Sometimes very tiny things make me do a little jump. In the garden at the head of the pond I planted a Chinese rhubarb. Chinese rhubarb is tall and different to other rhubarb. The vision was a huge statuesque plant that would look very grand at the end of the pond.

Rheum palmatum var. tanguticum (Chinese Rhubarb) is a dramatic, hardy, clump-forming perennial (up to 2.5 meters high) featuring deeply cut, jagged, reddish-purple leaves that mature to deep green with red stems. It produces large, airy panicles of pink to red flowers in early summer and thrives in moist, fertile, sunny to partially shaded soil. 

So says the Royal Horticultural Society. Sounds fantastic, doesn’t it. It turned out that the one I planted in 2022 was another sort of rhubarb, rather ordinary. I wrote to the nurseryman who supplied it, enclosing a picture. Oh sorry, he said, I’ll replace it. So last year I received the new plant and located it at the head of the pond. I’ve been keeping an eye on the new plant. It’s been not there. A dead looking shoot. All the other rhubarb in the garden is practically pickable. I’ve been looking up, and nearly buying, some new seed. I’ve been worried.

And then this morning I spotted some tiny, tiny, green shoots. I did my little jump, and maybe a little shout!

In other news, see picture, the greengage at the allotment, Denniston’s Superb, is flowering for the first time, which means greengages, which is exciting. And Louise and I planted potatoes. And – did I mention my mouldy tomato seed – all the tomato seed I saved last year went mouldy – I sowed it anyway – and it all grew. There are many little tomato plants – if you’re local, I will have spares!