My Winter Garden

Winter, well officially it starts in three days. – can you believe that!

Long cold nights, short drab days.

Well no. There are still many sunny days to be enjoyed, and definitely not drab. Not in my garden. A garden can be colourful all year round.

For colour in both autumn and winter my favourite are camellias. With the backdrop of rich green  leaves their prolific floral display is spectacular. They are one of the most versatile plants for any size garden. The sasanqua variety is blooming right now. The flowers just keep on coming. They create a pale pink petal carpet that enriches the soil. I keep them pruned nice and tight, water when dry but, once established, they reward without too much extra care.

This season the buds on my japonica camellias are so prolific, must be the ash from the January bushfires. Good to see a benefit come out of disaster. My azaleas are still showing a mass of vibrant reds and striking oranges. The pinks will emerge late July early August, then  bloom right into Summer.

I am not winning the battle of fallen leaves as each year the Japanese Maple spreads and grows forever higher. But it does work well creating shade in the Summer then letting the winter sun spread warmth and light into the garden.

It’s sunny for a few hours today with no rain expected anytime soon. I am in the front garden now thinking my fuchsias look thirsty. Any excuse to play in my sanctuary.

This week I’m lending out my blog to my friends. Today’s post is by Bethia, whose great delight is gardening (and she’s bloody good at it).