Lilac buds are growing leaves. This is exciting, it's the first time I've taken a cutting from something and tried to get it to grow. I dipped it in rooting hormone (Indole-3-butyric acid!!), and I'm hoping that the growing buds/leaves are signs that the cutting is thriving.

I saw a single portulaca sprout this morning. When I looked again this afternoon, there were four more. If you've never seen one of these, you'd better bring a microscope. The seeds are miniscule and take a while to turn into an actual plant. Only the one peat cup has sprouts, the others haven't.

One marigold is a complete seedling, while three others are still trying to wrest themselves from their hulls.

Two nasturtium (nasturtia?) have broken ground, but neither has gotten leaves up yet.

Four zinnia have emerged.

A zillion and one snapdragons have sprouted. There were just too many, far more than I thought I planted. (Note to self, just because a seed is tiny doesn't mean it's less likely to grow. I sprinkled more snapdragon seeds than I should have.) I 'm thinning these out and will probably continue doing so over the next week.

The hollyhocks were the first to sprout and are farthest along so far.

There was a germinated seed in the lilac tray, so I move it into one of the starter cells. Now I'm not entirely sure it's a lilac as it looks a lot like the zinnias, but at this stage almost everything looks alike so I'll just give it a little time.

The garlic came from the refrigerator. The problem (if you plan to eat it) with keeping it in the fridge is that this makes it grow shoots. I planted three cloves in peat pots and am watching to see what happens. I have no idea whether this is the right way to grow garlic, but I'd rather experiment than google.

Outside...

Dianthus is growing new leaves.

Crocuses are blooming. Most are in garden areas, but a couple are naturalized in the lawn and have now survived three winters. I need to plant more of these, as it's nice seeing signs of life in the lawn, and they don't get in the way of my lawn care.

The rose bushes have many branch buds. I think this will be another great year for them.

The bearded iris has sent up a few shoots. I left last year's leaves alone because they've been mostly green, and I figure as long as it's green it's helping the plant. They'll come off soon though.

Tulips have broken ground.

Salvia is showing a couple of tiny leaves. Hopefully the plant doesn't get blown down by a storm like it did last year.

Lunaria (money plant) has been happy all winter and is now growing new foliage.

I cut the clematis down to 4 inches (10 cm), and the remaining twigs now have buds ready to burst.

The Japanese Iris has sent up tiny (1" / 2.5 cm) shoots.

The big lilac bushes are budding, but they're not as far along as the cutting I took a few days ago.

Daffodils are coming up. I expect they'll be blooming in another few weeks.

And that's where things stand now. I think my future updates won't be as lengthy.