I haven't made it to Beechwood for a couple of days, the weather looks terrible for the rest of the week, and I'll be away over the weekend, so you probably won't get a wetland update from me for a while. In the meantime, I offer a few pictures from my own (completely neglected) garden.

Sedum telephium 'Autumn Joy' is one of the first things to appear in the spring. At the tail end of winter, when you're wondering if the snow and cold will ever end, go dig around where your sedum lives and you should find some bright green knobs appearing impossibly early.

Kerria japonica puts on a good show:

My pink poppies, Papaver orientale 'Princess Victoria Louise', opened late last week:

They're already blowing apart and the coming storms will finish them off, alas. Here's a petal up close:

A simple little wild rose:

Lamium maculatum (Spotted Lamium) 'Purple Dragon' is also called Dead Nettle. This is a lot more fun to be around than the stinging nettle we have at Beechwood. Seen from below, the flowers look to me like eager little faces: