The Serviceberry and the Urban Garden

Michelle L. Dauberman

The Serviceberry (Amelanchier laevis) that you see in these pictures is planted in a small courtyard garden in Fishtown, a neighborhood located northeast of Center City Philadelphia, and as you can see it is the perfect size for the compact urban environment.

For the urban gardener it is also great to know that this tree provides three seasons of interest:  

1. In the spring, it will display a delicate white shower of lightly fragrant flowers over the entire tree
2. In the summer, it will bear tasty berries but be quick.  Birds love these berries too! 
3. In the fall, the round leaves turn a stunning shade of orange. Also, you will find that the Serviceberry comes in multi or single stem.

It’s the beginning of June in Philadelphia so the Serviceberries are in full fruit production right now and what a treat! You can pick the reddish/purplish fruit right off the tree or bake them into cakes, muffins & pies just like you would with blueberries.

If you’re on a budget and if you live in Philadelphia, you can register online and pick up one of these attractive trees for FREE at the next Tree Philly event in the fall of 2018.

For more information on the Tree Philly free tree program visit:

http://treephilly.org/free-trees/.