Tinsie Camellia
Tinsie Camellia
Camellia Tinsie (syn. Bokuhan) is a miniature japonica cultivar dating from around 1719. Yes, the flowers are small, but the Tinsie shrub in my garden is taller than I am. The outer petals are red, with a creamy-white centre - a beautiful colour combination for winter.
In the garden's early days I planted several Camellias behind the garage, and didn't record any of their names. I remember some were uplifted from the bargain bin at the local nursery. Then in 2013 I found an old Tinsie label in a forgotten kitchen drawer. Aha! The flower in the picture looked about right.
After a Google image check I wrote the following guarded sentence : 'I wonder - just a tiny wonder - if it could be the variety 'Tinsie'? This is popular and commonly available in New Zealand.'
So like many of the plant identifications in my garden, Tinsie has been named as a result of detective work. I'm sure I've got it right, but how I wish I'd written more details down in those early days!
Colour note : Since Tinsie blooms in late winter, sometimes my photographs have a cold, winter blue tinge, and the flower colour doesn't look like scarlet. But it is.
Tinsie Camellias