Fruiting Trees, Shrubs & Edible and Useful Perennials
We grow a wide variety of fruiting trees, shrubs and edible perennials with a tendency towards the rare and unusual (with a few old stand-bys thrown in). Some of these are not edible, but have that essential combination of beauty and utility that is the backbone of a fully refined permaculture garden. If we sell it, we grow it here on the farm, and while some of our selections have yet to fruit for us, we only sell what has proven to grow well here on the coast, and what is hardy enough to make it through our winters. In a few cases, this means specific siting or protection, but is this is required it is listed in the description below. Most of what we sell can grow unprotected, and is hardy to our zone (7b at the farm) with most selections being hardy to a few zones lower.
Black Mulberry
(Morus nigra)
The only reason the mulberry is not your favourite berry? Because you likely haven't tried one. The fruit perishes within a day of ripeness, and on account of this it has never been a viable commercial crop. A fresh mulberry looks a little like an elongated blackberry, and has a sweet, rich flavour with an aftertaste that is best described as 'creamy'. Eaten fresh or dried, they are incredible.
Morus Nigra (black mulberry) seedlings 1 gal. $20
Fragrant Spring Tree, Northern Mahogany
(Toona sinensis, Cedrella sinensis)
An amazing, useful and ornamental tree, little known in North America. Grown in Northern China as a vegetable, where it is coppiced as a crop to yield numerous shoots. Young leaves and shoots are eaten, and have a delicious savoury taste (somewhat onion-like). We eat them often, and dry the young leaves into a spice powder that goes well in soups, stir-frys and stews. The leaves are also quite nutritious, containing 9.8% protein, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin B1 and B2. Toona is also used in Chinese Medicine, and recent reputable studies have indicated some medicinal benefit from Toona leaf tea. As if this wasn't enough, Toona sinensis is the northernmost member of the Mahogany family, and the wood has many of the qualities of tropical mahogany. To top it all off, Toona has been our fastest growing tree, exceeding even Paulownia. A 5 year old seedling in the garden is presently 16' tall and growing. We grow the Chinese strain "North Red", bred specifically for aromatic shoot production. Fully hardy in our climate.
Toona sinensis 'North Red' 1 gallon $15
Toona sinensis 'North Red' 1 gallon $15
Goumi & Aki-goumi
(Elaeagnus multiflora, E. umbellata)
6Elaeagnus multiflora, E. umbellata
Goumi berries grow on tough, nitrogen fixing shrubs which grow from 6-12' tall, depending on the species and variety. Their dense growth habit makes them a good hedge plant, and the small flowers, though insignificant, occur in fragrant masses in the late spring. The berries that follow are abundant, and range from fairly large and sweet to small and insipid. We grow two separate species: elaeagnus multiflora, also known as 'goumi', and elaeagnus umbellata, also known as "Aki-goumi". Umbellata (Aki-goumi, Autumn Olive...though not an olive at all) is a larger (10'-12') shrub with clusters of smaller berries, while Goumi (E. multiflora) is smaller--6'-8' tall--with larger fruit that occurs singly, but in profusion. We only grow improved varieties, bred for tastier and more abundant fruit production. At present, we have the variety "Amber" aki-goumi, a beautiful shrub with silver bark, producing huge amounts of yellow berries. Unlike other Aki-goumi fruit, which can be astringent and lack flavour (though some named varieties have superior fruit) we find this Amber variety to be delicious, and call it "lemonade berry" here on the farm (not to be confused with the tropical shrub with the same name), as the abundant fruit is sweet and tangy, and extremely juicy. An added bonus is that the yellow fruit is ignored by birds: red-fruited varieties can be stripped in a day, while the yellow fruit remains untouched.
Elaeagnus umbellata "Amber", Amber Aki-Goumi 1 gal. $20 SOLD OUT until Fall 2016
Goumi berries grow on tough, nitrogen fixing shrubs which grow from 6-12' tall, depending on the species and variety. Their dense growth habit makes them a good hedge plant, and the small flowers, though insignificant, occur in fragrant masses in the late spring. The berries that follow are abundant, and range from fairly large and sweet to small and insipid. We grow two separate species: elaeagnus multiflora, also known as 'goumi', and elaeagnus umbellata, also known as "Aki-goumi". Umbellata (Aki-goumi, Autumn Olive...though not an olive at all) is a larger (10'-12') shrub with clusters of smaller berries, while Goumi (E. multiflora) is smaller--6'-8' tall--with larger fruit that occurs singly, but in profusion. We only grow improved varieties, bred for tastier and more abundant fruit production. At present, we have the variety "Amber" aki-goumi, a beautiful shrub with silver bark, producing huge amounts of yellow berries. Unlike other Aki-goumi fruit, which can be astringent and lack flavour (though some named varieties have superior fruit) we find this Amber variety to be delicious, and call it "lemonade berry" here on the farm (not to be confused with the tropical shrub with the same name), as the abundant fruit is sweet and tangy, and extremely juicy. An added bonus is that the yellow fruit is ignored by birds: red-fruited varieties can be stripped in a day, while the yellow fruit remains untouched.
Elaeagnus umbellata "Amber", Amber Aki-Goumi 1 gal. $20 SOLD OUT until Fall 2016
Empress Tree, Foxglove Tree
(Paulownia tomentosa)
Reputedly the 'world's fastest growing tree', though for us Toona sinensis has been faster. Named 'foxglove tree' for it's abundant clusters of purple flowers which look a lot like foxglove clusters perched on the branches. Flowers are followed by large leaves; if the tree is pruned hard each season, it will grow several feet with enormous leaves, if left as a tree it will have smaller leaves but quickly grow to size. Tends to sit for the first year, sometimes dying back to the ground in the winter, coming back with a vengeance the following year, sometimes growing up to 12' in a season!
Paulownia tomentosa 1 gal. $15
Paulownia tomentosa 1 gal. $15
Strawberry Tree
(Arbutus unedo)
Cousin to our native arbutus, common in Ireland (where it is sometimes called the Killarney Strawberry Tree), also known as the Apple of Cain, an evergreen tree growing 30'-40' at maturity. Actual quite fast growing, picturesque in form, and eventually yielding an interesting fruit which ripens on the tree over a year, in time for the next round of blossoms. Yellow, orange and red fruits sit on the tree at the same time. There is some variation on the quality of the fruit: some sources describe it as 'insipid', while others find it quite good. We enjoy the fruits; at their best, they are sweet and juicy. Handsome tree overall, worth growing as a specimen.
Arbutus unedo 1 gal. $15 SOLD OUT until Fall 2017
Jubilee Fruiting Rose
(Rosa rugosa 'Jubilee')
A special variety of wild rose, an improved strain imported from Russia noted for it's extremely large and 'meaty' rose hips which have are noted for their extremely high Vitamin C content. This variety has been developed specifically for it's fruits, and is in this respect a superior choice for tough areas or wherever else wild roses (whether as a hedge of stand-alone specimen) are suitable. We've noted how much this one stands out from the local wild roses: larger blooms, and beautiful large hips as advertised. After growing this one for a few years, we are excited to finally be able to offer it for sale. We consider this to be a superior 'permaculture plant': a tough, multi-purpose plant, reliably productive of Vitamin rich fruit which can be preserved (dried) for winter consumption, providing good forage for local insects, easy to work into a mixed hedge of polyculture.
Rosa rugosa 'Jubilee' 2 gallon $25 SOLD OUT until Fall 2017
Rosa rugosa 'Jubilee' 2 gallon $25 SOLD OUT until Fall 2017
Akita-Fuki
(Petasites japonicus var. giganteus)
aka Giant Japanese Butterbur
Incredible edible giant perennial, with enormous kidney shaped leaves 3-4' wide on sturdy stalks to 6' tall. It dies back in the Fall, flowers early in the Spring followed by the emergence of the enormous leaves. Cultivated in Japan as a vegetable since the Heian period (794-1185), especially on the island of Hokkaido where the leaves and stalks were used as disposable umbrellas: an old Japanese folk song from the region includes the line "In case of rain, we don't need umbrellas in Akita". The flower stems and leaf stalks are boiled and de-veined as a spring vegetable, often served with miso (for more detailed cooking instructions, please see http://talk-hokkaido.blogspot.ca/2012/05/how-to-cook-spring-1-petasites.html). Unlike the species form of Fuki (the small leafed type), the gigantic version does not spread as aggressively. Fast to establish, thrives beside a pond or in a moist area, and looks spectacular all Summer.
Akita Fuki 1 gallon size root divisions $15
Akita Fuki 1 gallon size root divisions $15