Sunday, July 06, 2014

Camillas, I think

My daughter told me when we visited Heritage Plantation, a botanical garden in Sandwich, here on Cape Cod, that the flowers in the header and this one above are camillas.  I am not aware of having seen camillas before.  I take her word for it but if someone knows them by another name, please tell me.  I was enchanted by their milky whiteness and the centers with touches of deep purple.  I think I read somewhere that they come in other colors too.  I can't imagine them being more beautiful than they are when white.

My only association is with the Dumas novel, title in English, "The lady of the camillas" which became the opera La Traviata, my favorite of favorite operas, where the heroine is called Violetta.  In any case, being a "fallen" woman, one kept by a wealthy man and living a life of flirtatious freedom, she is certainly not "pure"in the sense it was  used in the last 1800s. But times have changed. I just read an article in today's Times that says over 50% of couples chose to live together without being married. Poor Verdi would be up a creek today if he were looking for a credible plot without all that "honor" that so ruined the lives of most of his heroines. His music might not be so wonderful without all that angst.

3 comments :

Gerrie said...

There is no such thing as a camilla flower. Their are camellias. But, that is not what these are. I think these are Clematis.

June Calender said...

Thank you, Gerri. My botanical ignorance is vast and I'm glad to be corrected. I should stop being lazy and look it up on Google.

Ladydy5 aka: Diane Yates said...

Clematis probably. Years ago in Florida my neighbor had a fence full but called them "Passion " flowers.