SPEAKING OF CAMELIAS, this one is ‘Freedom Bell’ and we planted it in 1996. The petals are a deep pink-red with prominent veining and not the usually round shaped petals. It is quite striking. We brought it home in a one gallon container and the tag stated a maximum height of six feet in ten years; it tops out now at just over five feet.  It begins blooming in February and the flowers stand up pretty well to winter and spring rains. It is loaded with flowers and still to open buds. One more camelia left to bloom around May.

THIS LOVELY WHITE CAMELIA came with the property. The flowers remind me of frilly, white, upturned petticoats. There is something seductive and lush about camelia blooms; they have beautiful form, the petals smooth and silky to the touch. This camelia begins blooming in mid-March when rain is frequent and the petals are quickly browned by pelting drops of rain but this one flower, just opened, has so far escaped unscathed.  The blooming period is quite long, finishing around the beginning of May. The only missing piece is fragrance, but that is provided by the white hyacinths below!

The camelia sits under the filtered cover of a very large pine tree protecting it from afternoon sun and my guess is that it was planted sometime in the sixties (?). We have pruned the tree to expose the trunk and provide room underneath for other shade loving plants. This area is one of the few that receive no supplemental water during the summer months.