We started out by looking at some apple and cherry trees growing near the Barns. Susan explained the importance of proper pruning, starting early in the tree’s life, in order to get a healthy tree that produces good fruit. Becky told us how difficult cherries are for Not Far From the Tree’s volunteer fruit picking program: cherries on hundreds of trees throughout the city all ripen during the same week in June!
Next we talked about magnolias (genus: Magnolia), noting that the buds of those beautiful spring flowers are actually edible. Just peel off the fuzzy husk first! The fresh buds are great pickled or in salads and dried ones make a tasty seasoning – tasting a bit like cloves or mint!
We came across several Japanese maple trees (Acer palmatum) on our trek. Did you know that in the springtime, their young leaves are tasty and nutritious?
The fuzzy branches, red flowers and fruit clusters of the staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) are a common sight along roadsides and in ravines. These red fruits make a refreshing snack, and are good steeped into a lemonade-like drink. One tour participant told me that you can also make a good beer from them! We passed around some of these bunches so everyone could have a taste.
We also got the chance to try some crab apples picked by Not Far From the Tree volunteers. Yum!
The tour wrapped up at the LEAF Learning Garden, an oasis of native plants in Wychwood Barns Park that includes a variety of edibles including black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa), wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca) and American spikenard (Aralia racemosa). Thanks to everyone who came out for another great Edible Tree Tour!
If you missed this tour, join us for our next one.We’ll explore the Ashbridge Estate on Tuesday, September 9th!
Robyn Stewart is the Education and Outreach Coordinator at LEAF. LEAF Tree Tours are supported by Ontario Power Generation.