In my garden the Japanese Quince definitely gives the most for the least, and for the longest period of time; consequently deserving the decision of “most unusual” for its good natured versatility.
During April, in Vermont, the glossy, olive-green, red-tinged leaves appear; by May Day, the branches are bursting with bright crimson-salmon buds; and by Mother’s Day, the shrub is filled with such flamboyant bloom that it is frequently called “burning bush.”
The delicate flowers combine well with their own leaves or other spring flowers for arrangements or corsages; and as early as March, sprays that are cut and soaked in warm water for a few hours will bloom in the house – presenting a bright preview of spring.
While the shrub is in bloom, gorgeous hummingbirds are attracted to it, as well as the bees that are so desirable for pollination; yet it remains undisturbed by destroying insects. Vials of sweetened water, attached to the branches, induce the prismatic-feathered hummingbirds to return throughout the summer. This tree keeps itself busy all year giving the leaf blower a break from its leaf round up during the spring and summer months.
During the summer, the leaves remain attractive, providing a privacy screen; while the shrub en, dunes neglect, partial shade of a neighbor’s fruit trees, and results from a dog-run beside it. In fact, a section behind some phlox on one side of the Japanese Quince was allotted to the dog during early training efforts to keep the lawn clean and free of holes. He learned that lesson quickly, but also appropriated the opposite side, beneath the arching branches of the bush, for his shaded den. What other plant could survive such treatment? But that is not all.
In the fall, when the rush of canning and garden chores are finished, the quince furnishes fragrant fruit which can be used for clear amber jelly, made into old-fashioned pomanders or merely placed to shrivel up and dry wherever their perfume is desired thru the winter.
Thus, the Japanese quince (botanically named Chaenomeles lagenaria, and sometimes listed as Cydonia Japonica) is both beautiful and useful with unique versatility; yet it is also uniquely good-natured in that it demands little, accepting whatever food, water, and sunlight, nature and man are in the mood to provide. To be pruned, or not to be pruned, seems to be the owner’s choice. The first year of acquaintance with this shrub, my husband and I had seemingly more important tasks which consumed our time so that we left its care entirely to nature. We were told it had received the same treatment for at least two years previous to that. Now, its pleasing performance is rewarded with an early spring feeding, and attention to pruning suckers from the base of the bush. Cutting sprays, with consideration of symmetry, has left it shaped to suit us.
Though other flowers may be voiced as favorites, I doubt if I will ever find a garden subject more unusual in versatility than the Japanese Quince.