Yes it seems strange but some of the new spring shoots in the garden are deep red.

The bleeding heart or Dicentra Formosa is growing rapidly from red shoots to red stalks the plant will soon blossom with the heart shaped flower.

The strongest red and my favourite is the shoot of the paeony. When they are just breaking through the ground the look like little short domes of  a strong glossy red. Well established plants produce a large number of shoots which augers well for a show of blossom in June.

I have just seen frondy red stalks from a spirea in a neighbour’s garden and the red buds of my Rhubarb have just shot in to bright green leaf with swelling red stalks.

Don’t let anyone tell you spring is only for the yellows, look around at soil level and I hope you will agree.