What is the state flower of Alabama. I'll take shrubs for $400 Alex.

The pictures above were taken tonight on my way home- these are just some of the pretty Camellia shrubs I pass on my commute. I think they are beautiful. I'm not sure if it's because they bloom early and I am just happy to see flowers again or because their pink-red shade and round shape are just so perfectly what flowers should be.

I first really started noticing Camellias last year. I thought they were pretty, asked around and found out what they were. A year went by and I completely forgot what they were called. When they started blooming again this spring I kept thinking I ought to track down what they were. After taking all the pictures tonight I decided to Google around and figure it out.

Have you tried to Google something when you don't know what it is called? It is harder than you would think. After searches for "early blooming shrub" "pink blossom flowering shrub" "Washington state flowering shrub" all came up to nothing I did what I often do when I don't know the answer, I called my parents.

My Dad, who has planted enough trees that he and Seuss' Lorax could be the best of friends and gave top effort to a raised bed garden of cucumbers and carrots back in the 80's that the birds took in the end knows his fair share about plants- but I wouldn't call him a Gardner, no one would. After hearing the same 3 or 4 word descriptions of this mystery plant, he suggested offhandedly that, "oh, it might be a Camellia" "Yes! The name clicked in my head, that's what it was." Another mystery solved, my Dad just may be smarter than Google.

Here is what the computer had to say about Camellias:
A long-lived evergreen shrub, the Camellia plant is a beloved Southern shrub with graceful blooms that have been enjoyed by gardeners for years. Camellias are well suited for part shade.

It is also the state flower of Alabama.