday only
Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 June
9 and 10 June – closed – see us at the Maleny Garden Club Gardening on the Edge
Other dates to remember:
Queensland Garden Expo, Nambour Show Grounds, Friday 6, Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 July. See the web site www.qldgardenexpo.com.au
Kellyfield Camellias – open garden – Saturday 30 June and Sunday 1 July 9.00 am to 4.00 pm – 958 Kidaman Creek Road, Curramore, Maleny. Display of Camellia Reticulata and more.
Our nursery will be open to the public again this weekend, Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st August – 8.00 am to 3.00 pm – cash only please.
We have had a number of people enquiring when we would be open again – so – here we go. The stock we have is in 140mm pots – same as before – and we are out of some varieties. We do have a couple of thousand plants spread across about 140 varieties in stock, so we should be able to satisfy most needs.
Many of the reticulatas are still in flower and many japonicas are still spot flowering. The cool weather appears to have extended the season somewhat. Species like Tsaii have just started flowering and most of the japonicas are putting on nice fat growth buds just waiting for September when the weather will be warm enough for the new growth to start.
To prepare for the new growth, now is a good time for us – South East Queensland – to do some pruning, if you want to shape your plants or just prune them down to size. You can also fertilise to help new growth on the way and mulch to keep moisture in the soil.
Those of you in cooler parts probably need to leave these exercises for another month or so.
The magnolias are flowering beautifully and we have been very pleased with how well they are doing for us. Felix and Vulcan have flowers, Brozzonii, Merrill, Galaxy, Royal Crown, Soulangeana x Rustica Rubra and Iolanthe have been flowering for weeks. Denudata, or what we purchased as denudata from a local nursery, has disappointingly flowered yellow – nice – but not denudata. The girls, Susan, Jane and Ricki are all in flower and have been a real pleasure for the past weeks.
What a great time of the year to be a gardener!
Camellia Glen Nursery will again this year have a very extensive range of camellias available at the Qld Garden Expo. This Garden Expo is acknowledged as the best event of its kind and well worth a visit for every garden enthusiast, or anyone who just enjoys a great day out in the garden. See the website at www.qldgardenexpo.com.au
Although we will probably not have every variety that we grow at the show, we will have about 120 varieties of camellia sasanqua, japonica, hybrids and species. We will also have a range of Vireya rhododendron. Come and see us there.
We will be open to the public again for three weekends following the Expo:
Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 July
Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July
Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 July
Each day 8.00 am to 3.00 pm. No EFTPOS.
Just a quick reminder – the nursery will be open to the public this weekend – 2 & 3 July from 8am-3pm. After a little bit of rain recently the garden is refreshed and the blooms are beautiful – worth a wander.
We have arguably the most extensive range of camellia varieties in South East Queensland and we have hundreds of plants in stock. Check the variety list on the website – not all varieties are available at this stage in the season.
As well as that we have a plant stall at ‘Camellia House’ – part of the Australian Open Garden Scheme – at 116 Palmwoods/Woombye Road, Palmwoods, open 10am-4.30pm Saturday and Sunday, 2 & 3 July 2011.
Don’t forget next weekend – 8, 9 and 10 July 2011 – Queensland Garden Expo in Nambour – Queensland’s premier garden event. Check out their website on www.qldgardenexpo.com.au
Misty morning
Our open days will be on again for the next two weekends;
Please be aware that we do not offer EFTPOS – cash only please.
The following Sunday 29 May, we will be at the Glasshouse Sustainability Expo at Beerwah – see us there.
Half Aspasia Macarthur, half Margaret Davis
