Took my kid to headstart like any normal day but the guy who manages the building was around so I introduced myself and asked him if I could plant native fruit trees and shrubs in the margins of their property along the wood lines and fencing and to my surprise the guy was super receptive and gave me permission. So excited for a new blank canvas, been daydreaming the various things I wanna put in there.
I'm in Michigan so I'll probably start with black currant, wild plum, staghorn sumac, paw paw, and red mulberry.
Figured I would share a win I had today and maybe get a conversation started on creative ways to expand the areas available to you to plant. Have any of you done this already or have interesting approaches? Would love your thoughts on a ground to canopy selection for kids to browse from.
by PaImer_Eldritch
11 Comments
Don’t forget service berry!
This gladdens my heart. Good for you ! What a huge win
Current List –
What I have available now.
-Black Currant (Ribes americanum)
-Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia)
-Solomon’s Plume (Maianthemum racemosum)
-Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina)
-Wild Plum (Prunus americana)
-Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum opulus var. americanum)
-Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia)
-Red Mulberry (Morus rubra)
What I would like to get my grubby little mitts on.
-Paw Paw
-Low and Highbush blueberry
**Help add to my list!** I’m mostly looking for plants that are edible and native. They don’t have to be palatable though.
I think I also want to put speckled alder in there for nitrogen fixing even though it doesn’t really offer anything for the kids. You may have noticed there’s a few swamp plants in there and I think they will work because directly north of where they will be going is currently a vernal pool that periodically floods and holds water for days at a time.
Awesome job OP! This is so inspiring
As your kiddos get older see if there is a way you can incorporate the food forest into their natural school projects and share it with teachers. Getting it established is one thing but the school leadership eventually seeing the value is critical. They are the ones who will keep a new grounds keeper from “cleaning up those random bushes” in five years
You might want to check on their spray policy just to be extra cautious. I work for a school district and how they use Roundup varies wildly from school to school depending on the groundskeeper.
Just a word of caution—I’m on the landscaping committee at my kid’s school where a lot of great work has been done over the years to plant natives and fruit trees, but there has to be a plan for maintaining those plants after your kid is gone. Maintenance staff may not have the ability or time to mow around them carefully and some schools have policies about landscaping that can be used to conceal people (probably less of an issue at a head start than at an urban high school)
We have a small orchard that we cannot keep up with even between the six of us on the committee and the landscaping crew (also lots of trees and other plantings though)
Not intending to discourage in any way, just want to highlight some issues.
Hey OP, the issues I’ve run into with ideas like this is where insurance comes in.
You’re talking about planting edible plants around places where young kids frequently play and are around. This presents aajor liability for the daycare and you may get less receptive feedback from the actual property owners.
Congratulations! That is really great. Are American Groundnuts native to Michigan? They are so pretty and you can eat all the parts.
My kid’s school has a wonderful native garden with different sections. Will say that playground visibility is also key, as much as the open space is sad to see.
Ah, good ol’ Carter Elementary School.