Where did all this GREEN come from?

It seems like spring was just beginning...

Where did all this GREEN come from?!

We've had roses for a few weeks now.

Pink poppy

Butternut squash seedling.  One leaf apparently became slug food,
but it seems to live on...

Lettuce and kale in a planter outside our front door!

I planted this garlic last fall.  I found the tupperware
on the side of the road with some leftover enchiladas in it.  I promise that I did NOT eat the enchiladas.

New basil plants

The chocolate mint survived the year despite the efforts of some
spider mites.

My peas are getting TALL!  Peas, please!

Mystery plants!  The cotyledon looked suspiciously interesting,
so I didn't weed these out when they germinated.  From looking
at picture online, I think that it's not a weed.  My best guess
is that these are some sort of squash.  If not squash, maybe a melon?
Anybody have a guess?

Some carrots grow here.

Onions... There's also some little garlic plants that
I put in.  I also put in a celery plant that's growing
from the bottom of a celery bunch that I bought at the
store.  It has a few little leaves...

One of my tomato seeds turned into this!

Young lettuce plants.

Another mystery plant... Squash?  Melon?  Other ideas?

Broccoli also started from seed.  I have four of these plants, currently,
and I put a few more seeds in the ground to see what happens.

The pond

Matthew and I made this trellis over the weekend from some
posts we found lying behind our shed and some twine.  There
is a bitty cucumber plant (a start I got at the Farmer's Market)
 in the back right of the bed.  We also plan to have a couple
 of zucchini plants going up the trellis.  In the front of the bed we
 planted a couple more butternut squash plants hoping that they
 will happily sprawl onto the lawn.

Pepper starts that I bought at the Farmers' Market.

Another one of my very own tomato seedlings.

My spinach did NOT fare terribly well in the hail. :(

A couple carrots that didn't get eaten by slugs.

Onions and garlic.

Apple blossoms turn into bitty apples...

Strawberry blossoms turn into bitty strawberries...

I'm a fan of irises.

Someday these Peeposaurs will be big enough to lay eggs in
these nesting boxes.

Peeposaur sister love.

Baby chickens are happy when they can wander
a bit into the sun.

Deliasaurus usually follow me around the coop.  Especially
when I'm about to step outside.  She'll just sit there and patiently
wait for awhile hoping that she'll be allowed to sneak past me and
run into the great bug-and-slug-filled world!

So far I have learned that slugs are pretty much as obnoxious as everybody says they are.  A few of my "raised" beds are barely above ground, and I have learned that slugs can and will devour plants in those beds.  Since that is the case, I'm going to try to plant slug-resistant plants there (spinach, bush beans, onions, and garlic are so far seeming alright, while lettuce and carrots haven't worked terribly well).  I also am considering natural options to deter slugs.  I have heard that oyster shell sprinkled around the edges can keep them at bay.  Perhaps Diatomaceous Earth might be an option, but I hear it might wash away each time it rains.  The chickens DO eat slugs, which thrills me, but they're still currently a problem.  Any other ideas?

Here's hoping for many fruits and vegetables this year!  Since it's my first year, I'm trying not to expect too much, but that doesn't mean I can't pray for plenty. :)