New Blooms!

I was very happy to see yesterday when I went in the back yard that the butterfly weed (asclepias tuberosa) that I planted this spring has started blooming. They are such a deep vibrant orange color, and they seem to be an ant magnet (you can see them if you look close). The stems don't seem to be very sturdy, I hope that they get better next year because they are flopping around and I stepped on a few. Last night was the first time in a while that I've been able to get any weeding done. The poke salad and ironweed have been taking over the bed back there, and I pulled out a bunch. Johnson grass has been taking seed in the mulch and I had to pull that out too. The plants in the rain garden seem to be holding their own, not knocking anything out but then it's their first year so I'm just glad they are still alive. Of course the weather has been so hot to work in, but when it's cooler outside there are too many mosquitos. You can't win no matter what you do it seems.