Hens and Chicks ©voyager, all rights reserved
I found my first growing thing of spring today. It’s a brave little hens and chicks lured out of its nest by the bright spring sun. Too bad for the little hen, though, that it’s still bloody cold. The high today was +5º, but there’s a bitter north wind blowing making it feel more like minus 5 instead. It’s supposed to get up to +11º by the end of the week, but then dip back down to zero again for a few more days. Sigh. Is it just me, or is spring taking a bit too long to get here this year?
Now it is spring!
I had no idea it was called a hen and chicks! How charming. We’ve had snowdrops for quite some time now, but I’ve noticed they’re not actually a true harbinger of spring, since they will bloom in the snow, too. Lying botanicals.
Neither did I know that those are called hen-and-chicks, or that the Finnish name is mehiparta (succulent beard, parta = beard). But I do remember my grandma growing those on a slope at our summer cottage.
Interesting how different the names are! In German these plants are called Hauswurz which is a combination of house and root (in the past root also meant plant).