Azaleas are the first flowers to appear each spring. We have a few varieties, and the bright coral blooms are always the first to appear. Most bushes face north and are in constant shade for most of the day year-round. However, there is one bush facing west that receives sunlight as soon as the sun manages to rise above the neighboring house. That bush has struggled and more than once I have counted it as dead, only for it to bloom again. Again, it has lived to see another spring, refusing to relinquish its role as herald.
