Our lovely old camellia

Our camellia started blooming this week and it is gorgeous.

This Camellia sasanqua was growing next to our old farmhouse when we bought it in 1992. The house, already 70 years old at the time, needed a lot of work. When we hired painters, they cut it down to a stump. Now, almost 20 years later, it has grown back to its original size.

We haven't been able to ascertain it's correct name. It has small glossy green leaves and semi-double rosy-pink flowers kissed with white.

Because it blooms so early in the season it is seldom affected by freezes. Blooms of the mid and late season Camellias often get burned by a freeze and turn to ugly brown mush. A common sight in the south during winter is sheets and quilts thrown over camellia bushes to protect the buds and blooms.

I love this old beauty. It grows on the east side of the farmhouse that is now our gift shop, under 2 big pecan trees. It gets very little sun and is crowded against the house, but it blooms beautifully every year for several weeks. I even appreciate the look of the fallen petals on the ground.