January sees the quince trees at their quietest. There is a hush in the garden that spreads down from the trees, developing and encompassing all as each leaf falls. At ground level the bulbs are making holes in the quiet with the spears of snowdrop and muscari leaves. The flowers from the hellebores provide trills of colour whilst the garden waits for spring.
On Quince Major the lichen on the branches is apparent. I only notice it on the trees in winter, I think that the damp weather encourages it. As far as I know it does no harm so I let it be.
Winter is when I focus on the little things, it is a time for detail. I peer closely at the tips of the branches and there is a vague hint of green. We are yet to have the real cold of winter. So far it has fairly mild with very few frosts and hardly any consecutive frosts. The quince trees start to leaf-up earlier than many of the other trees in the garden which is always a joy, but also a worry when we are not through the frost-zone yet.
Quince Minor is in a similar state of rest. Quince Minor has to pull its socks up and perform better this year. If it has a return of the blight it has had for the last couple of years then it is reasonable to believe that its future is at best uncertain. So I breathe positivity into the tips of its branches, I tell it it is loved and I want it to succeed.
The quinces snooze gently, immobile in the gentle breeze and around them the snowdrops are pushing through the cold damp earth. The hush through the trees settles itself down for a few more weeks but spring will return and the quest for a quince 2019 will commence.
More followed trees can be found on Squirrelbasket's website; whom I thank for hosting this meme.
