Camellias are first-rate shrubs, with an enormous range of varieties available from specialist nurseries. Most are Camellia japonica, with large, very glossy, deep green leaves, or the hybrid C. x williamsii, with slightly smaller leaves, less glossy, but excellent flowers, and really hardy. The main problem is early morning sun after a hard frost, best avoided by ensuring that east-facing sites are not used. But the same frost will brown Rhododendron flowers, regardless of which way they face, and we rarely hear of that being held against them. Camellias are remarkably wind-resistant, and a hedge of them can make a useful and exceedingly beautiful wind-break.

Camellia reticulata 'Mary Williams' will produce crimson to rose flowers that are large and usually single, but sometimes semi-double. The shrub can reach approximately 1.5 m in 10 years. This cultivar is suitable for growing in a large container, it will also grow well on a north or north west facing wall ideally avoiding the morning sun.