I think my Camelia is in trouble.

I think my Cameilia is troubled. My next door neighbor has beautiful full blooms all over hers already and mine just has a few buds, no color. I do not know the variety, it was here at the house when we moved in. In hoping to have a nice show of color this year, two months ago I cleared out all the dry branches, and cleaned out down below, removing dropped buds, leaves and weeds from its base. Clearly, I do not know what I am doing. Any advice?

What ever will be will be!!!
I'm not sure how long you have been living with this Camellia. You said you moved in and it was there. The variety and location where it is planted may be a problem too. (some will take some sun, others do not like much sun) Some of what happens is the care the plant was given. Was if fed with 'Camellia - Azalea' food on a regular time frame? We have had some very dry years, was the soil moisture kept up? Camellias do not like to go through dry spells. So proper care of the plant can make a great difference in how they perform. There is a small insect that can get on them as well, it is a mite, very small and difficult to see. It attacks the bloom buds, and causes them to not open properly. They also like an 'acid' type soil condition. So if the pH gets too high the plant will suffer too. (our water is on the Alkaline side so that can be a problem over time) Soil sulfur will help in this case. If you think the above suggestions have been followed I think you should trim off a branch about 12 to 14 inches long and take it to your local nursery to see if they can help you.

Camellias are as different as people. Your neighbors is possibly a different variety and will respond to the weather differently than yours.
More shade=later bloom. More sun this time of year will mean that it will bloom sooner. Five feet is as good as a mile as far as plants are concerned, as for any care for camellias...
Don't feed it anything while it has buds or flowers. If buds are falling off and they haven't shown any color yet, be patient. Don't give it any extra water this time of year. If it's well established, it won't likely need any water until April.
Patience. Don't panic and all that jazz.

thanks for the responses!
We have been in our home almost 10 years, my guess is that the Camelia is much older than that. It is in full sun, and somewhat blocked from any winds. My neigbor's is much younger, and appears to get the same amount of sun, but no worries, I haven't got plant envy! I will take ALL of your suggestions, as it is clear to me now that it has been neglected. It does have buds now, but the leaves are still a bit yellow and not that beautiful dark waxy green. Thanks for the heads up on the mites, I'll keep a watchful eye out for them. We just got a bunch of rains, so I am thinking it got enough to drink. Should I treat the soil now? or wait? I am good at patient...and I am hopeful now, thanks a bunch!

Yes they were nice rains. Soft and and soaking, not a lot of runoff, which is good. I would not feed right now if the plant has un-opened buds, it might cause them to drop, it will not hurt the plant, however. The best time to start feeding is just after they finish blooming, with Camellia-Azalea Food. Feed them about every two months until fall, when the buds set, then stop feeding. Like I said before be sure the soil does not dry out, but don't keep it soggy wet either (moist). With the plant food (apply as directed on the lable) you should be getting quite a bit of new growth in about six to eight weeks. If it is too lanky trim the tips off about 2", it will cause those new shoots to branch and make a more bushy plant. With a little care it should look a lot different by August, maybe you will not recognize it as your old plant.