Blooms everywhere

It continues to be a glorious spring, and I am getting photos from all across the state.  The gardens have never been prettier–both flowers and vegetables. Community gardens are popping up everywhere, and it is a great way to build bonds while growing edibles.   See the pictures from a neighborhood garden in LR and a church garden in Saline County.  Raised beds definitely make things easier.  I have been so impressed with the bounty in my small 4 by 8 garden.  I have been harvesting lettuce, bok choy, green onions, spinach and kale.  I found a bag of daffodils in mid January and planted them and they all bloomed beautifully, and I even have two in bloom right now!  Having a daffodil mixed with hosta is pretty amazing.  My sinocalycanthus is in full bloom with beautiful camellia like blossoms in the shade.  Along with all the plants we enjoy seeing in our gardens, the weeds are doing pretty darn well.  I attacked my wild violets and have been weed-eating, hoeing, pulling and mulching trying to get a handle on them.  The privet and Japanese honeysuckle is blooming all over the state, and while it is pretty, it is also highly invasive.  I am also attacking my vinca major.  I bought a new electric rechargeable weedeater and it is doing a pretty good job. I have been impressed with the power, even though I went with the smaller battery to conserve on weight.  We have a full sized gas one, but it so heavy, that my arms wear out.  My new one lasts a full hour, which is about as long as my arms last anyway.  Then I recharge, both the battery and myself, before attacking later.  Statewide I have seen a lot of privet in full bloom.  I cut some out of my yard, and would love to eradicate it totally.  Although it blooms beautifully, it sets so many seeds that it takes over the world.   Poison ivy is more prolific than ever.  Be careful is you weedeat it like I did. I wore boots and long pants and gloves and cleaned up immediately afterwards. If it is flying around and lands on you, it can make you break out. 

With the help of my daughter to do the heavy lifting, we built a new flower bed to abut the one we built last spring.  We got some plants in the ground, but need to buy seasonal color yet.   My calibracho and verbena from last year are fabulous, and the pansies in the front bed still look great, so I will wait a bit.  So much to do!