Yall really don’t want to see my garden today for Six on Saturday. It’s a cold, windy day in South Alabama, and several light freezes have decimated the tropicals. I have lots of clean-up to do, so I’ll take you back there another day.

Wouldn’t you rather see what the professionals can do? So on a nice sunny January day, I went down to Bellingrath Gardens again. My top picture is the “iconic” photo of Mirror Lake at the Gardens, but you don’t see anything blooming now from that vantage point.

However, as we walk the pathways, a closer look shows beds full of ornamental vegetables, herbs, and winter flowers. They’ve used lots of parsley and dusty miller besides the typical pansies, violas, narcissus, and dianthus. Huge, healthy Swiss chard’s colors blend well with the flowers. You’ll also see kale, mustard, ornamental peppers, and colorful cabbage.

The Japanese magnolias were beautiful but not quite in full bloom. A few azaleas had started to bloom, but this cold snap may have delayed the process for now.

The stars of this winter show were camellias. There are many types of camellia japonica and camellia sasanqua in color, shape, and size. I think they’ve become my favorite winter flower.

Many of the camellia shrubs are original to the gardens and were planted in the 1920s. This picture probably isn’t one of the older ones, but near the house, you see massive bushes that must be some of the first Mrs. Bellingrath selected for her home.

I never get around to all parts of this 65-acre garden when I go. The battery on my camera doesn’t last that long, and I get tired before I’ve seen everything. And there’s always something to see, no matter what time of year I go.

Shalom, Dottie

I want to credit the guy who founded this fun Six on Saturday idea. He lives in Great Britain, and his Twitter handle is @cavershamjj 

You can find his blog at: https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/