With lots of hot summer weather and decent rain, the hardy hibiscus can grow quite robust in our Midwest climate. This particular year yielded nearly a dozen flower blooms like this. Many images similar to this will have been taken in a studio setting. I felt the flower was too beautiful to remove (and prematurely kill) for a picture. So without plucking this amazing display of color and texture, I setup the shot, and waited for what seemed a day for the flower to fully bloom. With a break in the afternoon winds, I captured a real testament to the beauty in nature. Milton, Wisconsin