Camellias Blossom in La Cañada

One of the first signs of spring makes a showing at Descanso Gardens.

Flowers have long been associated with April and May, and with good reason: That's when many buds make their first showing of the year.

Then you have the camellia, which is a pretty showy flower as flowers go, petal-wise, but it goes the distance in the look-at-me department in other ways. A major one? It's a wintertime wonder. And just when we're hearing reports of more snow in other parts of the world, and the coldest season's frosty reign, the famous camellia bushes at Descanso Gardens are beginning to pop.

If only we could invite all of those tired of snow to walk the camellia forest for an hour or two on Saturday, Feb. 9 and Sunday, Feb. 10. Those are the dates of the La Cañada Flintridge landmark's annual Camellia Festival.

A Japanese tea ceremony (which you'll need to make reservations for ahead of time) and tours of the grounds are on tap.

We definitely recommend a visit for anyone needing a dash of springtime. Nope, our Southern California winter has not wrapped yet -- we all know we'll get some brisker days still -- but the camellias at Descanso are sort of like our own groundhog seeing its shadow. Brighter days ahead and so forth.

Descanso's upcoming calendar is pretty darn flowery, if you can't make the camellia gathering.

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