First Flowers and the Veggies Installed

My official first flowers of 2011 are those of Pulsatilla vulgaris, which is not the usual first flower, but welcome nonetheless. These flowers started showing colors on Easter weekend, but waited for today's calm sunny weather to really open up. They are traditionally known for being an Easter-blooming flower, and are very hardy. They get larger and and have more flowers every year, making a spectacular show as a mature plant.
Pulsatilla vulgaris in the sloped rock garden:

They also can be easily propagated. I make sure that several seed heads get spread around the flower bed in late summer, producing new plants all over this flower bed. I also have deep red and white versions of this same perennial flower, though they aren't blooming yet.

We got the vegetable garden seeded today, with the warm dry weather drawing us outside. It felt great to spread the crumbly composted cow manure as a top-dressing in the raised bed for the vegetables. Hopefully the vegetables reward this effort. This is probably the earliest we have planted the vegetable garden, but only cooler-weather veggies went in today, with the beans waiting till later (and tomatoes/pumpkins/zucchini growing indoors). The junior gardener #1 helped put in swiss chard and beets, then left to lounge in the shade and adjust her accessories while the lettuce, carrots, dill, pak choi, snow peas, and spinach were sown. The cute cartoon characters on a packet of giant sunflowers appealed to junior gardener, so a separate weedy patch was cleared for those. I can't wait till she sees those plants grow bigger than her! Go vegetables!