OUR FAVORITE SMALL TREE














In our twenty-five-plus years of planting trees across the region, one that rarely disappoints is the Serviceberry (Amelanchier species), also know as the Shadblow (because it blooms about the same time as shad are spawning in North American rivers) or Juneberry tree.

The delicate creamy spring flowers bloom against medium-sized, neat green oval leaves, which turn gold-orangey-red in fall before falling to expose the silvery-gray smooth multi-stemmed trunk through winter. Small (3/8" diameter) red berries turn dark purple when ripe (early summer) and provide food for birds and humans (though the birds usually beat humans to the table). Native, and hardy to our area, rarely exceeding fifty foot in height, and not fussy about soil type, the serviceberry is the perfect small ornamental tree in many landscape situations.

Marty Max, our Operations Manager, his wife April and their three children have been tediously harvesting the berries and baking serviceberry pies for several years now. They've agreed to share their recipes here, including April's Aunt Grace's Famous Pie Crust, for those of you who are ambitious enough to spend a few hours harvesting enough berries for a pie that's a little less flavorful than blueberry. I must caution, however---Marty knows a serviceberry when he sees one---please do NOT pick and eat berries from trees that you cannot identify with 100% certainty.



SERVICEBERRY PIE

3 1/2 cups serviceberries
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pastry for a two-crust pie

Mix all the above ingredients together except pastry, coating the serviceberries well. Put in 9-inch pie shell and cover with top crust and flute edges. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.



AUNT GRACE'S PIE CRUST

3 c. flour
2 eggs
2 tsp. salt
1/2 C. water (room temperature)
1 1/4 c. Crisco shortening
2 tsp. vinegar

Mix flour, salt and shortening to the crumble stage. Beat eggs, water and vinegar separately. Pour over flour mixture and mix. Let set for 15 minutes in the refrigerator before rolling. I let mine sit in the refrigerator overnight or several hours.) This recipe can be frozen. It will make 2 double crust pies depending on the size.



LEANER & GREENER, without sacrificing your well-maintained image.

We have the design and horticultural expertise to create environmentally sensitive landscapes that still look well-maintained and seasonally colorful. Careful placement of native plantings into a traditional landscape can enhance both the "old" and the "new" the traditional landscape can receive more of the intensive care it requires, while the native landscape, thanks to its proximity to the more manicured areas, looks intentionally natural, not neglected.

Native plantings, in place of mowed or hard surfaces:

Less turf to mow, fertilize and irrigate means lower labor and material costs.

While native landscapes do require periodic maintenance, the frequency is much less than the minimum weekly service needed to maintain turf. Interested? Call Heidi (219) 462-9555 (x226) or Jeff (x223) to discuss ideas.