by Lydia Holley March 22, 2021
Spring officially arrived on March 20, and my garden decided to celebrate. In bloom were pear and peach trees, irises, daffodils, muscari, summer snowflakes, forsythia, crab apple, and flowering quince. The bees have found them all, plus the hollies which have such miniature flowers I would not know they were in bloom if the entire plant was not buzzing from the number of pollinators visiting it.
Flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) is from China and grows up to 10 ft tall. Like forsythia, it flowers on bare stems. This plant usually displays bright red blooms, although there are pink and apricot cultivars. If you do not prune it immediately afterward, it will produce small fruit which are not good to eat, but which many people use to make jelly. Flowers form on old growth, so if your desire is flowers instead of fruit, right after flowering is the best time to prune.
Flowering quince has long, sharp thorns, so it makes a good barrier plant, especially as a hedge. It can also be grown as a specimen or container plant. Japanese quince (C. japonica) is a smaller sized flowering quince, growing to only four feet tall with arching branches instead of upright ones.
All the flowers now blooming in my garden have given me hope, which gardeners in East Texas have badly needed after last month’s freeze. Janelle Cole says her Esperanza is coming up from the roots, and my flame acanthus is leafing out. Both of these plants were considered doubtful to live through the harsh weather we experienced. This gives me hope that the winter’s storm was not as damaging as first believed. Yes, losses may happen, but there will also be encouraging surprises. Spring is the perfect season for renewed hope, with its warm days, bright light, cheerful flowers, and a few plants that refuse to die.
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