There are some plants that I love--ornamental sweet peas are chief among them--that I simply can't grow.  Usually the problem is climate, and as long as I live in New Jersey I'll have the same problem with the same plants.  For the longest time camellias have been on my list of "lovely, but not here" plants.  Whenever I go to a botanical garden in the winter I look with longing at the beautiful Camellia japonica specimens, each with hundreds of big white or rose or red blossoms.  The first line of an old song goes through my head--"They're writing songs of love, but not for me."

Now I am beginning to feel emboldened about trying camellias outside in my own garden.  Over the last few years I have seen more and more ads for Camellia hybrids that are cold hardy, or at least might be cold hardy in my USDA Zone 6b garden.  I am especially interested in those sold under the trade name 'Ice Angels'.  Most of the 'Ice Angels' appear to be hybrids of Camellia sasanqua and Camellia oleifera, two species with a bit more cold tolerance, but somewhat smaller flowers than the popular japonicas.   However, one of the 'Angels', 'Spring's Promise' is a japonica hybrid and boasts single flowers in a rich rose shade with contrasting golden stamens.  'Spring's Promise' would show well in my back yard and bring a lot of color in the early spring, when not much else is blooming.  The glossy leaves are evergreen, another plus in my garden, which has more deciduous than evergreen shrubs.

So, I am working up my courage to order a camellia.  I am not afraid that the plant will die--I have killed off lots of plants in my time.  It's just that my expectations are so high.  But who knows?  It could work, and by this time next year I might be the proud "parent" of a healthy camellia.  Then the sky will be the limit.  In fact, I might just try sweet peas again.