Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Quince blooming in the rain

The local quince tree, a cultivar of Cydonia oblonga. This is not your average NYC street tree; it’s not even on the official street tree list. But there you go. It’s here, it’s blooming, and it usually fruits — smaller pomes than you see in the supermarket. Actually, you probably don’t see quince in the supermarket. It’s a farmer’s market item, and not very common then. The fragrance of the fruit, however, perfumes a whole room, and the hard, slightly pear-shaped, sometimes fuzzy-skinned fruits are worth seeking out just for the smell. But you can eat them too, after cooking them well. I’ve added them to apple pies and made tasty compotes/jam from them. They have lots of pectin. The fruit is generally more appreciated over the Atlantic than here.

Updated 4-13-10. Shit. I came back to the city after a week away and found that this tree, at the corner of Atlantic & Henry, had been runover. It was snapped in half and uprooted. The Ents are very, very unhappy.

A life of a street tree is hard, my friends: endless dog piss, salt, trucks, vandals and other assholes, these are just the beginnings of their tribulations.

mthew

4 responses to “Quince blooming in the rain”

  1. Melissa

    Beautiful! Nothing looks that far along in Riverside Park, although a little magnolia tree is almost ready to pop open its blossoms. Peter Quince is one of the mechanicals in Midummer Night’s Dream, but which one? I’m thinking tailor, but not sure. And what’s the name of the evil tutor in Turn of the Screw? Is it also Peter Quince? Or maybe Peter Quint, which definitely sounds more potentially malevolent – especially now that I’ve seen your delicate quince.

    Reply
  2. mthew

    It’s warmer down here in the south, bathed by the balmy breezes of the Atlantic. PQ was a rude mechanical, to be sure. According to Wallace Stevens, he also played the clavier. Also, there’s Captain Quint from Jaws, and Captain Queeg from The Caine Mutiny.

    Reply
  3. Clinton Street Blossoms « Backyard and Beyond

    […] fall like a gentle snow. These two were on Clinton Street in Brooklyn Heights yesterday. I miss the quince that was on my street until it was assassinated last […]

    Reply
  4. WTF? « Backyard and Beyond

    […] can’t help but recall my appreciation of the local quince tree, which was run over soon after I posted about it. That was coincidence, of course, a reminder of […]

    Reply

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