Fresh from the garden: Casual beauty

In the tropics, exotic flowers are everywhere. They're taken for granted.

A few times a year, a neighbor's flowerbed fills with white blooms.

It's messy and wonderful.

Another neighbor's hedge covers the drainage ditch by the road.

We admire the abundance.

There are hollyhocks. The hedges are changing color. On the ground, the maples are glowing. And this exuberant hydrangea makes me smile. Rea...