Lemonade from Lemons, camellia-wise.

I have two sad Camellias, a sasanqua and a japonica.  They were two of the original camellias planted for the garden ten years ago.  Since then, I've pulled out almost all of them.  They were all very poor specimens to begin with, and they either got too much water, or too much sun and not enough water.   I was preparing to dig out and trash these two.  They were awful--both are in too much sun and so the flowers always toast.  Many of the branches were dead because the foliage burnt in too much sun.  Not worth saving. 

Sigh.  I hate killing plants*. I hate waste, but I've learned that ornamental plants should be--ornamental.  You know, pretty.  The lesson gardeners must learn, painful though it is, is that beauty involves some ruthlessness. 

In preparation for euthanizing the poor things, I hacked off most of their branches, leaving the main stem and a bit of stuff at the top--something I could hold onto when I yanked them out.  I had a shovel ready, then I paused.  Hmmm....was it possible they could have a second chance as..standards**?    With most of their branches hacked off, they looked better.  Can't hurt to try...I may be able to find them a home. Why not give them a second chance?  Make lemonade from lemons.  We'll see how they do.   I'll let them grow for the summer and see if they are worth moving in the autumn to a shadier spot.  I'll post an update in the future. 


*Note that bermuda grass is not a plant.  Neither is Eucalyptus.  They are weeds.  Weeds are not plants.
 
**FYI, "standards" are shrubs trimmed into lollipop or "tree" form.