First Strawberry Flowers

At the top edge of the main vegetable garden, I have raspberry and strawberry plants. I was in them today weeding. Generally weeding is a fairly easy procedure; grab weed, loosen root with gardening gagget/tool/whatever, yank, grumble when root stays stubbornly in the ground. Unlike 'real' plants which will die if you yank their tops off, weeds just come back with a vengeance and they bring their all little weedy relatives. Weeding amoung the strawberries brings its own challenges. You have to be careful of the runners, making sure you don't cut through them. Dandelions especially seem to entwine themselves right through the plants and you have to carefully separate them so you don't make the plant a casualty of the weed war.

Today, I was rewarded for my diligence to weed, I found the first pale flowers on the strawberries. I like strawberry flowers, they are very unique. I like how the bright yellow centers and white petals deepen the shade of the green leaves. The flower forms a delicate bowl, petals curving up just enough to hold one drop of dew. A perfect spa for the fairy who wants to indulge herself. I don't think anything says "Spring is here" more clearly than strawberry flowers.