Alexander Graham Bell once said: “When one door closes, another one opens.” Bell, who was known for inventing the telephone, was speaking about some of his scientific setbacks. But that saying is true for the volunteers of the Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard too. In our park, disappointments can turn into new opportunities.

This year, we were so sad when we had to cut down one of our apple trees. It had been fighting a bacterial disease called fire blight for years and it finally lost the battle. We wanted to replace the tree. But if we planted another apple tree in that spot, it would likely become infected by fire blight.

So we chose instead to plant a mulberry seeding from Silver Creek Nursery that isn’t susceptible to fire blight. Volunteers Cliff and Brian worked together to plant it. Then they set up a fence to protect the little shrub from hungry local rabbits. The irrigation team (Gail, Annie, Susan and Brian) will water the seedling three times a week to ensure it will survive and produce a bountiful harvest in the years to come.

This weekend we also weeded the dogwood/shade bed on the western side of the park. We sheet mulched that bed last year to prevent dogwood suckers from turning it into a dense thicket. Slowly we will fill the space with pollinator plants. We have already started by planting blanket flower and foam flower in the southern section of the bed.

So this weekend Gail, Annie, and Zeny worked on removing suckers sprouting from the roots of the dogwood trees while Susan and Brian worked nearby, weeding under one of our large cherry trees. It was a lovely, quiet and productive stewardship day.

Next weekend is the long weekend, so we will take some time off. We will be back in the garden on September 11 to continue to beautify our park and make it fruitful for all. Interested in joining us? Send an email to growingforgreen (at) gmail.com to become a volunteer. In the meantime, enjoy our beautiful park!

Susan Poizner is one of the volunteers for The Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard in Toronto. She is the creator of the fruit tree care education website OrchardPeople.com.  Susan is the author of four fruit tree care books including Grow Fruit Trees Fast: A Beginner’s Guide to a Healthy Harvest in Record Time. She is also the host of the Orchard People podcast and an ISA Certified Arborist.