Camellia

that are for us.

But then you get down into our Japanese area and you've got the Camellias and the Primula japonicas and a really special tree that we have in the garden.

And again, these were discovered by Robert Fortune as the Cryptomeria japonica.

But what's special about these trees are that they started life off in Hiroshima.

In the worship of Bacchus we have sacrificed too freely, and we have even transfigured the gory image of Mars.

Why not consecrate ourselves to the Queen of the Camellias, and revel in the warm stream of sympathy that flows from her altar? In the liquid amber within the ivory porcelain, the initiated may touch the sweet reticence of Confucius, the piquancy of Lao Tse, and the ethereal aroma of Sakyamuni himself.

Those who cannot feel the littleness of great things in themselves are apt to overlook the greatness of little things in others.

The average Westerner, in his sleek complacency, will see in the tea ceremony but another instance of the thousand and one oddities which constitute the quaintness and childishness of the East to him.

And it's not uncommon to see when people come, they really gravitate toward two categories.

Now we know there's six categories of families that come from Camellia sinensis, the tea plant.

And there'll be an extra category that we will call the non-Camellia sinensis stuff, otherwise known as Tissades, otherwise known as Herbals.

So I would tell you that the majority of customers that come here gravitate toward two things.

They gravitate toward black teas and Tissades.

Good morning, Graham.

Graham, I'd like to ask you about my Camellia japonica.

Yep.

It just seems to be a little bit too dense in the center.

Okay

...

the, the thing with japonica, Camellia japonica, is that I, I'm not a big fan of hard pruning.

Now, I saw what happened, uh, at, uh, Professor Waterhouse's beautiful garden, the historic garden called Erildene, when, uh, after, uh, Prof Waterhouse had passed away, uh, there were a lot of changes in, uh, garden management and what have you.

Particularly high quality loose leaf is a completely different category of experience, and the range within that category is extraordinary.

We're talking about a single plant, Camellia sunensis, that through different growing conditions, different altitudes, different climates, different processing methods, whether you wither the leaves, roll them, oxidize them, fire them, shade them from the sun, produces flavors as distinct as a pale, almost transparent Japanese gyokuro with its deep, savory richness and a dark, earthy pour that tastes like something geological, like you're drinking compressed thyme.

Mal.

The same plant.

I said, you know, we're close to this area.

Do you think I could go see the Camellia of 10,000 Flowers? And so they said, fine.

We jumped in the van.

We went up there.

Okay.

If the soil is reasonable quality behind the garage wall there, Camellia japonica, and you don't need to go for anything fancy, or even Camellia sasangua.

Camellia sasangua is hardier of the two, and I think you may find Camellia's, would grow behind that wall with low light.

As long as there's daylight, camellias will grow.

Japonica prefers shade.