Early Spring Flowers in the Food Forest

We took a trip to the food forest this past weekend.

When we arrive, the temperature rises to mid-summer high temperatures and humidity. The black flies rain down steadily upon us, maliciously (I always wear a bug hat in the spring-summer in the food forest).

Many flowers are seen on the plants and trees. The haskaps are in full and glorious bloom, beginning to form part of the northern Hedge Wall and eventually a suntrap to increase the light in the food forest.

The currants and gooseberries are flowering and fragrant. Over both the haskaps and current flowers all sorts of different sizes and shapes of bees and wasps madly dance and buzz. Some giant bumble bee's, the size of a toe and brilliantly yellow bob from the tiny currant flowers, improbably. Other flowers are bedecked with tiny bees, of more tawny colour.

Happily the Krazulya Pear, that I bought from Hardy Fruit Trees four years ago is flowering. Apparently this tree is hardy up to Edmonton, but the Nursery has said it is with trying in zone 2B. We are 5A so it should be okay. Let's see if we get any fruit!

The tulips and hyacinth are in bloom, along with the serviceberry that we planted last spring (waving their bright white flowers high and proud.)

I also harvested a bushel of sorrel leaves, which I will mix with my radish greens and blanch and freeze, for adding to soups in the winter.

Below are the edible flowerheads of hablizitia, a perennial vegetable that can live up to 50 years.

Hablitzia tamnoides

, or 

Caucasian spinach

. We blanched it and added olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and plenty of salt.

Looking forward to seeing how the season develops! A promising start.