Back in the spring, I made an attempt at setting up a fountain in the new flower bed. I sank a resin half-barrel partway into the ground and (after a brief delay caused by the realization that untreated, resin will let water seep through) set up a solar powered fountain.
The fountain was pretty cool in concept, but it tended to clog pretty easily. Like three times in a single day. (I quit trying after a couple hours.)
So, plan B. I went to a garden center a couple weeks ago and bought a water lily. Most things in the flower beds aren’t all that interesting until the second or third year, so I wasn’t expecting much. But when I came home on Tuesday so the air conditioner could be repaired, I spotted this bit of beauty.

The flower closed up a few minutes later, so I’m glad I had the phone with me. After this weekend’s rains, there’s now another inch of water in the barrel and the bloom’s stalk hasn’t stretched back to the surface quite yet. But in the meantime, there’s now another bud I hope will bloom sometime this week.
Like I said, most things in the flower beds aren’t all that interesting until the second or third year. So next summer, this should be pretty spectacular!