Contributed by A. Catherine Noon.

Since our theme is “Growing!,” I wanted to bring us back to plants. (Partly this is because the dumpster fire out there, ~waves hand vaguely at… everything~) is pulling so much focus for me, I need to go out and look at the flowers.

Which brings me to Q. Q?? Why did I sign up for Q?

What the hell am I going to talk about for Q?

One year, for the A to Z, I couldn’t think of anything for my “Q” post and so posted a bunch of pictures of snow leopards. Because I can.

But then, it hit me! I know what I’ll talk about!!

Quince Bush (Chaenomeles speciosa)

And here’s a picture of one growing just down the street from us:

It turns out this lovely plant actually produces small fruits, a little like an apple or pear, that are popular in jams and jellies because of their high pectin content. They’re native to East Asia, which means they’re considered an introduced species in my part of the world, but they’re one of the first shrubs to flower in the Spring which makes them quite the show stopper.

What about you, Dear Reader? What’s growing where you live?