Hollyhock heaven

I am absolutely astounded at these hollyhocks!  Look at the colours!  They are at least 8 feet tall.  These were volunteers that I sort of repositioned when they weren't looking to the south side of the house.  Apparently they love their new space because they are rewarding us with the most delightful blooms.  I love it when things seed themselves, and being new to gardening about 3000 feet, I honestly don't know what will survive and what will give up after a season.  The Hollyhocks are troopers for sure and a wonderful old fashioned addition to the side garden.  Since they are performing so well, I'm going to let them go to seed and see if they decide to march down the length of the garden.  That would be fun.

I am trying out a new lens for my camera - a canon F2.8-60mm macro lens. What a beauty!  In the "old" days, when I shot film, I used an Olympus OM-1, with an f2.8 -50mm lens almost exclusively and I loved it.  I loved honing in on the bee in the flower.  On Sunday, out with a friend to an outdoor jazz concert, I was distracted by the swarm of bees in these purple flowers. The nectar in those flowers, apparently, was an irresistible attraction. I wish I could tell you what the plant is.  I'd love to know.
 I was able to get in close with this lovely new lens and get a few shots of the bees in action.  The other shot is nostalgic.  My Grandmother Landry was very fond of Oxalis.  In the family we call it Grandma Landry's clover.  My little plant is in bloom right now with the most delightful tiny pink flowers.  I've hauled that plant with me over three moves in the last 3 years, crazy person that I am.  I was very afraid it might have died in the winter but here it is, I'm thrilled to say.
The new afghan is growing slowly.  Right now it is very hot here, and knitting with a growing wool blanket on my knees is not good.  But being as how the Olympics are on, and being as how the downstairs stays pretty cool even in this heat, the afghan and I are spending time in front of the telly cheering on the Canadian team.
Afghan pictures to follow soon.