A few in the street who have stood and mused over its possible origins have claimed it could be from a discarded Weetabix, a thrown out stale crust of bread or a few stray seeds that were concealed in the turn-ups of trousers and just fell to the ground and took root.
It could equally easily have been a grain dropped by an overflying bird or just one of those natural processes where something lies dormant under the soil for generations and then climatic and nurturing conditions coincide to bring it to life and fruition.
This latter theory is perfectly feasible as although now an inner city cul de sac of modern houses and flats this location was, up until the late 1800's cultivatable agricultural land.
Whatever the origins it is still quite an amazing sight to see a clump of wheat growing in the front garden of a property in the middle of a busy city.
Those who tend to the garden, it being a bit of a communal area outside a couple of flats, have carefully preserved the proudly standing growth of the cereal crop with the flower bed turned over, hoe'd and weeded regularly and in fact the celebrity status of the plant has stimulated a bit of creative planting around it with brightly coloured perennials.
There was a bit of a panic a few days ago when some of the strands were seen to be weeping and wilting in the prolonged hot spell of weather prompting their careful strapping and tying up.
In spite of the urban environment and fumes from domestic boilers and vehicle emissions the heads of wheat look plum and healthy which confirm the durability and adaptability of the plant under many threatening circumstances.
There are other specific hazards to the well being of this small, local clump of wheat.
Wild animals in the city surroundings there are not but the attentions of domesticated dogs and cats warrants some deterrent actions such as keeping the gates to the garden closed or having a slipper or shoe to hand to lob at any inquisitive creature.
The proximity of human occupation seems to be enough to keep wild birds and vermin at bay at present.
In terms of actual growing conditions these seem to be very favourable with a broadly south facing aspect and protection from cold northerly's or strong westerly winds by the built up environment.
There have been a few close encounters with stray footballs from the multitude of young children playing out in the street but the flat dwellers who overlook the clump seem to take it in turns to keep a vigil and manage potentially threatening situations.
Recent wild fires on open ground in other parts of the country have been considered and a small bucket of water is kept with the wheelie bins in the small covered enclosure at the entrance to the flats for just such an eventuality.
The continuing hot weather should see a gradual ripening of the ears of wheat and there is already a discussion about the logistics of harvesting and making use of the crop which can be expected in late July or early to mid August.
Some of the guardians of the wheat are pretty ambitious in their expectations of grain yield and are hoping for enough flour, when milled, to make at least one loaf of bread of sufficient size to permit all to share it.
It is a very social and philanthropic chain of thought but given that, on average, it takes from half to one square metre of wheat to make a standard sized loaf the best that could be hoped for might be a couple of small breakfast rolls.
Still, that would still be enough for the local community, who have been galvanised in collective action by the clump, to break bread together.
That of course is dependant upon getting the combine harvester into the heart of the city, negotiating the narrow opening to the cul de sac and over the low wall that marks the boundary of that very tiniest of wheat fields.
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