Highlights:
- Public space, designed for education and outreach, and accessible at all times
- >100 trees and berry bushes, of dozens of varieties
- >50 herbs and edible flowers, of >15 varieties
- 0.3 acres
- Different styles – orchard, shade food forest, wildlife hedge, production rows / berry berms, fruit tree guilds, and woodland edge, pick and choose what appeals to your own situation!
The Fredericton Botanic Garden Association food forest started from a fruit tree orchard planted in 2018 from donated trees, and in 2021-2023, grew to the project it is today, thanks to funding from the Community Food Action and Fredericton Rotary Clubs, earthworks by CFB Gagetown, and the work of the FBGA’s gardeners and many volunteers.
The overarching goal of this project is educational. This space introduces visitors to the huge variety of edible plants that can be grown in our climate (Cornelian cherries? Peaches? Almonds? Yes, yes, and yes!), and allows running hands-on workshops to teach plant propagation, seed saving, pruning, grafting, and more.
This project showcases a variety of different approaches to growing food – traditional orchard (apples, pears, cherries, plums, etc.), shade food forest (elderberries, gooseberries and currants, spicebush), fruit tree guilds, wildlife hedge (beaked hazel American highbush cranberry, Nanking cherry, and more), production rows / berry berms (blueberries, haskaps, raspberries, blackberries), and woodland edge (chestnuts and hazelnuts, pawpaws, and others).
