Rhubarb Finally Sprouting!

After a long winter, seeing little plants sprout up in the garden is the nicest thing! The rhubarb has just started growing, & at first it’s a very funny looking plant, as the leaves are all shriveled up. It’s one of the earliest plants to start growing, & it grows very fast. In just 3 or 4 days it’s gone from being barely the size of my thumb, to about 4 – 5 inches tall. Some of the other newly sprouting plants are dandelions, lots of bluets, & even a few tulips. In just a few weeks, the ground has lost its dull brown hue, & become splashed with every bright color in the rainbow!

Earwigs!

The rhubarb plants went to seed a few weeks ago, & when they do, a big stalk shows up in the middle of the rhubarb bush, & it has a huge cluster of tiny round seeds on it. It dried up a while ago when the rhubarb stopped growing, & the stalk became brittle & hollow. A few days ago I cracked it open,  & earwigs started just pouring out of the stalk. It was completely stuffed with them! A lot of people hate earwigs, because they can destroy gardens, & earwigs do eat some plants, but they are also a big predator of mites & aphids, which are probably worse for your garden than earwigs are.

Rhubarb plants ‘going to seed’

It was a super early spring this year. My rhubarb plants, which usually start to produce seeds June – August, already have big clusters of seeds on their stalks. The stalks with seeds on them are completely hollow inside, too. Rhubarb seeds take 3 years to be ready to harvest. It is actually a vegetable, & the part we eat is called the petiole. They need a lot of sun to grow, & quite a lot of space. But once they start growing, they are extremely hardy & keep growing for a long time.

'a rhubarb plant'

 

March flowers

 

"A crocus."

Crocuses are blossoming bright yellow flowers. They are one of the first flowers to bloom here, and can handle fairly cold temperatures.

Tulips are also sprouting, but it will be a while before you can see their petals. Tulips are one of the last flowers to blossom in the spring, and have a fairly short season, as they stop blooming in early summer.

Rhubarb plants are peeking out of the ground too. They are very tiny now; in a few months they’ll be large enough to cook with,(-= but now you can barely see them.

Other plants that will show up soon are: Chives, Rhododendrons, & Dianthis. But right now they’re still hidden, waiting for warmer weather.