A FLOWERING DELIGHT AS A GIFT OR ORNAMENTAL SURPRISE

Ahead of International Women’s Day, the Japanese quince (also known as Chaenomeles Japonica), which is in blossom now, welcomes visitors to the Ashgabat Botanical Garden in all its beauty. The shrub, which boasts an abundance of vivid pink, almost red blooms, delights the eye with its splendid and tender lacy mantle.   

As senior research worker at the Botanical Garden Enejan Amatova explained, although the quince is called Japanese, it is widespread across China, too. The plants were brought to the Ashgabat Botanical Garden back in 1937 from two places: six-year-old seedlings from the Nikitsky Botanical Garden (the city of Yalta) and four-year-old seedlings from the city of Batumi. The Japanese quince blooms every year in our climate conditions, and can be used as an ornamental shrub and a welcome addition to the capital’s green spaces.      

When winters are warm, the shrubs tend to flower in February.  This winter with its temperature fluctuations affected the behaviour of the plants that call the Botanical Garden their home. And the Japanese quince burst into bloom in the first days of the spring, offering a pure visual delight to women coming to explore this floral realm ahead of the holiday. 

- What will the Botanical Garden enthrall us with next time?- we asked senior research worker Ekaterina Kuroshina. 

- With blooming onions. This is a spectacular sight to behold, too! - she answered meaningfully.   

Tamara GLAZUNOVA 

Photo: Yuri SHKURIN 

A Flowering Delight as a Gift or Ornamental Surprise (turkmenistan.gov.tm)