Today was cloudy and threatening to rain all day. It’s still quite cold up here on the mountain but that hasn’t stopped these crimson camellias from blooming profusely. I gather armfuls this morning ready for my vases.
Hope you’ve all had a peaceful weekend.
September has come and gone and I realise my camellia identification has paused. This is mainly due to the vast amount of information and images available and the fact that it is quite confusing. Just when I think I have identified a particular flower I view another even closer to my own.
Therefore, I thought I’d wait until such time as I can visit a camellia show in person. In the meantime, here is a selection of our much loved and admired blooms.
By the way, most of these have been flowering since August.
I hope you have enjoyed seeing this array of camellias. We have lived here on the mountain coming up to seventeen years in November and I am constantly grateful to the previous owner who had such vision to plant camellias. They are scattered in all areas of the garden and once established do not need much attention – pick and enjoy.
Keep gardening and stay well. You can follow me on Instagram @crabandfish_garden, too.
A certain beauty, in these times of uncertainty.
So much wonder and awe in our gardens – stay well friends and be botanical, always.
Thankfully, we have had much rain and warm days. The hot air is trapped here on the mountain – no better place to have breakfast than in my misty glasshouse.
A walk around the garden always reveals some special treasures!
Take time to “be botanical”. 😊
The winter seeds are planted, the garden raked, pots spruced up, house secured, cats and magpies fed and chores completed. 
Time to travel back to see family in Prague, Trieste and Rijeka. Please join me as we revisit some wonderful cities and beautiful gardens. Happy gardening!
The month of May is at a close and so too most of the trees in our garden have shed their autumnal foliage. In the house, the wood fire heater has been cranked up and we have braced ourselves for some wintry weather. Here at 700 metres altitude we sometimes get snow, certainly we experience ice and frost. However, the garden copes very well. This year autumn has been very dry with some trees going into distress. Now, the rains have come, and it always amazes me to see the first pop of camellia buds.
I am in the garden every day no matter the weather. Last weekend we set fire to some very large mounds of debris, accumulated throughout the summer. The Country Fire Association sets the fire season and we cannot light any outside fires, but once this is lifted, usually the end of April – this year it was the 3rd of May, we can begin to burn off. Our neighbours gather around, and we celebrate the arrival of cooler weather and banish the thought of bushfires from our minds – albeit until next summer.
We have a saying here on the Mount – “all summer we fear seeing smoke and all winter we create smoke” – smoky mountain indeed. Happy gardening everyone – no matter the season where you live.
A cool morning walk – even the horsies are rugged up! A very dry start to autumn.
Life is like a garden:
sometimes plentiful,
sometimes sparse,
greener than others
or drier than some,
but no matter what the season –
always looking for the sun.
Be happy; be botanical.
Appreciating all the seasons of life🌷🌹🌲🌿
crabandfish garden 