Quince Crush

Chaenomeles speciosa (unknown cultivar) on a busy street corner near my home.

Yes, it must be a botanical crush. How else to explain why this flowering quince  has been my 365 project photo three times (days 21, 48 & 54) since January 1st. I admit I'm strongly attracted to the salmon-pink blossoms and have romantic notions of making quince jelly. Though I can't grow this shrub on the balcony, I wonder if I could recommend it to my mom for her garden (& thereby secure a source of fruit for jelly-making.)

So this evening, I decided to begin my research. Here are a few notable finds:

Botanical, horticultural & culinary links --

• Wikipedia's entry for Chaenomeles

• Flowering Quince: Cinderella of the Early Spring Garden

•  Kwantlen Polytechnic University, School of Horticulture plant database, Chaenomeles speciosa

• University of Conneticut's plant database, Chaenomeles speciosa

• Chaenomeles japonica

• Quince jelly

• How to use the fruit of the flowering quince

Comments

[Meighan]

I love flowering quince - it's so pretty!! Not much of a fruit though.. I think most quince jelly is made from fruiting quince (Cydonia oblonga). There's a big beautiful fruiting quince tree up at the UBC botanical gardens (in the "food garden") - it's the biggest one I've seen in Vancouver.

Photo --> http://www.flickr.com/photos/megz/4026767592/

[Elaine]

Hi, Meighan. Thanks so much for pointing out the difference between flowering quince (Chaenomeles ) and the quince that bears fruit (Cydonia oblonga). It looks like I won't be talking my mom into reserving a spot in the front border for a cultivar of Chaenomeles speciosa...at least not for the purpose of growing fruit for preserves.

Your quince photo is lovely. Thanks also for the nudge to visit the UBC Botanical Garden soon - I haven't been there in a year.

[Lucy]

Love them - we're currently looking for a house in the country (can't afford to buy in the city, so country it is) and I keep seeing beautiful old quince trees.

That blossom is a stunning model. No wonder you keep coming back to her!

[Arwen from Hoglet K]

Pretty flowers and fruit would be a win-win situation. That's a lovely photo!

[Elaine]

Hi Lucy. A home in the country with quince trees sounds idyllic. I recall you have a lovely quince recipe in your blog archives. I must update this post with a link to it.

Hello Arwen. Yes, pretty flower & juicy fruit are the perfect combination. This morning while looking for more information on how to use the fruit of flowering quince, I found this link: Beautiful flowers, fragrant fruit: Chaenomeles or Flowering Quince.
It has recipes for flowering quince extract and apple & flowering quince jam.