I always think of camellias as my winter roses. They appear around Christmas time when there is not much happening in the garden and can flower through to the end of April. The colours range from pure white to pinks to the deepest reds, with velvety flowers that stand out against their glossy green foliage, adding a real touch of luxury to the otherwise quiet winter garden.

Camellias originate in the Far East, stretching from the Himalayas, east to China and south to Malaysia, as well as the islands of Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. Early European botanists called them the “Japan Rose”. They were first introduced to Britain in the mid 1700s by plant collectors, with interest and supply mirroring the growth of the tea trade. By the 1840s they were the height of fashion and the most luxurious flower to have. Most new varieties were brought in by intrepid plant hunters: seeds were sent to keen horticultural collectors who then experimented with growing and breeding them, producing many more hybrids. This very productive relationship between sponsor J.C. Williams of Caerhays Castle and the plant collectors E.H. Wilson and George Forrest is a good example of how this worked: they are responsible for the introduction of the many Camellia Williamsii hybrids available today. The wide range of hybrid camellias we have in our gardens today are all bred from these original Camellia sasanqua (Oct - Dec flowering) and Camellia japonica (Jan - Apr flowering) varieties sent by those plant hunters..

The early camellias were tender and had to be grown as greenhouse plants, but subsequent breeding has produced much hardier varieties able to withstand European winters. They are relatively fast growing (30cm a year) and do best in semi-shade conditions away from the morning sun, when any leaves still soaked with dew may get scorched. Some protection from cold dry winds will prevent damage to the flowers. They need acid soil (ph5.5-ph 6.5 is ideal) and the best time to plant them is when they are in flower and the roots are more or less dormant. Camellias do need regular watering - it is important that the roots do not dry out, particularly in the early autumn when the next season’s buds are developing. The plants are best left to grow naturally, but if you are going to prune them it should be done immediately after flowering.

I first became interested in camellias after seeing them at the Chelsea Flower show many years ago. My first purchase was a Camellia Japonica “Little Bo Peep”, a small bush with pretty ice pink formal double flowers. Camellias have six commonly recognised flower forms, but my favourites have always been the formal doubles. Since then I have been growing them in pots for many years in my paved London garden and it is only recently that some of them have been promoted to planting out in the garden. It is important to plant them at the same depth as they were in the pot - planting them any deeper than that may suffocate them.

Fertilising is not really necessary and artificial fertilisers tend to be too strong. Excessive or late feeding can lead to bud drop. If your soil is adequate then an annual mulch of old manure or compost in the autumn will do the trick, topped up by a sprinkling of blood and bone in the early spring (before growth starts) or the early autumn (when the flower buds are forming). The exception to this advice is if your soil ph is wrong or you are growing them in pots: you then may need to supplement the soil with an ericaceous feed and iron.

I have chosen a selection of camellia plants to grow in the garden this year, all relatively small shrubs. They are supplied by Burncoose Nurseries in Cornwall, owned by the Williams family of Caerhays Castle and specialising in the vast array of camellias, magnolias, rhododendrons and azaleas collected by their ancestor J.C. Williams. I buy them as 3 year old plants and then grow them on in air-pots for a couple of years before planting them out into the garden as part of a wider planting plan.

• Camellia Japonica ‘Donnan’s Dream’: a white formal double with shades of pink

• Camellia ‘Lemon Drop’: a very pale lemon cream colour small double that looks very like a rose.

• Camellia ‘Jovey Carlyon’: a white peony form flower.

• Camellia ‘Black Tie’: my favourite dark red formal double.

• Camellia X Williamsii ‘Burncoose’: a single pink flower

• Camellia Japonica ‘Devonia’: a single white cup shaped flower.

• Camellia ‘Commander Mulroy’: white formal double flowers

A camellia that we are all unknowingly very familiar with is Camellia sinensis whose leaves are used to make our every day cuppa. Tea was the national drink of China during the Tang dynasty ( 618 - 906 AD) before it was introduced to Japan in 806 AD by Buddhist monks who had been studying in China. The first commercial cargo of tea arrived in Europe in 1606, a consignment shipped by the Dutch East India Company from China to Holland via Java. It was a Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza that introduced tea to Britain. She was the tea addict who married Charles II in 1662, and established it as the most fashionable drink at court. This started the British love of tea, and the first commercial import was by the English East India Company in 1664. We have been drinking it ever since. It is nice to know that every tea leaf we drink started its life as part of the extended beautiful camellia family.