Volunteers and returnees

We're very surprised to find clockvine (thunbergia alata). The vines must have been there all along, just holding their own, and are now encouraged by the cooler weather to bloom. Both kinds of flowers seen so far have black centers. We're also finding nasturtiums springing up in very strange places, although only one has bloomed so far. Some creature is smart enough to extract seeds of hyacinth beans by some sort of drilling method, it appears. Fennel is back in bloom, and both kinds of milkweed are really flowering profusely. No paperwhite flowers have opened, but there are plenty of fat buds. In addition to the ranunculus and anemone leaves appearing everywhere in the grass, we're also seeing many leaf spears of Dutch iris. Morning glory flowers are few, but seed pods are everywhere. Cosmos are beginning to form seeds. Mockingbirds remain busy with lantana berries. It's time to start eating some of that leaf lettuce.