Spring Emergence

Yellow Flag Iris at the edge of the pond.

It is a miserable day today: snow, sleet, freezing rain. I hear the hard little pellets of sleet making a rat-a-tat-tat on the skylight windows; the ground is getting white; it is treacherous driving. I am staying on my hill. So, it's good to remember that yes, Spring is advancing. Yesterday morning, during a couple of hours of sunshine, I went out with my camera to document the plants that were showing their shoots above ground, or above water as with the Yellow Flag iris. 

Daffodils

Daffodils, flowers whose bright faces speak Spring, are coming up.

Iris Reticulata

The tiny Iris Reticulata, the earliest of the irises, has ends that look like small flames. A bud has already formed.

Tulips

The beginnings of tulips are bright red in the garden.

Egyptian, or Walking Onions

Egyptian onions are the first greens I harvest each year, adding a mild onion taste to salads or other dishes. You can see that deer have been munching on them, so I put up the electric fence to keep them out of the garden.

Sorrel

Another plant that starts out red: the herb sorrel, rising from last year's dried leaves.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb wins the prize for the funniest, and sexiest, way of beginning spring growth, with its shiny red knobs.

I stepped out on my porch to take a picture of today's ice, nearly slipping on the tiny glassy balls of sleet. It's nice to remember that all these beginnings of plants will be there when the weather warms again, ready to resume their growth.