A patch of tulips growing in the front side yard. One can recognize tulip leaves by their distinctive curl. These particular tulip plants were near to blooming.

As could be seen in the rightmost of these tulip plants, buds appeared as spring began.

The bud of a fancy tulip poked itself above the curled leave of a tulip plant in one of the backyard raised gardens.

The first early leaves of spring poked their leaves up in the middle of the last month of winter.

The leaves of the tulip plant curl, which differentiates them from iris and daffodil leaves. In this photograph they were just beginning to show their curl.

The early leaves of spring were just beginning to poke up through a layer of mulch.