EDITED- duuhhh, a senior moment- when I first posted this, I called them irises....
I have to say my favorite is the jonquils that we first see in the spring. Up north, they are called daffodils, I think.
I know you all think winters in the Southeast are not that tough, and you are right to some degree. BUT, we have humidity that goes VERY high, even when it is at freezing or below, and it hurts. I worked outside a lot of my life, so it was always a welcome sight when the jonquils appeared. They are the first flower up around here, often getting buried by our very few snows or frostbitten badly.
They live forever (or reproduce), so one sees them at old homesites where you can hardly find a foundation stone. I have often paused in my life, when I came upon such a sight, and given thought to some lady, long dead, that planted those jonquils before I was born- perhaps before my parents were born. I bet she longed to see them in the spring, too. I hope she had a good life......