Plump Plants

It’s hard to imagine what the forests of North America looked like before they were impacted by colonial expansion, logging, and agriculture. No one alive today remembers the towering giants known as the eastern redwood for its size, or to many Indigenous nations east of the Mississippi, from southern Ontario to Florida—”Grandfather of the forest.” I’m talking about the American chestnut that once accounted for one out of every four trees in its native region.  A chestnut’s trunk could span 10 feet across, and the tops of the canopy were 100 feet off the ground. Old photos of settler families...

What’s the most delicious fruit flavour combination you can imagine? Is it kiwi-peach? Watermelon-grape? Cherry-mango? How about banana-prune? Ding ding ding! We have a winner! It might sound weird, but the last combo is actually super tasty, AND it’s found in a fruit that’s native to northern climates: the nannyberry. DESCRIPTION You’ll be forgiven if this is a new one—outside of landscape gardening and foraging circles it’s not very well known. I’d never heard of them until I was taking a walk with my sister-in-law/forager extraordinaire a few winters ago. I would have walked right by the shrivelled looking fruits, but...

As a kid, I used to spend hours playing with my dollhouse. I was obsessed with the miniaturized toiletries, dishes, rugs, lamps, and everything that made the house feel real. I remember a tiny pale blue hand towel hanging from the medicine cabinet, the size of a postage stamp. It was all uncanny in a magical way.  I feel the same way about hardy kiwis. They’re kiwis, but mini! Hardy kiwi fruit is about the size of a large grape and grows on a vine. It doesn’t have the fuzzy skin that we’re used to on regular kiwis, which is...

Hackberry trees have a bad reputation. I’m talking really, really bad. Listening to some people rag on them you’d think a hackberry tree swindled them out of their life savings or ran away with their dog. I’ve heard it described as a “trash” tree, and that one should always “hack it down.” Whoa! Let’s calm down folks. I’m inviting everyone to take another look. To know the hackberry is to love the hackberry. Part of the reason people don’t like the hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) is that it’s bark is kind of funky looking. It develops layers of spongy bark that...

Humans have a love/hate relationship with the mulberry tree. This is evidenced by municipal bylaws that outlaw them for things like excessive pollen and berries that stain sidewalks and cars.  My feeling is that the tree is simply misunderstood, and if everyone knew what I, and other mulberry enthusiasts, know, it would be a 100% love-fest.  So what is there to love about a mulberry tree?
 You can’t beat a mulberry (Morus) when it comes to bang for your buck. Mulberries grow quickly and are super prolific in their fruit yields. They’ll start producing in mid-June and then won’t stop...

Growing plants that are potentially lethal is kind of exciting. It’s like, “Don’t cross me! I could poison you with my ancient druid wisdom!” That’s how I feel about my elderberry bushes.  That being said, it would be pretty hard to secretly get someone to eat the eight or so pounds of elderberries required to take out an adult human. I’d have to settle for inducing an episode of “gastric distress”.  Just kidding!  The beneficial qualities of the elderberry (Sambucus) are equally wondrous.  In nature, elderberry bushes grow along the edge of woodlands, streams, and ditches. They like well-drained moist...