There are some really nice gardens in Vankleek Hill, but most of them are basically identical, with the same flowers and the same basic layout — either they run along the side of the home, with a few island features close to trees, or they’re centred around the main entrance with some hanging features.

Most of the gardens in town lose their colour, or get stuck with only one type of flower for the last six weeks of the season. But there are two or three people in town who seem to know what they’re doing, or at least know how to use the Yellow Pages.

The Horticultural Society, for example, maintains a few small nondescript (re: boring) installations near the Community Centre that last all season, but it’s one of the best in town thanks to their flower selection. Not only are their gardens filled with colour all year, but it’s interesting colour… sigh, blah blah blah.

This flower caught my attention because it’s like someone took a fluorescent highlighter to it as a prank. I also thought if I took a photo of this flower I could use it to increase my social standing within this community. That assumption was way off the mark.