A Second Season - Garden Rhubarb

With the forced season now over, there’s always a slight pause.

Our grower in Yorkshire said it had ended early this year — no more forced rhubarb of the right quality. The soft pink stems that define those first weeks of spring were suddenly gone.

So I began looking closer to home.

Rhubarb has always eluded me a little. I’ve tried to grow it, but never quite managed it. This year, though, I noticed one perfect stalk pushing through the forcer. Pale, tender, exactly as it should be.

Just one.
Not enough to make jam.

Then a friend mentioned she had plenty in her garden. I went over and found it growing generously, almost unruly in the beds. We picked it slowly, pulling each stalk from the base — armfuls gathered without much effort.

Soon after, my sister said the same. More rhubarb, ready to be picked.

And so the season continues, just in a different way.

Garden rhubarb is fuller, with more body and a slightly earthier flavour. Less delicate than forced, but deeply satisfying. It feels like the more mature version — an elder sibling to those early stems.

In the pan, it softens more slowly, the colour deepens, and the flavour settles into something rounder and more grounded.

it is now part of our spring collection.

A natural next step — a continuation of the season, found a little closer to home. Shop the Season