Monday, February 15, 2010

A Bloom or Two for GBBD


Flowering Quince

It's truly slim pickins here on this Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I'm assuming that might be the case around the country as well, what with the weird weather everyone's been having (unless you live in Vancouver, maybe you have some blooms up there??). A couple weeks ago I posted a photo of some branches of Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles sp.) that I was forcing indoors (seen here). The blooms indoors are much lighter than what you see outdoors, as evidenced above.

Flowering Quince Bush

Many people commented that they wanted to try growing one of these at home so I wanted to show you all what the bush looks like. It's really fairly non-descript, much more so when it's just leaves and no blooms. I wish the bush would bloom all at once but you can see above that it doesn't. Mine has never developed fruit although I hear you can create a nice jelly from it. As the branches on the bush mature, they develop some nice one inch long thorns. Not much fun when you're trying to remove the privet that grows up amongst its branches in my case! The good thing about it is that it's fairly drought tolerant, grows in just about any soil, and blooms for a couple of weeks. The bad thing? It's just not that pretty when not in bloom and there's those nasty thorns.

Prostrate or Creeping Rosemary

The only other plants blooming in the garden are the rosemary's. Back in January they were blooming as well but the hard freezes put an end to that. Now it's up and at 'em again. I have two kinds, the prostrate or creeping rosemary seen above, and the upright kind seen below.

Upright Rosemary

Hopefully you can see the subtle differences in the two blooms. I haven't seen the bees yet. Probably too cold for them.

Agave filifera

I had to sneak one last snow photo in. The snow from last week is long gone but it was a thrill while it lasted.

Be sure to visit Carol's blog to see links to more of what's in bloom around the world!

This post was written by Jean McWeeney for my blog Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog. Copyright 2009. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.

29 comments:

  1. Fickle February: you never know what you will have.

    I forgot that flowering quince was blooming when I snapped my pics for Bloom Day. When I was a child, Mama used a quince branch to make a gumdrop tree for Christmas.

    My rosemary rarely has a blossom, but it has a fragrance when brushed that is wonderful. Tasty on roasted potatoes, too.

    Happy Bloom Day. March should be so much better.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy GBBD! Looks as if we're both fans of red flowering quince! Mine is sound asleep under a mountain of snow. :((

    ReplyDelete
  3. It has been a most unusual February!
    I like the bloom of the flowering quince...A few shrubs are here and there in the neighborhood~It's not remarkable once the bloom is past....but it sure flowers early. I've heard folks say a jam/jelly can be made from the quince, but I haven't tasted it.

    gail

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love that flowering quince. It has always been one of my favorite winter blooms. So cheery, especially when everything else is brown or covered in snow.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Have always loved quince especially for the floral aspects. It is so architectural while giving a feel of the season!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The agave in snow is a really cool photo. It looks all wrong for a plant like that to be coexisting with the frozen stuff! Between the blooms and the melting snow, your spring shouldn't be too far away...

    ReplyDelete
  7. I hope your agave has survived the snow! I agree completely with you about the flowering quince, Jean--it's not that attractive when it isn't blooming. I inherited the one I have, and I didn't even know what it was until I posted a photo of it a few months after I started blogging. Before someone identified it for me,I was seriously considering digging it out and getting rid of it, but instead decided to give it a hard pruning instead. Lo and behold, it bloomed--the first time I'd ever seen flowers on it! It was serendipity that I happened to prune it at just the right time. I'm still not that fond of it...except of course, when it has those lovely blooms. The birds like it, though--it's a favorite roost for sparrows and juncos here.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That first photo of quince blooms is beautiful!

    My rosemary, which is 4 years old, large and healthy, has never bloomed! What is the trick?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Our quince seems to respond well to pruning and luckily it is in a location where it fades into the background when it's not blooming. I'd love another, but hard to give it prime real estate for the very reasons you mention. Happy GBBD!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I like the quince flower...too bad about the thorns, though. Spring can't get here soon enough!

    ReplyDelete
  11. The quince is lovely. I have not seen one in years. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I had no idea rosemary bloomed - nice to learn something new! And that photo of the agave in snow - so very unusual. I've always thought of them as tropical plants but more cold-hardy varieties seem to be introduced every year.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I spotted a flowering quince today, at an old homestead, on my way home. My mother always had one. That and forsythia. Haven't seen that one lately.

    Snow in Louisiana...just seems strange. At least, it was a short visit.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love that flowering quince. I understand it will grow in Austin. Adding it to my 'must have' list. Happy GBBD!

    ReplyDelete
  15. The quince flower is pretty but I can do without thorns. It's bad enough that I tend to my husband's roses -lol.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks for the rosemary info. I very well may have missed the blooms, because I never would've dreamed they would appear in the dead of winter! Ha.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Brrr. That's one tough rosemary.

    Happy bloom day!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love your quince shot Jean and I too love the rather nondescript shrub. I do not get fruit either... seems that might be a particular species.

    ReplyDelete
  19. At least you have OUTSIDE blooms! I can't even find most of the plants here, for all the snow! LOL. I've got a red flowering quince, too, which I love. It's had a few fruits on it, but I never did anything with them. Maybe I will this year if it gets fruit again. I do love their blooms!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Love the agave in snow photo! Also love quince... one of the few types of shrubs I don't have, LOL! I love the very vibrant color... and my fave nursery only has more pastel shades (pooey!). Of course, I could certainly look elsewhere...

    ReplyDelete
  21. My Flowering Quince does bloom all at once and does have a few fruits, but I don't like it. If it bloomed in February, I think I'd like it a lot more.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love quince blooms, the colour is lovely.
    Rosemary is also a favourite....mine is not looking too good at this time, due to the snow and ice. I shall keep my fingers crossed.

    ReplyDelete
  23. It occured to me that perhaps other folks don't have blooms on their rosemary because of the cold. My rosemary plants were blooming in early January and then quit after the deep freeze which lasted about 4 days. Perhaps constant freezes cause them to hold back blooms?? We have had many, many nights of below freezing but I'm thinking the length of the freeze has something to do with whether or not they bloom.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Jean, the blooms on your flowering quince are pretty whether they're being forced inside or forced to be outside.

    Your agave filifera looks amazing in the snow. Your snow looks whiter and fluffier than ours.

    donna

    ReplyDelete
  25. I think the Flowering Quince looks just as beautiful as it is. I like it. Still, Happy GBBD! :) I had this great bloom last December, the coldest winter month yet in Florida. I think the efforts have paid off and I'm already satisfied even if it would not be a full bloom.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I've heard rosemary blooms called insignificant but I disagree. Look at them closely and the beauty in that tiny bloom is just breathtaking. I don't think mine ever stopped blooming, even during that 4 day freezing spell.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Lovely blooms on your quince, Jean. And I can see the difference in the rosemary blooms. All very lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I love the quince flower.
    It is really remarkable.

    I have to say the photo of the agave in the snow is really beautiful

    Pat xxx
    My Flower Delivery Dublin

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for visiting! I truly appreciate your visit and comments. If you ask me a question in your comment, I will answer it here.