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Some plants, such as blueberries, azaleas and camellias, prefer acidic soils, i.e., soils with a pH below 7.

Miraculously, the fire barely touched the area of the nursery where thousands of potted camellias and azaleas were ready for sale under a breezy wood-lathe framework covered by shade cloth.

Here are plants and flowers to enjoy, one for every month of the year, from lilacs, camellias and poinsettias to native buckwheat, wildflowers and toyon.

Descanso’s extraordinary camellia forest was created by former Los Angeles Daily News publisher and camellia collector E. Manchester Boddy under unhappy circumstances.

Here, they planted a drought-resistant mix of California dune grass, mondo grass and poppies alongside the former owners’ birds of paradise, pink camellias and pineapple guava tree.