I first saw this beautiful Camellia sasanqua decades ago in a church yard.
A wise (or maybe careless) person left the plant tag on it. That’s how I learned its name.
This particular church has a big barbecue the same week as my daddy’s birthday.
My family has gone to this barbecue every year for over thirty years.
So each November, I have looked forward to eating the wonderful food and seeing this shrub in bloom.
In 1994, I found a Jean May Camellia sasanqua of my own.
I love its evergreen leaves, its white bark, its open shape and its dreamy pink blooms.
I even love when it loses its petals. It’s like pink confetti.
Jean the Party Queen throwing her own fall festival.
I am not sure of when this happened, but several years ago some well-meaning person trimmed the church’s Jean May.
I arrived at the BBQ to find a square shrub with only a few blooms visible. No confetti. No petal party.
Square shrubs make me scream.
There is such a thing as plant abuse. (Just ask a Crepe Myrtle.)
Just because there is no bite with their bark, doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings.
So my dream Jean May shrub at the church is now square.
But my own Jean May is a giant delight.
If you have a square shrub, please at least go out and cut off its corners.
You don’t want to find FLOWER in your yard screaming.
FLOW
floweralley 
Such a beautiful camellia and so tall. The ones around here are short and shrubby and grow to full size in 20 years. I have neighbors that cut their azaleas square and they never bloom.
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These folks must be left-brained.
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Wow, love Jean May, I hope she grows out of her squareness.
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I went to that church last weekend. Poor Jean had been freshly squared. Blah!
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Ugh!
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What a beautiful camelia tree. I too hate perfectly manucured square trees and bushes. They look so unatural. Crepe Myrtles with their branches cut down to the stumps make me cry the most, they postiively look like their limbs have been cut off.
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That is a beauty. (We just had bbq at a church down the road, a tradition for 17 years.)
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Some camellia blooms turn brown before dropping, so you get brown confetti. Not as ugly as square pruning, but not nice either. It looks like Jean May’s flowers stay pink until they fall, which is another good feature.
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It is glorious to see a thriving Camellia. I am glad you have one of your own to nurture.
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Camellia in November – now that is a reminder! 🙂
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My former boss (at work, not at home, LOL) used to bring “Pink Perfection” camellias to the office. I thought they were beautiful and, as the name said, perfect blooms. I’ve always wanted one of those but I don’t know much about growing camellias.
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