Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts 50 Easy-to-Grow Plants for the Organic Home Garden or Landscape, reviewed

We look at this positive and wide ranging book, with lots of interesting and cool trees, many of which we had not even heard of before. You can learn more about Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts, 50 Easy-to-Grow Plants for the Organic Home Garden or Landscape, by Scott SerranoAllyson Levy here.

Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts 50 Easy-to-Grow Plants for the Organic Home Garden or Landscape, reviewed

In slightly worrying times globally it is always important to also to think and act locally too. There are many things in the world that, to a greater or lesser degree, are out of our control. It is important for our humanity and empathy to be concerned about what happens in the Ukraine, Syria, Yemen and many other places were unjust things are taking place.

At the same time there are things we can do locally to try and help the planet. Planting trees is an act of local hope, positivity and even protest against negative things happening elsewhere. It may not save our planet, but you are at least trying to be part of the solution rather than the problem.

This book is a small ray of hope and positivity, with deep dive details into fifty varied and different types of fruiting trees and bushes to plant. It is unlikely that you have grown or tried them all. The range is diverse and thought provoking. There is also sufficient details about each one, it’s growing range, climate preferences and nuanced details to give it a chance of survival too.

It is always tricky to walk a balance between growing what has always grown locally, and trying new things. We have certainly suffered from a few, more exotic species failing to make it, but, at the same time, when tayberries or Logan berries for example make it through and produce fruit it is definitely a win and a positive feeling.

The authors walk you through an interesting and diverse range of plants, allowing the possibility that some might also make it where you are based too. We enjoyed this book, and you might get some inspiration and good ideas from it also.

More about the book

The easy-to-use resource for growing healthy, resilient, low-maintenance trees, shrubs, vines, and other fruiting plants from around the world—perfect for farmers, gardeners, and landscapers at every scale.

Illustrated with more than 200 color photographs and covering 50 productive edible crops—from Arctic kiwi to jujube, medlar to heartnut—this is the go-to guide for growers interested in creating diversity in their growing spaces.

“[Levy and Serrano] go way beyond the standard fare. . . . With their help, you’ll be growing persimmons, currants and hazelnuts in no time.”—Modern Farmer

Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts is a one-stop compendium of the most productive, edible fruit-and nut-bearing crops that push the boundaries of what can survive winters in cold-temperate growing regions.

While most nurseries and guidebooks feature plants that are riddled with pest problems (such as apples and peaches), veteran growers and founders of the Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano, focus on both common and unfamiliar fruits that have few, if any, pest or disease problems and an overall higher level of resilience.

Inside Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts you’ll find:

Taste profiles for all fifty hardy fruits and nuts, with notes on harvesting and uses
Plant descriptions and natural histories
Recommended cultivars, both new and classic
Propagation methods for increasing plants
Nut profiles including almonds, chestnuts, walnuts, and pecans
Fertilization needs and soil/site requirements
And much more!
With beautiful and instructive color photographs throughout, the book is also full of concise, clearly written botanical and cultural information based on the authors’ years of growing experience. The fifty fruits and nuts featured provide a nice balance of the familiar and the exotic: from almonds and pecans to more unexpected fruits like maypop and Himalayan chocolate berry. Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts gives adventurous gardeners all they need to get growing.

Both experienced and novice gardeners who are interested in creating a sustainable landscape with a greater diversity of plant life—while also providing healthy foods—will find this book an invaluable resource.

More about the authors

Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano are both exhibiting visual artists and codirectors of Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens in New York’s Hudson Valley. Their garden began as a source of inspiration and raw materials for their art. Over time their interest in growing a wider selection of plants expanded until the garden encompassed eleven acres and became their primary passion. Along the way they began planting a vast diversity of plants, both edible and ornamental. This grew into an extensive collection of cold-hardy cactus, magnolia trees, viburnums, and grafted fruit trees, with a focus on rare, underutilized plants. The arboretum is now a nonprofit organization and level II arboretum.

See more reviews here.