The Quince Brothers have had a bit of a snooze but now they are thinking about Spring.
The boys like to go early, they are not ones to hang about; which in some ways is great as I get lovely early blossom and foliage yet also can be a worry as we will get further frosts.
At this stage frost is not really an issue, the new growth is only just peaking out and is still well protected. I stand in front of the trees and remind them of their main purpose.
"You are quince trees," I tell them; "your name tells you this, you are the Quince Brothers, you are Quince Major and Quince Minor and you have the ability to create fruit." I am not in the habit of quince-shaming them and they are secure in the knowledge that fruit or not I still regard them as exceptionally worthy trees to have in the garden. Fruit is not their sole purpose in life but as they usually provide at least one quince a year; I feel that some encouragement is useful.
"quince-up! " I hint to them whilst whispering words of love and support.
The Quest for a Quince 2024 is on - and time will tell how it develops.
A forest of followed trees under the stewardship of Squirrelbasket can be found here.
Take care and be kind.
