For the first time in my life, I maintained a flower bed this year. I wasn't good at it, but things lived for the most part. I have resisted cutting flowers and bringing them inside all summer because I liked the way they looked in the bed, but the lows in the coming week are in the thirties, so I figured I might as well cut away.

Being me, I didn't want normal flowers. Basically, I went through the seed packets at Lowes and picked the wierdest looking flowers. Here below is a cockscomb. It is a fuzzy, HUGE flower. this one is about five to six inches lengthwise.


Here's a close-up of the freak-a-zoid flower:


I've always loved zinnias, so I was really excited when I came across the seeds for candy cane zinnias. It's one of my favorite flowers with a twist! Here are some photos of the candy cane zinnias.

Hopefully, these photos will serve as reminders next spring that outdoor work is not the worst thing ever, and that it does in fact yield good results. I'm one of those people who could be perfectly content never leaving my kitchen and/or artroom. But these flowers are pretty, so I'll consider that incentive.