Camellia Society, Adelaide Hills Inc. in Aldgate, South Australia | Community organisation

Camellia Society, Adelaide Hills Inc.

Locality: Aldgate, South Australia

Phone: +61 481 819 401

Address: Euston Road 5154 Aldgate, SA, Australia

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25.01.2022 Beautiful camellia at the Cedars in the Hills! Such an exciting time of the year... Bring on the blooms!

24.01.2022 We are thankful for an abundance of guilt free gardening time at the moment! How is your garden looking? :)

23.01.2022 Just a reminder that tomorrow is our final Open Day for this year, from 12 to 4. The drop of rain will have freshened up the garden and put more water in the creek. We will have an open fire in the refreshments room and plenty of goodies for sale. Full details in our event post.

23.01.2022 If you want to get your fix of a garden of camellia blooms before our Stangate Open Days start in September, head for the Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens.

22.01.2022 Wow, we appear to have had some hail in the Adelaide Hills this evening! I'm not sure that any autumn-flowering camellias will have any blooms left after that wild weather!

22.01.2022 Tomorrow is going to be a challenging day for our gardens, with a hot windy 42C forecast. So today is the day to prepare - water your plants and ensure roots are covered with mulch. New growth will be vulnerable. Watering is best in the cool of the day - morning and evening, but if you plant is looking stressed with drooping leaves, water then, don't wait. Pots will also be under pressure, so keep an eye on them.

21.01.2022 Thank you to everyone who attended our September Open Days this year. We have enjoyed hosting you in the International Camellia Garden of Excellence and showcasing the beauty and variety of camellias. Congratulations to the raffle prize winners, who will be contacted.

20.01.2022 Reminder that our meeting is on tomorrow night (Friday 16th August 2019), starting at 7pm, in Stangate House. Our guest speaker is Katie Steinwedel, a master landscape architect with the family company, The.GardenDepot. She specializes in residential projects, balancing hard forms with soft garden elements, so Katie should have some great tips for us.As inspiration you could achieve the look we have in Stangate Garden (our birdbath area).

20.01.2022 A reminder to members that this Sunday the 4th is our Stangate grafting day. Starts at noon. BYO understock, equipment and lunch. Stangate garden will supply the scions. Join with the members of Camellias South Australia for an enjoyable afternoon. Below are some of the bushes that are growing in Stangate that members can select from.

19.01.2022 Just a quick reminder that our next meeting is this Friday at 7pm in Stangate House. Our guest speaker is Greg Ruckert and promises to be an interesting talk. The pictured bloom is Night Rider growing in Stangate Garden, taken for the Camellias Australia Flickr collection. Check out the beautiful blooms on that site, or in person at our September Open Days (the first 4 Sundays in the month).

18.01.2022 The Camellia Society Adelaide Hills Inc. will open Stangate Garden to the public every Sunday in September from 12 noon to 4pm. We welcome guests to bring their own picnics to enjoy within the stunning grounds as we are unfortunately unable to provide refreshments on site this year. There will still be a range of beautiful camellias for sale as per usual. Guests will be required to follow our strict COVID-Safe Plan and there will be trained marshals in attendance to ensure that everyone can enjoy themselves in a safe environment. Come along and enjoy the beautiful Camellias in this special garden!

18.01.2022 This is a handy reference guide, but nothing beats local knowledge. We have experienced camellia growers on hand at our Open Day this Sunday (and the next) to answer your culture questions. Our members have been growing camellias in the Hills for many years, across a range of seasons and in a variety of ways. We open at 12, and for full details, see our Event post.

18.01.2022 The camellias are now starting their spring growth flush. Some varieties have reddish coloured new foliage, compared to the standard green, adding another dimension to your garden now that many have finished flowering. Check out camellias in the nurseries to find these ones.

17.01.2022 Mark it in your diary. We look forward to seeing you.

13.01.2022 Camellias are sensitive to growing conditions. Both of these blooms are of Magalhaes Variegated (a South Australian registration). Factors influencing this bloom colour include the acidity of the soil (less acid more pink), the coldness of the weather (frosts and cold aid the blooms turning purple), soil elements (molybdenum is supposed to help in bluing) and the age of the bloom (they darken as they age). Pot culture produces more pink blooms as the soil is affected by the l...eaching of acidity. The bush in Stangate Garden often has blooms spanning the spectrum from pink to purple. Unfortunately this variability is a source of disappointment with some growers and we field questions about it at our Open Days. Magalhaes Variegated is only one of a number of varieties that darken or lighten with local conditions, so don't despair if your blooms differs to the label picture. See more

13.01.2022 A class of Magalhaes variegated and Dona Herzilia de Freitas Magalhaes clearly showing the range of colours that can occur due to growing conditions, from pink to purple.

11.01.2022 This is an example of lime-induced chlorosis - yellowing leaves with green veins. It signifies the soil is not acid enough. This plant has now been repotted into fresh potting mix with a pH below 7.

11.01.2022 This is why buying camellias in bloom is a good idea. These are blooms from 2 separate Debutante bushes, both over 30 years old. The bushes consistently flower as in the picture. The bottom one is a truer form being the right shape, colour and size. The top one is always smaller & with too few petals; it is just a poor specimen of the variety and doesn't match the description on the label. So if possible, buy a flowering camellia.

10.01.2022 The camellias will be better for this pruning now. Many were showcasing their blooms way in the tree tops. If your camellias have not yet started to put out new leaves, you can still prune, but be aware that next years flowers will be on this spring's new growth.

10.01.2022 Although the Camellia Society Open Days at Stangate are over for this year, there is a video of the garden on the internet. The ABC's Gardening Australia did one a few years ago (2013), and although the garden has changed a bit in that time, for the most part visitors would still see the same layout and most of the familiar camellias. https://www.abc.net.au///the-lady-of-the-camellias/9435100 This video recognizes the work that the members and volunteers do to keep the collection looking good.

10.01.2022 We have some real treasures in the International Camellia Garden of Excellence at Stangate Garden, South Australia.

09.01.2022 Congratulations to our member Rosemary Field for her success at the Royal Adelaide Show. If you get a chance, have a look at the camellia competition. There will be a new array of blooms on Thursday.

09.01.2022 Another take on the art of drinking a cup of Camellia sinensis.

08.01.2022 Autumn is a spectacular time of the year at Stangate House! What has captured your heart in your garden today?

07.01.2022 The weather forecast promises a lovely spring day this Sunday. We still have a large selection of camellias, many in flower, for sale in our shadehouse. We also have a few other garden plants that like similar conditions, especially hellebores. See our event post for full details.

06.01.2022 We are ready to welcome you to Stangate today. We have a roaring open fire, hot soup, home made sandwiches and these gorgeous plates of scones and slices. The garden is enjoying the cool weather and the blooms are stunning. We are open 12 to 4 today.

03.01.2022 The countdown is on! This Sunday is the first of our Spring Open Days - for full details see our event post. Come along and enjoy an afternoon spent in a beautiful camellia garden.

03.01.2022 It is our final Open Day this Sunday, and we still have camellias for sale (full details in our Event post). We also have hand outs for growers, including a list of camellias our members have had success with for a range of situations (beginner, pot, exposed position). Beginner plants include Alexander Black and Helenor, while Mansize grows well in a pot. Bob Hope is suitable as a beginner plant, pot plant and for an exposed position. Come check out our plant stall and to pick up the list. These photos are of the camellias growing in Stangate Garden.

01.01.2022 The first of our Open Days has been and gone, and Stangate is looking magnificent, awash with camellias. We are open for the next 3 Sundays (see our event post for full details). Our raffle prize this year is a beauty: 1st prize is a night's accommodation at Sherwoode Bed and Breakfast at Stirling, for 2 people. Second prize is a camellia Anticipation (but not variegated like the picture).

01.01.2022 Welcome to our next virtual garden visit, this week to Stangate House. Owned by the National Trust of South Australia, Stangate House and Garden, located in ...3 Edgeware Road, Aldgate, in the Adelaide Hills, is an historic property and has been beautifully and lovingly maintained. This unique property, surrounded by picturesque and extensive Camellia gardens, is not one of the gardens opened by Open Gardens SA, however, it is opened by the Camellia Society to the public during September, on Sunday afternoons 12 noon to 4pm, to showcase the beautiful camellia gardens. The garden is looking spectacular at the moment with a gorgeous display of camellias and thousands of bulbs and hellebores. Stangate House was first planned in London from 1937-39 by Rev. Samuel Raymond Baron Cornish. In January 1940, Adelaide architect Eric McMichael accepted the model and plans made by Rev. Cornish and started construction on the house on 18 January 1940. Rev. Cornish and his wife, Gwyneth, the daughter of Florence Emily Thomas, developed the Stangate garden and rerouted the creek to run through it. In 1970, Gwyneth bequeathed the property to the National Trust of South Australia. The house was named after Stangate, in London SE1 situated at the south end of Westminster Bridge, where the Revd. Cornish was quartered during his appointment as chaplain at St. Thomas Hospital from 1923-1939. Raymonds sister, Elsie Marion Cornish (1870-1946), an accomplished landscape designer, helped to develop the garden at Stangate House. Elsie Cornish was a follower of Gertrude Jekyll and Jekyll was a follower of the Arts and Crafts movement in England. Elsie Cornish created the tiered plantings of upper-storey; middle-storey; and lower-storey trees. Her plantings followed Jekyll, offering colour and interest throughout the year and variations in scale. Elsie also took advantage of the cooler hills climate, by choosing plants known for their autumnal oranges and yellows. Today the Camellia Society of the Adelaide Hills maintains the camellia gardens. More recently (2020) a group of volunteers commenced maintaining and refreshing other areas of the gardens with a view planting herbaceous borders and enhancing the garden areas not maintained by the Camellia Society. The gardens were recognised by the International Camellia Society in 2012 as an International Camellia Garden of Excellence, at the time one of only 3 in Australia and only 30 worldwide. Winding paths lined by Camellia bushes, lead to the expansive Oak Paddock lawn. The gardens are also home to Australia's equal-largest English Oak tree - it is magnificent! Measured in 2015, the oak tree has a Circumference of 6.61 metres (260 inches), Height of 26 metres (85 feet) and a Crown of 38 metres (124 feet). It is South Australias largest English oak, and as a best-guess based on comparative annual growth rates of several Trust - measured oaks, it was planted in the 1860s, and is 156 years old in 2020. It is not the states oldest oak; that may be the ring of oaks in Gumeracha, planted in 1837-38 by Cornish Baptists. We hope you enjoy this virtual garden visit. See more