The rains finally came on Wednesday after a 10 week absence. They were ushered in by a cold front that dropped temperatures down into the mid-thirties here in Florida's Big Bend. The more exposed, early blooming sasanqua camellias (Camellia sasanqua) in my yard had their flowers wilted by the cold. Within a couple of days though, the welcome moisture had perked them up and a fresh flush of flowers has already appeared. In the picture is one of my favorite varieties. It's called 'Mino-no-yuki' (most of our favorite varieties were developed in Japan) and they're just now beginning to bloom. It is also often labeled as 'White Snow' and when you see a mature specimen standing above a pool of fallen white flower petals you'll enjoy the appropriateness of the name. I have eight of them scattered about my place and they've grown large enough in the past 10 years to make an impressive scene. If you live in a warm winter zone, you can enjoy a couple months of sasanqua flowers by planting a mix of early, mid and late blooming varieties. Read the Floridata Plant Profile of the sasanqua camellia for more on this beautiful bush. Click here to download a large version of this 'Mino-no-yuki' blossom.