So innocent looking

 

Bluebells...such a sweet flower, so evocative of England where they carpet the countryside in an enchanting sea of blue. The bluebell there is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and digging up the plant or bulb is prohibited. 

Keep in mind, that flower is not to be confused with their rough cousin, the Spanish bluebell (above) which is very similar in appearance to the British bluebell.

As they say, a weed is just a flower in the wrong place. 

Spanish bluebells invade lawns and take over flower beds, the heavy leaves choking out everything else coming up. 

A Google search shows all the creative (and violent) ways people have tried to kill them: poison, flamethrower, boiling water, stomping the leaves to mush, cutting the tops off until they "starve" and so on. Oh, the rage.

Persistent as bamboo, none of these methods really work. All you can do is dig up the tiny deep bulbs--backbreaking work and impossible if there are "nice" plants growing in the vicinity.

It looks like a wild hog rooted through this bed. Yesterday I sliced off the bluebell leaves so the lilies and dahlias have some breathing space. But I'm just kicking the can down the road. Soon the flower beds will fill in and bluebells forgotten until next spring. 

When you've lived for 3/4 of a century, you have to pick your battles.

Aw, look at the dear things. All four chicks are thriving. Maya named the Easter Eggers (above) Bonnie and Clyde.