A Determined 'Debutante'

Camellia japonica 'Debutante'

Spring is truly coming!  Look what I spied on my way out the door for work this morning...a single bloom on my very determined Camellia japonica 'Debutante' bush!   This poor shrub has had a rough go of it this winter.  In January an ice storm  broke every limb off of her main trunk.  Then the top of a big conifer tree  broke off in a windstorm a few weeks later and landed right in her lap leaving her even worse for wear.  After that I had no alternative except to trim her way back to the ground.  I manged to leave a few leaves near the ground, tentatively hoping she might produce a few buds later in the spring.  Needless to say I was not prepared to see this beautiful face smiling up at me.....from just inches above the dusting of snow on the ground this morning.   Nature's persistence never ceases to amaze me!