Now that the worst of the cold weather seems to be behind us I’ve been eagerly awaiting the first flower to bloom on my property. There are buds on my black cherry tree and my azaleas, both of which were starting to bud before the freeze and had to start over. I’m seeing the beginnings of flowers on some of the redbuds in the neighborhood, too, but this morning I came out to find this gorgeous flower on my hibiscus plant. It’s a fairly small plant in a small pot, so it did get the advantage of being brought inside during the cold. I’m sure that gave it an advantage over the plants that had to stay out. It really doesn’t matter which one blooms first; it’s just always nice to see the first flowers of spring.