Just your normal azalea appreciation post.

The azalea bush planted outside my childhood home in Indiana was always in full bloom the week of my brother's birthday (in early May). The nice part about living further south is the earlier arrival of azaleas, as well as greater variety in floral morphology. I love bushes loaded with blossoms, which can almost completely obscure the leaves hiding beneath.

Shown below are three examples of lovely southern azaleas:

First, small white blossoms in full bloom today on Duke's campus.

Next, medium-sized light pink blossoms with really interesting dark pink nectar guides, also from Duke's campus,

Finally, some huge, shockingly pink blossoms I saw weeks ago while traveling for spring break. Leave it to New Orleans to have the showiest of flowers.