Fairy Mulch

Our garden was established in the late 1870’s and one of the first plantings was a camellia. The camellia dominates the front garden and when we came here 24 years ago the garden was very overgrown. The camellia had grown so large it had, over the years turned the tin on the convex veranda into a concave veranda. Now that we have new gutters it is it is pruned with a chainsaw to keep it out of the gutters. It has never been fertilized or watered in the past 24 years, yet every year it’s covered in wonderful display of red flowers. In time these fall onto the path & form a fairy carpet, when it gets a bit thick & dangerous to walk along I scoop it up & use it on my vegetable gardens as mulch. All that falls under the camellia is left for its benefit & sometimes as it breaks down its sieved & used as potting mix (The oaks planted in1901 also contribute well as both mulch and potting mix)
Truly a gift from the Nature spirits.