Like hydrangeas, camellias remind me of grandmothers and the past. I think of them as typically British, a staple English garden flower, but just like the hydrangea they originate in Asia. Whether you realise it or not you probably have some camellia in your home. Tea is made from the camellia leaf, another cultural link between Asia and Britain. They need an acid soil to thrive, so a low pH and they put on a good exhibition of colour at the beginning of spring, helping us emerge from the short days of winter. These pictures were made in the Camellia House at The Yorkshire Sculpture Park on the day the clocks went forward, a pocket of beauty within a whole garment of visual stimulation.