We watched it decline and die inch by inch this summer and by the end of October knew it had to come down. Even before the saw came out of the shed, I'd decided on a replacement.
Philippine violets do well here and so do Oxblood lilies, paperwhites and small daffodils like this unnamed paperwhite above that opened over the weekend.
The trunk came down but the peach roots will take a long time to disintegrate. After the Arizona Ash was removed from the front yard in .., we helped the process along by piling on mulch & compost after the stump was ground and sinking container plants on top of the mulch. The water, fertilizer and compost that seeped through seemed to help the roots decompose more quickly. We'll see if a container and mulch will work on peach roots, too.
The shopping word in the plan was "container" - off to the nearby Countryside Nursery we went, in search of an attractive pot to hold the camellia. Countryside carries an assortment of natural and organic products like Medina and Cottonbur Compost. We buy plants there - it's where I found the 'Julia Child' rose you've seen in bud and bloom. And we buy pots there, like the big blue pot in the secret garden - still full of dark purple potato vine as winter approaches.
Out on the lot we chose a slightly smaller version of the blue pot, liking it even more after Philo brought it up to the counter and the sale price was 20% off the label. I found more treasure inside the building. Every year I remind myself to order Hyacinthoides hispanica, so I can try to copy the Spanish Bluebell display at Zanthan Gardens. But once again I didn't order any - what a lucky break to find Spanish Bluebell bulbs on the rack at Countryside!
Back home I found a black plastic nursery pot of the right size. Philo sawed off the top few inches so it could fit inside the ceramic pot as a liner. That should make it easier when it's time to transplant the camellia into the ground. As always, I cut pieces of roll window screen to cover the holes in both ceramic pot and plastic inner pot. John Dromgoole says the screen helps keep ant colonies and pillbugs from invading containers. I removed the camellia from its starter pot and planted it with Lady Bug Brand Rose Magic soil mixed with extra peat, watering it in with Maxicrop Seaweed w/Iron. ( Products are named not because anyone is paying me but because my blogs have replaced my memory. If this idea works the names will remind me exactly how it was done.) 
I hope the Camellia buds open white as promised and I hope the plant can live and grow in the pot for a couple of years. By then the roots may be rotted and the ground mellowed enough to be ready to receive it. Then will come the fun of thinking up something new to plant in the blue-green pot.
It may seem difficult to believe, but I was actually at eye level with that shot today. All of the so-called "normal" people will be very disappointed in me right now. I'm 30 in a little over a month, and they're still having to tell me to keep my head out of the clouds and both feet on the ground. Does it count that both my feet were on pedals?
Springbrook turned on yet another amazing morning on a day which really promised nothing. On the coast it had been hazy, humid with a slight sense of bushfire smoke from somewhere. It's amazing what heading into the mountains can do. I opted for a slightly more cruisy approach to the climb, pacing myself for the 8km drag through the switchbacks and keeping something in reserve for the steeper sections near Lyrebird Ridge. Along the way I was passing all manner of wildflowers in bloom.
It was at the top of the Plateau that the "action" really started. First a sneak preview of what was to come rolling across the distant Lamington Plateau...
... Followed by the touch of the mist on the forest providing an almost mystical appearance...
... And of course the flowers were still in bloom.
The ride home was less exciting, except for the fact that one of my tail lights smashed somewhere on the descent. For those who have forgotten, on my last visit to Springbrook some weeks ago, the light mount on the rear of my rack broke when the metal snapped. I built a replacement from spare parts, which held together. However, the light that it was holding in place wasn't so robust. The clip was only held in place by plastic, and it snapped. So while my handiwork did it's job, apparently less can be said for the standards of the manufacturer of that light. Blinkie tail lights are fairly cheap to replace, but it's still annoying.
Prepare to be Wowed Shrimp
