Colour for a rainy day

Thought a splash of vibrant colour was what was needed here and even more so in southern Alberta today, especially for those living south of Calgary, where people are getting very anxious about the amount of rain that has fallen and is expected to fall over the next couple of days. The memory of last year's devastating Alberta Flood of the Century is on people's minds, as evacuation warnings are being given in some places.

Taken at the Calgary Zoo on 8 September 2011. Zinnias are some of my favourite flowers to photograph, but, unfortunately, the Zoo stopped planting them the following years.

"The garden zinnia was bred via hybridisation from the wild form. Zinnias are popular garden plants with hundreds of cultivars in many flower colors, sizes and forms. There are giant forms with flower heads up to 6 in (15 cm) in diameter.

Flower colours range from white and cream to pinks, reds, and purples, to green, yellow, apricot, orange, salmon, and bronze. Some are striped, speckled or bicoloured. There are "pom-pom" forms that resemble dahlias. Sizes range from dwarf varieties of less than 6 inches (15 cm) in height to 3 feett (0.9 m) tall." From Wikipedia.