I have a Japonica camellia that gets too much afternoon sun, despite being in a protected spot north of the house. The sun scalds the leaves while hybrid camellia next to it is now a showy specimen plant. I just figured out that if I mount an old solar panel vertically next to it, the bottom white side of the panel will reflect the morning sun back onto the camellia, while the normal side will shade the camellia. The solar panel can be used to power some LED lights in the basement for rooting plants! The basement is about the ideal temperature for root growth. I bet the average gardener wouldn't think of using a solar panel in a vertical orientation for doing that!
Camellias provide a splash of early winter color in Connecticut, as my specimen plant blooms in late November or December, after a killing frost has shut down the roses. A Japonica may be able to provide a mid winter bloom, when nothing else is blooming in Connecticut! Both plants are fifteen years old and have survived -11 Fahrenheit unprotected outside. They died back to the ground but bounced back beautifully!
It is quite the challenge figuring out how to get flowers all year in a four season climate. I took a rooted cutting and will try growing it indoors in a semi-heated sun room. It used to be the laundry room and got converted to a sun room with expensive electric heat and a North facing roof window. I never run the electric radiator. It also used to be the cat's room, where I put the food and kitty litter. Maybe it will become my indoor garden?
So many ideas, so little time!
