zinnia

and now for a few more pictures from my garden tour at my parents' last week. zinnias, one of my absolute favourites. i have always been a sucker for the bright saturated colours. i've never really taken notice of the buds before, but i'm so fond of the way they unfold. starting off like a mini artichoke, opening up to those bright + bold blooms.

look at the yellow around the centre, it's like hundreds of tiny flowers within a large flower. amazing. and those pollen curlicues, ripe and ready for the bees to do their thing.