First Hibiscus of 2008: Erin Rachel

It's got to be a true sign of Spring for real this time! Erin Rachel has ended her long winter rest from blooming and finally opened her first flower this weekend! You might remember this stunner from a few posts I did last year, and in particular a great Trifecta shot from last July.

Erin didn't seem to take well to indoor dwelling at the beginning of the winter and dropped most of her leaves in protest, despite being in one of the sunniest spots we have in the house at the base of the stairs. She's definitely one of those high light plants who basically refuse to bloom until the light is intense enough and lasts longer ... so I've been encouraged more the last two months as she's bulked up on the leaves again and started to put on small buds, some of which, unfortunately dropped off before they developed much. Such is indoor life for a tropical hibiscus unless its humidity and light requirements are met more successfully than we were able to provide this past winter.

Though her first flower this year is significantly smaller than they will be once she's happily back outside again, it was a most welcome 'Hellooo!' to go downstairs yesterday morning and see this electrically bright bloom at the base of the stairs! Especially on a day when outside it was once again back to snow, rain and clouds all day ... Even with the lack of sun, I took this shot in natural light! Ah the emerging wonders from the S700 ... the more I use it, the more I'm impressed and less intimidated by its prowess. I just used the 'Flower' scene position with its built in macro settings and needless to say, I was really pleased with the results! Your thoughts ...?

Oh yeah, the previous 'Pink Wave' post was a detail of a portion of this flower ... if you look closely, I'm sure you'll find where it is in the larger context of the bloom ...