Very nice indeed. And how is your Black Magic? I do not see any snow whatsoever in this picture so you must be glad winter is over too?

Hi Luis - Yes, no more snow! One week it was freezing and the next in the 80âÂÂs so directly from winter to summer this year. The Black Magic buds appeared to survive the frost, I was watching them slowly mature but after some heavy rain all that was left was petals on the ground. I saw Black Magic a few years ago at a camellia show and the flowers were so odd, the petals were actually shiny (never have seen that in another camellia). This past winter was actually pretty mild (for around here) the lowest temperature all winter was 10 degrees. Hopefully, IâÂÂll have another shot at seeing Black Magic flowers next year. Cheers

The very odd and very shiny leaves may be un-natural. I saw something similar at a plant show and someone told me that she used the inner part of a banana peel to transfer oils into the leaves that gave it that look. It was eons ago so, I do not remember the specifics.