Chaenomelis x Superba Crimson and Gold
Chaenomelis x Superba Crimson and Gold. I spotted this one below in a neighbours garden. Glad I am getting into the habit of having my camera in my pocket.
Flowering on the 19th of February, which is several weeks ahead of our plant in Aberdeen which was in the raised border in the patio.
I just love this plant and look forward to the late Winter, early Spring flowers, deep red with golden yellow anthers produced in abundance every year.
Planted against a wall and given plenty room for development of the seven foot long stems, you will be delighted with the result. unfortunately, as was often the case, the one in our garden was rather restricted, but still performed quite well.
Blooms so brightly coloured on otherwise bare stems are sure to catch the eye of passers by who may be surprised at such an unexpected sight in late February, in fact some may be tempted to sneak up your front path for a closer look.
Although the first blooms may appear in February, the full flush will come March/April 
especially for those in the Aberdeen area.
Crimson and Gold is often described as a compact variety which is very hardy and after the flowers go over you will often be rewarded with a crop of fragrant fruits (Quince), tucked in amongst the glossy dark green leaves, are they edible when cooked? to be quite honest, I haven’t a clue.
Hardiness – Fully hardy
Height – 100cm Width – 200cm
Position – Does best of all in full sun in Aberdeen
*** Chaenomelis *****
____________________
February has gone and early Spring rekindles interest in the garden. Come to think of it February had days that when the sun broke through, it felt positively Spring like, well that is, in our front garden which is south facing. Head round back to the north facing garden and you will find it not quite so cheery, however by lunchtime the sun is now starting to creep in even in the back.
It will probably be late Summer before we get a chance to get stuck into the back garden, however we are all ready to make some changes to the front.
Quite a strange set up at the moment, the narrow front lawn extends right across to the house opposite with no dividing line marking which is ours and which is the neighbours.
I have now cut out a couple of new borders and placed a pedestal and planter right in the centre of the new dividing border, this had pride and place in our Aberdeen garden. We haven’t as yet decided what we will plant in these new borders.
There is quite a large number of perennial plants in the front and back gardens, I will pot up many of them from the back as there is likely to be considerable destruction once the builders get going.
Below is some pictures of what was in flower on the 21st of February.
First of all a couple of pictures of the front giving an idea of what I was up to today.
Crocus are dotted all around the garden,its good to see, we had no idea which bulbs would be popping through in early Spring.
______________
We would normally chuck out these bedding type Primulas, however if you feel you have the room to leave them be, they can work a treat.
_____________
Most of the Daffodils are well budded, pretty sure this first one to bloom is Tete e Tete. Pulmonaria also just starting to flower in the back garden.
_________________
Plenty big clumps of Snowdrops, Myra was just lifting some and planting them around the unidentified tree in the front garden. Primula Vulgaris just started to bloom.
________________
Bergenia also putting in an appearance alongside this variegated Vinca which has buds about to open. Several actually opened up in January. This Vinca is behaving strangely, not hugging the ground but growing upright about three ft tall.
If you happen to leave a comment I will be sure to visit your site and do the same
Thanks Donna, I was feeling uncomfortable with relocated, ah well doesn’t take much to make me happy.
Alistair I love the new name of your blog, and wow how wonderful to see such early blooms. I like the new dividing bed as it pulls the border of the garden in. It is fun to see your garden as it wakes and see all your plans.
Hello Frances,
I have noticed quite a difference in plant growth for the time of year. Building work looming is really holding us back from getting stuck into the garden. I think we can go ahead and make some changes to the front garden.
Alistair nice to see you have been able to do some gardening, you seem to have had some good weather, I would think you will see quite a lot of difference in flowering times than in Aberdeen as not only are you further south but also on the warmer west side, you have some nice little plants appearing, it will be interesting seeing what the garden holds as the year moves on, Frances
I will keep our secret Pam.
I would definitely be tempted to sneak up someone’s path to photograph this beauty. The entrance to your front garden is looking inviting. P. x
Hi Janet, Even with a small garden I think we will still go down our usual route of trial and error.
Hello Alistair, you have some lovely plants popping up in your new garden, I remember how exciting it was in my first Spring here, waiting to see what would suddenly make itself known. Wonderful to have snowdrops and native primroses, I too have inherited some of the brightly coloured ones, I aim to rid myself of them gradually, but hope to find them a new home where they will be loved. I am a big fan of chaenomeles, I have a white one on the fence in my front garden, but no flowers as yet, probably too young, or perhaps it is too crowded, not sure. Wonderful to see you beginning to make your mark on your new garden, I hope you both really enjoy planning what to plant there.
SB, I do hope your severe weather eases up soon.
Your garden looks absolutely beautiful. And you are way ahead of us here on the US east coast. Our winter has been very cold, and so budding has slowed. I really like those planters in that front bed, so stylish.
Pleased to hear that Rick, I think showing the one post was causing some difficulty. It is a strange Vinca, from a distance it looks more like a Pieris.
Hi Alistair. Everything is back to normal now. On the matter of quince, I believe that you can use the fruits of Chaenomeles for preserves but it not of course the true quince which is Cydonia. I did have a Chaenomeles which has unfortunately expired and I now realise after reading your post that I do actually miss it. Don’t know what has got into your Vinca mine is 18″ maximum!
Carolyn, I always forget that Quince can be grown as a shrub as well as a climber. Think I will also pot one up.
Hi catmint, we do feel a bit like our own seedlings. No matter how often I write the ch word, I have to look it up.
Hi Alastair, it’s lovely to catch up with you in your new transplanted location, and to find out what you are doing with your new garden. I’ve always wanted one of those quince bushes (the ch. word is too hard to spell), I also love the soft pinks and whites they come in, but somehow I’ve never managed to fit them into the garden picture.
I have a quince, Texas Scarlet, that I just leave in a pot on the front porch all year round. Beautiful flowers for the last four to five years. Looks like you are getting started there, can’t wait to see the results.
Hi Astrid, Made a start getting some of the plants from Aberdeen placed in the front garden.
Hi Alistair
How wonderful to have a clean palette to work with! You had so many successes in Aberdeen, I’m sure some of your favourite plants could be incorporated into the new garden. The first should be this quince – what a gem! Lovely colour and habit.
I’ll maybe try that next year – thanks. I actually wish our squirrel would discover it too – it would stop him eating so many of the bird’s peanuts.
Angie, now that the initial shock of moving has passed things are looking up and yes it is an exciting time.
Hope you are on the mend Cathy, catch up with you later.
The early bloomers are always welcome Patty.
It is exciting seeing what is coming through Helene, nothing really out of the ordinary as yet.
I love Chaenomeles and my superba ‘Crimson and Gold’ is 10 years old this spring. I prune it heavily though to keep it in its allotted space, and right now it is actually relocated to a large pot. Pruning it like this means no fruit as fruit only comes on second or even third year wood, but I am not really that keen on the fruit anyway. I know you can cook them and eat them but they don’t taste that much so I’d rather keep my Chaenomeles small and manageable in my tiny garden. Last week I received my second Chaenomeles ordered online, Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Moerloosei’ and I can’t wait to see it in flower. I will prune it the same way. My Chaenomeles starts to flower just before Christmas and usually goes on flowering right until end of March or beginning of April.
It must be so exciting to see what’s coming out of the ground in your new garden, I guess it is a bit like Christmas every week, have you discovered something rather unusual yet?
Our neighbour grows a quince that I get to enjoy from afar. It is of scarlet hue and manages to make it self seen through the evergreens on the border. It is always a happy moment for me as it is an early bloomer – which I look forward to after this long cold winter.
Annette, our birds don’t eat the quince either – I think the fruits are too big. They prefer the crab apples and cherries as they are much smaller. Our squirrels devour the quince. I’m lucky to be able to scavenge enough for some jelly and a pie or too.
If you have a lot of fruit, I would try cooking it and and sweeten it with honey and sugar or even artificial sweetener. I use Splenda as my husband is diabetic. It makes a wonderfully tart pie. I add a meringue topping and it’s divine. They peel and cut like apples with a core inside. I make the filling more like I make lemon curd. Definitely give it a try if you have fruit – you’ll likely be very pleasantly surprised.
No, Alistair, I haven’t given up on the blog but I have not been well and have not had the energy to devote to it. I’ve taken tons of pix and have some posts outlined…. you should see some soon…..
Thanks for asking!
Please to see you’ve made a start on the front garden Alistair, I’m sure you and Myra will have it looking amazing in no time. It must be an exciting time, waiting too see what bulbs are going to appear.
I’ll be looking forward to the progress you make – at least with the builders coming, you will be able to concentrate on one garden at a time.
Cathy, I guess you will be glad to see an end to the snow. Have you given up on your blog?
Annette,I think this has been the mildest Winter on record, such a shame that so many people had to suffer such terrible flooding.
Hi Alistair, So glad to see you have started making your mark on your front garden. I loved the picture of the chaenomelis. I have one against a wall here, but no idea of the variety as it was long before I started collecting labels. Funny you mentioned the fruit as I was wondering that too the other day as I had so much last year which is still lying on the ground. I don’t think this can be the same sort of quince that the jelly is usually made from, but I did look it up and apparently if cooked you can eat it.
http://ediblethings.net/2013/01/04/jam-and-japonica/
Well the birds don’t eat mine so I don’t think I will either.
I can’t believe it but we actually have dwarf narcissus (Tete a tete) in flower here too. We are usually about 2 weeks behind Cheshire. Other plants still seem to be a bit behind you though. We haven’t had a lot of frost, but there is still plenty of time. Hoping for another lovely day today.
Alistair, we have a large quince of the same variety and we love it, as do the sparrows, which nest in the branches. We are still under 3 feet of snow, so I am enjoying spring vicariously through your photographs!