The RHS declares that camellia are “among the most glamorous shrubs” and that they are ideal in light woodland beneath deciduous trees – which is exactly what Glen Goyle offers:
The first camellias arrived in Britain at the end of the eighteenth century:
Camellias in Britain, an informal history – Paramount Plants UK
And as Ed Dolphin says, Sidmouth in winter is ideal for these glamorous shrubs:
January and February are the gloomiest months of the year, but they are the main flowering time for one of our visitors from China, the Camellia. Camellias are evergreen shrubs and trees that dislike the extremes of frost and hot sun, which is why they are so at home in our valley.
Camellias ‘were luxury status symbols’ and now they’re as common as a cup of tea | Sidmouth Herald
FOGG member John McGregor has been down the Glen today and has taken the first pictures of the year, showing how the bright colours really cheer up a gloomy day:
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Plus a couple of shots of the trickling stream:
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here are some more glorious photos of camellia from today’s FOGG working party member Katie Frost – and looking at the first picture below, she says: ” This is a camellia which we’d never seen in bloom before.”
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