My camellias are blooming - the early ones lighting up corners of the garden like little Thanksgivings themselves. Pale pinks and bright whites, ruffled, pink edges on some, stunning yellow stamens on others, light fragrance on others still. Bees loll lazily in them in the cool late Autumn air. Camellia varieties will bloom from now until March, and while frost may affect the open blooms, the closed buds are protected from all but the valley’s most extreme cold snaps and will open up when the cold has passed again. The loveliness of them right now seemed to be a sign to re-run this piece on camellias with the famed Jerry Mendon of Paradise, first aired December of last year. Happy Thanksgiving in your North State Garden.

(Oh, and if you’re looking for some Black Friday holiday gift ideas without even leaving your own home or garden - try Jewellgarden.com - all purchases of Jewellgarden’s lovely, locally inspired and produced items support regional gardening and plant programming including the production of In a North State Garden - many, many thanks!)
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Camellias - also known as the Queen of Winter Flowers because almost all varieties of the genus bloom from late fall through late spring - are for many gardeners synonymous with history, beauty and refinement. These flowering evergreen shrubs or small trees, idealized in Chinese and Japanese art and literature for centuries, are indigenous in much of Asia. Camellias have been treasured in Europe since first being introduced there in the mid- 1700s, and specimens were first brought to the United States in the very late 1800s. Thriving in the American Southeast and along the American West Coast, the camellia genus is comprised of many species - including Camellia sinensis, from which black and green tea is made from the young leaves - and thousands of named varieties, cultivars and hybrids. Interest in camellias reached fervent levels early in the 20th century when Western plant hunters scoured the globe for new plants to record, collect, propagate and eventually hybridize. It was at this time that individuals and botanical organizations began collections of the prized plants. Photo: As winter bloomers, camellias provide valuable nectar and food for pollinators during the colder months. (more…)