Garden pretty bits

See the bee amid the Russian sage?! To the lower right is some volunteer Cosmos. Behind and below the Russian sage is some garden phlox of the same color. Originally the four phlox were in the barrens of one of the seldom-watered beds along the sides of the back yard, where they weren't doing well at all. I moved them to where they'd get watered, an important criterion!
 

My garden mantra this year is: hurrah for perennials! The "verbena on a stick", Brazilian verbena, verbena Bonariensis, was here when we bought the house. The purple coneflower (three plants) was a passalong from a friend last year.
 
I take pictures for you of the pretty bits of my garden. Most of my garden is... well, mostly in my mind. For instance, here's a long shot of the v. Bonariensis and purple coneflower. You might notice v. Bonariensis reseeds, and did so on the outside of the edging blocks, within whacking range of the mower. Oops.
 

On to the front entryway. What to do with Christmas poinsettias? Water them, give them sun, and when the weather gets stably warm, plant a container with them! The tall greenery is a poinsettia that's lost its red leaves. I really like poinsettia leaves, so that's fine with me. To my mind, the missing element is something like a tiny light yellow petunia that would tumble between the lower spider plant/asparagus fern and the upright poinsettias. Hmm.
 

Notice the clear orange daylilies have started blooming. This is where I had my morning coffee today, listening to lots of birds and the trees' leaves rustling in the breeze. So nice!