Several plants have burst into bloom during the last week, some more of a surprise than others – how I could have missed the conversion from bulging bud to utmost perfection of Camellia japonica ‘Nobilissima’ I do not know, but isn’t she beautiful? So pure and white and unsullied – and with 6 or 7 younger siblings to follow. She was only planted twelve months ago so is obviously happy where she is – hurrah!
In the same hedge border bed, under the dwarf plum ‘Czar’ (also planted this time last year) the white Anemone blanda (top left) are pushing their way through with an odd flower bud evident here and there. I envisage a bank of them here in due course, recalling a visit to Birmingham Botanical Gardens some years ago when I first noticed the impact of a dense planting of them, albeit in mixed colours. There are other colours in the garden, a few supposedly pink (bottom left) under the magnolia, some blue (top right) in the blue & white border (disturbed by various upheavals at that end of the garden, and of course that enchanting carpet of Anemone nemerosa (bottom right) in the woodland. The latter has been spreading since the originals were planted way back in 2000, but now they are well established the rate of growth is much quicker. I don’t know how quickly the new blanda will spread as the pink and blue are only odd singletons, but at least their emergence rate looks promising.
Rambling in the Garden 
I have caged my wood anemones today, they are one of Ptolemy’s favourites. I lost the lot last year. When they’ve flowered I’ll move them somewhere safer I think.
Nobilissima is a real stunner!
Not individually caged, surely, along with all your agapanthus? He does like the choice flowers, doesn’t he, that Ptolomy fellah-me-lad? Glad we don’t have pheasants in our garden!! 🙂
Just one big cage over the top of the lot, to prevent beak access! Yes, he is discerning. He seems to go for white and blue. With a quick skirmish into purple for the fritillaries..
A lovely Came!lia and so early. The anemones are getting going now and aren’ t they a delight? The little blue blanda and the larger ‘ White Splendour’ are looking great at the moment.
Is it early for camellias? It is a few years since I had one, which I lost after I moved it one year. I love the way the anemones push their leaves through and then unfurl – must order some more blue blanda and will add it poste haste to the note attached to last year’s PN catalogue. I am certainly thrilled the wood anemones are so well established now – it helps to make the woodland look more natural
The lovely blue Anemone blanda seeds around and spreads quite quickly. I haven’ t got any Anemone nemorosa out yet. They come a bit later. None of my Camellias out yet.
Yes I agree – you will get loads of tiny seedlings from the blue anemone blanda. Mine have been out for a while now and some white one’s have just opened. I wish they were separate, but not sure that’s possible as they are all mixed up with geum’s too. That is the problem with moving plants around. My white wood anemones, at least, are in different areas. They are not even through the ground yet. It always surprises me how suddenly they appear from nothing.
‘Nobilissima’ really has the wow factor Cathy! When you say that she has half a dozen or so siblings are they all the same variety? It looks as if you will soon have a sea of anemones.
Haha- oh Anna, sibling buds, not plants 😉 but I do look forward to that sea of anemones
I love seeing A. blanda and numerosa in woodland; they do grow here but my garden doesn’t have enough trees. I must go for a walk to check if they are flowering.
I remember being enchanted by the first woodland floor I saw covered in wood anemones. There are barely a dozen trees in our woodland, which I planted in 2000, but we obviously don’t have the same heat that you do – and more rain!
I love camellias and this one is amazing. I am off to google it and possible add to my plant shopping list. Thanks for sharing. Wish you had a ‘like’ button so that when visiting I could let you know I’d stopped in without necessarily leaving a comment each time. Think about it…:)
Hi Stepheny – thanks, and I am chuffed this one has settled down so well. I think there is a ‘like’ button (must be, as I get notifications saying people have ‘liked’ my posts!) at the top of the page, next to ‘follow’ and ‘reblog’ buttons. Perhaps it depends how you view it?
I love anenomes, so I was thrilled to see the odd nemerosa leaf appearing under the acer the other day, it is my second try and getting them established here, I had loads in my previous garden. Sadly the blue blanda anenomes seem to have mostly disappeared, only one clump is up, so fingers crossed it is happy and spreads. Magical flowers. And beautiful camellia!
I know my nemerosa took a few years to get going but there is no stopping it now – if you wanted some more ‘roots’ to help establish yours I can send you some if you like. You must have been so thrilled to see that leaf pushing through!
Oooh, yes please, if you really have some you can spare! I keep going out to count the leaves…
I’ll get those sorted for you and post them on Monday perhaps, so they won’t be in the post over the w/e. Are you at home next week?
Thanks so much Cathy, how exciting – yes we are in, in the middle of having main bathroom done, soon have a usable shower upstairs!