Red camelia bush.

Lavender alyogyne bushes with blue lithodora and white alyssum underneath.

Dark purple tulips.

The vernal equinox occurred this morning at 10:32 am PDT, but spring flowers have been blooming in our yard for several weeks now. The first picture shows some of the many white calla lilies that are blooming in our backyard this month. After planting them all over our backyard for years, I started to remove many of them last year, because they are a favorite hiding place for snails. Despite my attempts to reduce their numbers, the remaining calla bulbs have multiplied and are as numerous as ever. Callas seem to thrive on lots of water, and the plentiful rainfall we received this winter has caused them to grow and flower prolifically in the past few weeks.

The second picture shows three pink camelia bushes that are blooming in our backyard. These camelia bushes, which are very established and probably decades old, produce an abundance of flowers every winter and spring without requiring much care. They are among my favorite of the plants in our backyard. However, they do make a big mess when they drop their numerous flowers on the ground.

The third picture shows our O’Henry peach tree in bloom. We have four peach and nectarine trees, and all of them produce pink flowers. Our peaches and nectarines (and almond tree) are the only fruit trees we are growing that have pink flowers. The rest of our fruit trees (apricot, plum, cherry, apple, orange, and pear) have white blossoms. The O’Henry blossoms are particularly long lasting. This tree has been covered with blossoms for over two weeks now.

There’s not much going on in our yard right now. Most of our perennials are deciduous and are currently in their dormant phase. The only plants that are in full bloom in our yard are the camellias. This picture shows the Faith Variegated camellia bush that is blooming outside our bedroom window. Every year it fills up with pink flowers from January through March. They are beautiful flowers, although they don’t have any detectable fragrance.

Camellias tend to be a bit messy during bloom time. The flowers fall off the bush completely intact before they wilt or turn brown. They don’t fall apart petal by petal like roses. After a few weeks of blooms, the ground underneath the bush is full of pink flowers. Also, camellias don’t make great cut flowers, in my opinion, because they tend to fall off the stem in just a few days. Yet, despite the mess, they are one of my favorite garden plants, because their flowers and leaves are so attractive and eye catching.

The previous owners of our house planted several camellia bushes next to the house. They look to be at least a few decades old. We are now enjoying the benefits as they begin blooming for another season.

Our camellias typically start blooming in January and continue through April. Camellias are one of my favorite flowers. They make great backyard landscaping plants for the appropriate climate. Even after blooming, their glossy attractive evergreen leaves keep them looking good throughout the summer and fall months.

The high temperatures here have been in the upper 60s and low 70s F for over a week now. Normally, the high temperatures here in January are in the 50s. Several of our camellias have started to open their first sets of flowers in the last few days, as shown in these pictures. The warm weather seems to be the cause.

Camellias prefer a shady location. Luckily, our camellias were astutely planted on the north-east and north-west sides of the house, where they only receive a minimal amount of direct sunlight. They are taller than the house now, and their top branches receive sunlight most of the day. But they don’t seem to mind as long as their lower branches are shaded.

The camellias in the the first, third, and fourth pictures above are most likely camellia japonicas. My best guess is that the camellia in the first picture is Faith Variegated, and the camellia in the fourth picture is Jordan’s Pride. I’m not sure what the others are.

These pictures show some of the first camellia blooms in our yard this season. We have nine camellia bushes in our yard. All of them except one were planted by previous owners of the house. A few of ours have very large trunks and look like they could be as much as 50 years old. Camellias can have a very long lifespan. Some have lived 100 years or more.

The particular camellia in these pictures looks to be about 20-25 years old. It is definitely a camellia japonica, but I am not sure what particular type of japonica it is. My best guess is that it is a Louise Hairston Variegated, a variety that was developed in the USA in 1967.

Camellias are gorgeous flowers. When one is in full bloom, a large plant can be covered with hundreds of flowers, each a few inches in diameter. Camellias also have glossy dark evergreen leaves that are attractive all year long. They come in a huge variety of shapes, although nearly all camellias are red, pink, white, or a combination thereof. One of the best things about camellias is the fact that they flower during cool weather. In general, camellias flower from October through April. Most of the camellia japonicas in our area (USDA zone 9) bloom from January through March. They are one of the few plants we have that bloom in the winter months.

Camellias are popular plants in our neighborhood. Nearly every yard has at least one. They add color to the neighborhood during the colder months, and their foliage remains attractive during the warmer months.

Camellias prefer a shady location. Most of our camellias are planted on the northeast and northwest sides of our house. Some of our camellias have grown higher than the roof line, and as a result, the top branches receive sun most of the day. But they don’t seem to mind as long as the roots and lower branches are shaded.