Imagine a time when everyone who has access to a yard or community space plants a garden or fruit trees and city parks become perennial food sources - neighbours can walk through their local community, chat with each other, exchange food, eggs and support each other by sharing tools and skills.

So in my dream here - let’s start with a fruit tree guild in every yard…or…just one yard…and maybe it’s yours.

I will draw up one fruit tree guild specific to zones 3-5 ish which covers the Ottawa-Gatineau area as an example.

What is a Fruit Tree Guild?

In Gaia’s Garden, Toby Hemenway writes, “Guilds are an attempt to bridge the broad gap between conventional vegetable gardens and wildlife gardening by creating plant communities that act and feel like natural landscapes, but that include humans in their webwork. Vegetable gardens benefit only humans, while wildlife or natural gardens specifically exclude people from their ecological patterns. Ecological gardens help our developed land to blossom into nourishing places for both humans and wildlife.”

In a nutshell, a fruit tree guild is a collection of intentionally planted plants, herbs, and bushes around a fruit tree that creates a beneficial and resilient system. In time, it can be a fully perennial system, however, annual plants can be added around it too.

There is no ONE WAY to create fruit tree guilds - consider them a concept, not “the rule". Having a good understanding of what is thriving already and growing in your area is a good start. I like to consider the connections and interactions of the plants too - and of course - flowers are so beautiful!

A fruit tree guild (or association of living organisms) does not take up a lot of space! A collection of fruit tree guilds becomes a connected ecosystem that can be created with your neighbours too! The more diversity, the better!

Fruit Tree Guilds: The Basics

As you can see above, there is a large collection of various plants around the fruit tree. This is one example but you can take these basic concepts and create your own!

1. Choose disease-resistant fruit trees that will thrive in our growing zone. Keep your life simple!

2. An invitation to choose native plants when possible: we already know they thrive here and they will support the local insects, bees, wasps, butterflies, birds etc. This is not a “have to” obviously - but since you are reading this blog, it may be apparent, I like to choose native plants as often as possible to support the local birds and insects.

3. Plant lots of stuff! Here’s a list of ingredients to a great guild! Have fun. Be creative. Enjoy and experiment!

DYNAMIC ACCUMULATORS (MULCHERS TOO)

A concept that plants or trees will bring nutrients up from deep in the soil - is this even a real thing? The idea is that as their leaves break down on the surface, those nutrients are then available to the tree and surrounding plants. You can “chop and drop” their leaves onto the guild and keep the system cycling. Examples include:

• Rhubarb (you can eat it too!!!)

• Bocking Comfrey 4 or 14 (these will not spread by seed - Comfrey will TAKE OVER so please choose these options. All comfrey will spread if roots are broken and transplanted - so be aware and do your research)

• Dandelions!! Yes. Notice the deep taproots and you can eat them too!

• Diakon Radishes (these are not perennial however they are a great way to get the system moving at the beginning!)

• Yarrow (you might have this already growing in your lawn)

• Lambs Quarters (we had this all over our city yard - it’s a great alternative to spinach and freezes well for winter soups too!)

NITROGEN FIXERS

Plants that add nitrogen to the soil by taking it from the atmosphere. They will create healthy soil which is key! Examples include:

• New Jersey Tea (Native)

• Lead Plant (Native)

• Canada Milk Vetch (Native and looks so cool!)

• Peas, lentils, beans (annuals, but why not grow them near your tree?!)

• Clover - you likely have this in your yard already!

REPELLANTS AND CONFUSERS

Plants that add lots of smells and odours (even ones we can’t smell) can add a lot of resilience to your tree guild! They can keep bunnies, deer, moths that wreck apples, and pests away too. Examples include:

• Wild Bergamot (native, add the petals to your salad and make GREAT tea!) (Pollinators LOVE IT!!)

• Spring Onions (perennial food and so easy to grow)

• Walking Onion (same as above)

• Chives

• Oregano

• Thyme

• Scarlet Bee Balm (native, edible, and pollinator magnet)

• Dill

• Garlic

• Daffodils (mice, squirrels and other diggers tend not to want to be near them)

• Anise Hyssop (native and I just think it’s the best!)

SUPPRESSORS & GROUND COVERS

These plants will reduce your need to water and suppress weeds. Examples include:

• wild strawberry (native and spreads so well and birds LOVE it!)

• strawberries overall

• bunchberry (native)

• clover

• asparagus (I don’t know what category to put this in…but alas - plant asparagus!)

• mint - now like most herbs, this is EASY to grow - however it will spread more than other herbs - so perhaps growing this in a pot nearby is a better option. I find oregano and thyme much easier to manage. Mint will take over.

PLANTS FOR POLLINATORS

These are often in the same category as confusers but I wanted to give them their own spot here. Bring in the pollinators (and hummingbirds!) so they can benefit your guild but also because we can! Choosing native plants is always lovely, they thrive most of the time and require little care, the increase biodiversity (they bring in all kinds of pollinators, birds etc) and there are so many to choose from! Examples include:

• Smooth Oxeye Sunflower

• Scarlet Bee Balm, Wild Bergamot

• Anise Hyssop

• Yellow Giant Hyssop (a conversation starter!)

• Butterfly Milkweed

• Common Milkweed

• Evening Primrose (for the night-time pollinators)

• grey-headed coneflower

• Lance Leaf Coreopsis

• Blazing Star

*I highly recommend reaching out to A CULTIVATED ART for your LOCAL native plants this spring! Her plants are healthy and her website (and Facebook page) is a great resource!

BUSH LAYER

Plants or bushes that can create a nice layer where you can grow more food! Examples include:

• raspberries

• blueberries (keep soil PH in mind here)

• goji berries

• asparagus (kinda a bush by the end of the season and a lovely food source in the early spring and summer)

• black, red, white, pink currants (be aware of disease factors here and choose ones that won’t carry diseases that will kill older trees around - do your research)

• gooseberries (same as above - there are lots of nurseries that carry disease-resistant ones such as Whiffletree Nursery)

VINES (IN TME)

Once your guild is more established you can add vines to the mix. If the tree is too young, the vines might take over. Patience is a joy of all of this! Examples include:

• grapes

• clematis (native options too!)

• kiwi (yes you can grow kiwis here - you will need a male and female plant)

• annuals such as watermelons, butternut squash, cucumbers, cucamelons, loofah, pumpkins…

Design a fruit tree guild in Ottawa-Gatineau this spring!

I hope this post is helpful as you design your fruit tree guilds or gardens this spring! Start with one and spend a few years observing, experimenting and learning. Perhaps your fruit tree guild will inspire another neighbour and our neighbourhoods will become spaces of food-sharing and food-resilience! These little steps can make big differences over time and your fruit tree guild will be a beautiful legacy!

Please comment with any questions, tips you’ve gained in your experience or wisdom for others!