Beautiful spring walks

As I wrote earlier in the week, the kawazu early blooming cherry blossoms are blooming in the Kanto plain right now. The kanzakura have finally started blooming too. And it won't be long until the Yoshino cherry blossom trees start to flower also. But cherry blossoms aren't the only flower in spring. They may be the most famous, but they are just one of several flowers you can see in March annually.

Spring really is a great time to be in Japan. The scenery is magnificent. Although, for some of us it comes with a cost: hay fever. This week the pollen levels have been high and I'm really feeling the side effects of a pollen allergy, despite taking anthistamine. But it doesn't stop me from going out for walks (almost) daily. On my walk yesterday I saw several different flowers, but these beautiful pink flowers, pictured, caught my attention most.

They are Japanese camellia. I believe this color is known as "Pearl Maxwell Camellia". Despite being a cloudy day they photographed well thanks to their volume and the large defined petals of soft shell pink. I have a camellia tree in my garden here in Japan, but they are dark pink and don't flower as much as the ones I saw yesterday. If I were to go back in time, I'd plant this color instead! 

Have you seen pearl maxwell camellia in your neighborhood?