Stop and See the Flowers

When you think about tea, it is easy to forget that it is actually a camellia. During our recent trip to South Carolina, we were able to see a few early flowers on the bushes at the Charleston Tea Plantation. They were small white blooms (see the thumb in the picture for scale).

There were tons of buds (you can see them in the foliage behind the flower in this pic), and the tour guide on the trolley told us that the best time to see the flowers is in November, when butterflies descend on the plants.