The Berry Camellia and Floral Show

 This show was actually on last weekend and gives a terrific picture of what is in flower during the winter months on the South Coast of New South Wales in Australia. Sadly these events are not particularly well attended as ornamental horticulture loses ground to food production gardening.

Camellia Showtime

 The Illawarra Camellia Show was on the weekend before last and this year I just took some photos using an iPhone. Every year I go I see different ones which have never made an appearance before. Perhaps some open better or earlier depending on temperatures or other weather conditions. I have not tagged any of these pics as many are not available commercially which may frustrate those who are trying to track down a particular favourite and its name comes up in a Google search.
  For those further down the south coast, the Berry Camellia Show is on at Berry School of Arts in Alexandra street next weekend (August 2nd and 3rd). Details on (02) 44642061

Camellia japonica 'Katie'

Camellia japonica 'Katie'

(photo supplied)

Every flower tells a story...I had a request for this camellia from a lady, Shelley, in Perth Western Australia who lost her plant of it during a particularly hot dry spell in summer.(sounds familiar) She had been growing it for about fifteen years and it was a nice reminder of her daughter Katie as its flowering in July coincided with her birthday.

Camellia 'Katie' was bred by a retired cray-fisherman who named it after his grand daughter. However because he did not register the name as one of his it seems to have 'disappeared' from cultivation. Hopefully someone reading this may be able to let me know more about it so I can let Shelley know where she may be able to find one for her garden.

Norman J Sparnon

 Norman James Sparnon OAM (1913-1995)

Ikebana Master

 Norman Sparnon was born in Melbourne and is remembered there by a plaque in Jells Park, Glen Waverley, where he planted a tree in 1984 to celebrate 25 years of Ikebana International in Australia. As a young man he became absorbed by the learning of written and spoken Japanese and following his service as an Army Major during World War 2, he went to Japan to serve in peace time redevelopment, eventually living there from 1945 to 1958.
One day he went along to an Ikebana class his wife Mary was attending, to act as an interpreter, and became hooked on all aspects of Japanese floral art. "I was captured by the art right from the beginning. I felt I'd found something that matched up with my personality" he recalled later at the launch of one of his books. On return to Australia he lived in the Sydney suburb of Darling Point where he had a studio and ran an Ikebana school in the 1960's and 1970's , teaching both the classical Ikenobo and modern Sogetsu styles of the art. For Norman it was always far more than just flower arranging,"You become so very close to nature and understanding it." he said.
These days his timeless  books are fetching high prices and his last from 1970 The Poetry of Leaves sells for about $250.00. Trouble is you may just have to go to New York City to buy a copy, such is his influence outside this country.

 His first book from 1960

The illustrations below are of his use of camellias. In 1968 he wrote a book called The Magic of Camellias with E G Waterhouse

 Modern 'moribana' arrangement of quince and camellia

 Window arrangement with camellia and fasciated willow

 Red-lacquer plate with lichen covered pine and camellia

 Shoka arrangement of Ikenobo School

Single flower 'Ichirin' with incense burner

 Nagiere arrangement of quince and camellia

by Sofu Teshigahara founder of the Sogetsu School

 Pine and camellia in 'shin' arrangement

'tsubaki' = Camellia japonica

'to-tsubaki' = Camellia reticulata

'sazanka' = Camellia sasanqua

To prevent camellia flowers from falling in an arrangement, apply damp salt to the base of the stamens by means of a match.

The 'true blood' Camellia

 Earlier this year The University of Adelaide offered The Art of Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) as a free 'ebook' available for digital download. It was interesting to become reacquainted with this decorative artist who saw things as a pattern of black and white, influenced by, among other things, the Japanese woodblock print and who used the 'Japanese rose' or camellia as a motif in his work, for decorating voluminous kimono style clothes or as background wallpaper.

 'The Dancer's' Reward' from Salome

In feudal Japanese culture, the camellia was associated with beheading by a samurai. It was given this association because the flower drops to the ground intact,with the ground below a big camellia bush often littered with still perfect flowers as if after a battle. The short vase life of the flower still has some modern superstition attached to it, in that it is not given to a hospital patient or used in a flower arrangement unless accompanied by a longevity symbol plant such as a pine.

 La Dame aux Camelias 

Volume 3 of 'The Yellow Book'

Beardsley had another reason to have the camellia as his favourite flower. He had met Alexandre Dumas, the author of La Dame aux Camelias at Puy in France and was smitten with the subject matter of the book; about a young courtesan who dies young. Beardsley already knew his days were numbered and he died of Tuberculous at the age of 26. A copy of La Dame aux Camelias was placed in his coffin.

 'The Black Cape' from Salome

 In the 1960's there was a revival of interest in Beardsley as much of his subject matter had appeared too shocking for previous generations. Life Magazine in 1967 included some fashion shots with his work as background.

Mrs Harilaos Theodoracopulous wears an Adolfo camellia hat with a Bill Blass cocktail dress.....