Gardening

In spite of how much landscaping was already done at the new house, I have been adding plants like mad.  This bed did actually have zinnias in it when we bought the house,

but the orderly sort planted by a professional landscaper, in nice tidy rows with a color scheme.  My zinnias are more of the flower-riot sort, which is a bit more "me" anyway. 

The house came with some lilies,

 though I've added more.  They're good little bursts of color, though these were supposed to be black with yellow tips:

There is almost always something in bloom, but a house we pass while walking has hellebores, and I loved their early blooms and great foliage, so I've added a few.  Unfortunately, I'll have to wait several months to find out if I got the right colors or not, but

I love their leaves, so I'll be pretty forgiving if they aren't.

We share a pond with neighbors, so I'm adding iris to the water line,

though this little guy is again, not what I ordered, but is still pretty.  It's almost reassuring that the professionals can't even control what they end up with--though it does make me order from reputable places that give refunds when it happens.