When I moved to my present house some six years ago there were two camellia bushes in the garden. I don’t know what varieties they are, but one has white flowers and the other white. They are the first flowers to appear each spring although the pink variety which blooms first is often damaged by the frost.
Both bushes are over ten feet tall and the pink one leans over the adjoining path. I did prune it gently last autumn so that there was room to walk underneath, but the weight of the flowers pulls the branches down.
The reason I mention this is that last week I watched a gardening program on TV where they demonstrated that you can prune a camellia right down to within two feet of the ground and within a year it will produce new shoots and flower the following year. I don’t think I will be that drastic, but am encouraged to know that I am unlikely to kill the bush.
We had some unusual visitors to our 3×5 foot garden pond the other day. A pair of ducks arrived and she rooted around the weeds while he stood guard on the bank. There is a large pond about half a mile away in a local park and I assume this is where they came from, but why they should leave that large area of water for my small pond is a mystery.
Two days later I saw three ducks in the pond, but before I could get my camera they waddled off down to the bottom of my garden where there is a small stream. I assumed they had flown in, but perhaps they had used the stream. Anyway there is no harm to the pond although I cannot see the frogspawn any longer..
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I, too, got a huge camellia bush with my house. Once it stops blooming, it is getting a haircut.
Delightful ducks!
Lovely camellias. It’s good to know that you can get a bit brutal with them if necessary.