Friday, July 17, 2015 at 8:34AM 
You walk out the front door and there are day lilies (Hemerocallis spp.) and black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) and bee balm (Monarda didyma) and butterfly bush (Buddleja spp.) flowers all over the place. And the amazing thing is that this happens every year (see Why They Call It Bee Balm and Flowers 2013). What a great planet we live on.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 10:36AM 
Very little that I need to add to this image. This is what the bed in front of my house looks like. Such a joyous time in the yard. Pollinators are working overtime. [NOTE: Shown are echinacea (Echinacea sp.) and black-eyed Susans (Redbeckia hirta L.)].
Monday, July 9, 2012 at 9:26AM 
Things are blooming like crazy in my yard. I've got day lillies (Hemerocallis spp.), and phlox (Phlox sp.), and butterfly bush (Buddleja sp.), and echinancea (Echinacea spp.), and black-eyed Susans (Redbeckia hirta L). But, if I had to pick a favorite, it woud probably be the bee balm (Monarda didyma L.) that has developed vigorous clumps in strategic places around the yard (thx, Elysa). Gorgeous crimson color (see Bee Balm) and the bees love it. [NOTE: More to the point, Native Americans have longed used Monarda as a poultice to treat skin infections and minor wounds, e.g. bee stings. The species is a natural source of the antiseptic, Thymol].
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 10:14AM 
The days are getting grey and the temperatures are dropping in New York, but the planters in the parking lot of the Empty Hand Zen Center are still producing a profusion of colorful blossoms. [NOTE: I shot this two days ago].
"Yet, though all of this is so, flowers fall when we cling to them and weeds grow whether we like it or not"
-Dogen Zenji (1200-1235)
Genjokoan