Few shrubs earn their place through the bleak end of the year the way Camellia sasanqua does. Native to Japan, this broadleaf evergreen waits out the growing season — glossy, composed, unremarkable — and then, as temperatures drop and the garden empties out, it opens its flowers in shades from pure white through candy pink to deep carmine rose. In mild gardens zones 7 through 9, it can bloom for four to six weeks, carrying the landscape through the gap between autumn color and the first winter hellebores. Its flowers are smaller and less formal than those of its more famous cousin, C. japonica, and that informality is part of the appeal: they have a wildness that stiff double camellias lack.

Sasanqua camellia grows 6 to 14 feet tall in time, though it takes direction well and can be pruned into a small tree form or espaliered against a warm wall. It asks for well-drained, acidic soil and some shelter from harsh winter winds and afternoon summer sun — a north- or east-facing wall suits it particularly well in colder parts of its range. Pruning should happen immediately after flowering, since next season's buds develop on old wood. Scale insects can be a persistent problem; keep an eye on the stems through summer. Its slight resistance to deer and its tolerance of clay or sandy soils make it broadly adaptable, and its autumn bloom season means it feeds pollinators at a time when very little else does.