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/.

West Laurel Hill Cemetery - Horticultural Buried Treasure

By Linda and Sandy Grimwade

Across the Schyulkill River from the famous Laurel Hill Cemetery, is the lesser known West Laurel Hill cemetery in Bala Cynwyd. Less than a mile from City Avenue, this 187-acre cemetery is the largest open space in Lower Merion and is on the National Register of Historic Places thanks to the large number of 19^th century notables buried there. But, in addition to the over-the-top Victorian mausoleums, this beautiful area showcases over 2300 specimen trees.

To draw attention to this wonderful collection of trees, the cemetery is running 4 tours – one for each season – led by their arborist, Brian Terraciano. We joined him for the summer tour on June 15, and spent a beautiful Saturday afternoon learning about deciduous tree foliage.

The cemetery is currently preparing to become certified as an arboretum, and is going through the arduous task of identifying and labeling all of its trees. The cemetery is open every day from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM and is free to visitors. There is plenty of parking. Click here for a map. If you are interested in the Fall or Winter arboretum tours, which are also free, email events@forever-care.com.

Tricolor beech Fagus sylvatica 'Roseo-Marginata'

Thornless Honeylocust Gleditsia triacanthos inermis

Mausoleums and acers

Corkscrew willow Salix matsudana
Leaves, stems and branches -- all are twisted.

Sawtooth Oak Quercus acutissima
It doesn't look like an oak, but it has acorns.

Bigleaf magnolia Magnolia macrophylla
aptly named

Kousa dogwood Cornus kousa
in full bloom

Three 100+ year old copper beeches Fagus sylvatica