Photos: Charleston Food Forest

[ysabetwordsmith]

These pictures are from Thursday.  I went foraging at the Charleston Food Forest.  It's across the parking lot from the Coles County Community Garden.


The entrance to the Charleston Food Forest is flanked by rows of lavender, currently in full bloom.




Here is a closeup of the sign.




This is the left front.




This is the right front.




These yellow flowers blooming at the front may be calendula.




Two big bushy rows of lavender line the path into the food forest.  I recommend lining paths with something that is low-growing and less prone to become a wall of solid bees in bloom.




The lavender was absolutely swarming with bees. Did I want to wade through a thigh-high pile of hungry and possibly territorial bees? A great big fuck no to that. I took an alternate route into the food forest.




Bachelor's button is blooming in the food forest.




This peach tree is full of green fruit.




Here is the sign for the nectarine tree.




The nectarine tree has green fruit.




This Nanking cherry bush still had a few cherries in the center, but was pretty picked over.




Here is the sign for a scarlet goumi bush.




The scarlet goumi bush is covered in ripe fruit. I tasted some, but found it tart and astringent, not worth picking.




Common milkweed blooms beside a bench. It is a host plant for monarch butterflies.




Here is a closeup of the milkweed flowers.




Green grapes hang on their arbor.




Here is the sign for the raspberry patch.




Yellow raspberries grow close to the front of the patch. They turn peach-colored when ripe and taste strongly of apricot.  I picked about half a bag of these.




The back of the patch holds red raspberries.  I picked a handful of these.  We ate all the raspberries on the way home.




Here is a closeup of the red raspberries.


 

Comments

[timespirt]

Your pictures make me want to walk through one of those gardens but we don't have them here.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

This kind is not common yet, but I hope that by sharing pictures, I can encourage other people to start some in their own locales.

Re: Thoughts

[timespirt]

That would be nice.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Ours is in the yard of the human services building, but there are lots of other options. A community center, church, service club, or gardening club would be other options. Share the idea around with other gardeners, nature lovers, and activists. Feel free to show my posts if anyone expresses interest. All community gardens and food forests start somewhere.

We also have the Food Is Free program. Anyone can start an edible garden in their front yard within easy reach of the sidewalk or other public space. It's a perfect opportunity to promote your favorite cultivars or uncommon crops.

Re: Thoughts

[timespirt]

Thank you. I'll ask at the civic.