The Flowering Quince shrubs (Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Toyo-Nishiki’) are the first to show obvious signs of spring. For almost ten years, these two had been in a dark back corner of my front garden where the expanding tree canopies had completely blocked out the sun. Since their transplantation during my front garden’s makeover two years ago, they have recovered and are currently thriving in their new spot next to the sidewalk. Now anyone passing can easily see and enjoy these two showoffs.
Larger planting beds and less grass means less maintenance. With the exception of three Turk’s Cap shrubs, the front garden is now complete. Because of the newly extended beds, the removal of the not-so-hot-looking plants, the transplanting of some of the original perennials, and the addition of shade tolerant perennials, I’m hoping that I won’t need to be putting in the insane amount of maintenance hours that have been required over the last few summers. Looking at the above and following photos, you may think that things look a bit tiny and insignificant. Just you wait. In July or August, I’ll be taking new photos, and you will definitely see a big difference.
This photo was taken March 11, but I’ve been unable to share it with you until now. In fact, there are a lot more spring garden photos waiting to be presented in chronological order. And yes… there’s a really good excuse for this delay. The old family homestead has been sold, and the new owner has kindly leased it back to us for two weeks, giving us time to set up an estate sale. Working a fiendish schedule culling, cleaning, sorting, pricing, and staging for this monster sale has left me little time for blogging. If you’re in Dallas and into collecting other peoples’ stuff, go here and here for pertinent details and photos.
Flowering Quince. Just because the fruit looks like a green apple does not mean it can be eaten like one, as in raw. Even the birds and other critters don’t seem to like it. After counting a grand total of twelve on my two shrubs, I searched the internet for some recipe options. Only jellies and quince butter were recommended. Because of the twelve hour minimum cooking time needed to soften them, this project just would not be worthwhile for me. So once they ripen and drop, they’ll be added to my compost heap.