Perennial garden sprouting...

After a long cold winter (November 2010-February 2011), those perennials that are sprouting (at 7000 ft.) include: thymus (English thyme), penstemon, tulipa, kniphofia (red hot poker), linum (blue flax), and...

Iris

Narcissus (daffodil)

 Nepata (catnip)

Agastache

Papaver (poppy) 

And this rhubarb has popped back up in the vegetable garden!

These violas survived in the garden all winter long as well:

This is a summary from two separate perennial gardens at the same elevation. We're in USDA plant hardiness zone 5-6.

The only clean-up we're doing is some pruning.  The cuttings make good mulch and more likely most of that will blow away with our March-April winds.

Just a reminder we're in the high desert.