Low Maintenance Fruiting Plants from around the World
MHG Meetings
Sponsored By: Metro Hort Group
THIS MEETING WILL BE HELD ON ZOOM
Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano are visual artists who moved to the Catskill Mountains in 1999. Their interests have expanded well beyond paper and canvas, and they now garden all year long at Hortus Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, a level II accredited arboretum. Trialing plants from around the world, their goal is to create a “living textbook” of plant life, particularly low-maintenance and underutilized edibles, that can be grown in New York’s Hudson Valley. These range from ancient fruiting trees like Medlar (Mespilus germanica), shrubs like Gooseberries (Ribes spp.), and Himalayan Chocolate Berry (Leycesteria formosa) and vines such as Goji (Lycium spp.) and Schisandra (Schisandra chinensis).
Their widely acclaimed book Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts is the result of their 22 years of gardening and cultivating edible plants from around the world. The book is a 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. Decorative and delicious plants like Gooseberry, Pawpaw, American Persimmon, and Hardy Sour Orange. While most nurseries and guidebooks feature plants that are riddled with pest problems (such as apples and peaches) Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano decided to focus on low-maintenance fruiting plants, both common and unfamiliar that have few, if any, pest or disease problems and an overall higher level of resilience. All 50 plants featured in the book are grown at the arboretum because they believe that direct hands-on cultivation is the best way to learn about each plant’s growing preferences. The gardens are open to the public from Mother’s Day to Halloween and if there’s fruit hanging from branches, they encourage their visitors to try some.
Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano are both exhibiting visual artists who co-founded Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens in New York’s Hudson Valley. Over two decades ago they began gardening as a source of inspiration and raw materials for their art. Scott grew plants for insects, such as moths and dragonflies, Allyson cultivated plants for seeds, flower petals and unusual leaf forms. 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, and endangered plants.
Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is recognized by the Morton Arboretum’s international ArbNet program as a Level II-accredited arboretum. The gardens have an extensive collection of unusual edible and decorative plantings. By trialing both native and exotic plants, their goal is to push the limits of what can be successfully grown in Zone 6, and help fellow gardeners expand their knowledge base and incorporate some of these garden-worthy plants at home.
Allyson Levy & Scott Serrano are co-founders and executive directors of Hortus Arboretum & Botanical Gardens located in Stone Ridge, NY.
Monthly Meeting on Zoom
Thursday February 22, 2024
6:00pm–7:15pm — “Doors” open at 5:45pm
Come early to chat with one another!
More information to come!
TO REGISTER:
To attend this meeting, you must be a current Metro Hort member.
Pre-registration is required.
Members, please check your email for invitation.
Non-members, we’d love to see you there — Sign up here to join us and get this and all future invitations.
Deadline to Register: *90 minutes before meeting start-time
