Autumn image

Seen at the Huntington Gardens - a Camellia sasanqua past the full flush of its bloom, blossoms shattered and petals strewing the ground beneath the shrub.

Camellia sasanqua is the Winter Camellia, sometimes called the Christmas Camellia because it blooms in early winter. In Seattle mine bloomed in December and January. Here in Southern California, its bloom is already spent by the end of November.