Milkweed flowers

The milkweed is blooming.

That may not sound like a wonderful thing, but it's pretty cool. Although they have broad leaves and shade (and crowd out) other plants in the garden, the butterflies like them, and if you lean close, they have a very subtle fragrance which is very pleasant.

In the autumn, those flowers will have been transformed into pods containing dozens of seeds, each one on a tuft of fluff, waiting for the wind to carry it to a new place. Where they'll bloom next summer.

We always leave a few of these to grow in the garden. If you are so inclined, be aggressive when pulling them in the spring - they will take over!