Most landscapes can benefit from camellias

It's camellia season in the Cape Fear region, and the Cape Fear Botanical Garden is the place to pick out the best varieties for your garden. The late-bloomers, such as this red one, will still be in bloom in late March.

I like camellias so much that visions of their impressive blooms dance in my head year-round.

This time of year, they dance right before my eyes.

Early-blooming camellias, such as this vivid pink sasanqua variety, are just finishing their fall bloom. This bloom, developed in the breeding program at Mercers’ Garden, has not been named.

Camellias are in glorious bloom throughout the Cape Fear region. And the best place to see the most blooms today, and every day for the next four months, is right in the middle of the Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

Most fall-blooming sasanquas are just finishing up. The early japonicas started blooming in mid-November and some will still be blooming in late March or early April.

The nationally recognized camellia collection represents the pinnacle of winter gardening in the Cape Fear region.

The annual Fayetteville Camellia Show will be held in early March or late February, as it has for more than 70 years, if the government will allow it.

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