Native plants provide many important ecological benefits, including the food and habitat they create for our native birds, pollinators, and other wildlife. But native plants can supply food for us as well! From tropical tasting pawpaws to sweet serviceberries to aromatic spicebush, there are many native plants which can enhance your garden, invite birds and butterflies, and produce food for you to harvest. Learn about the cultural requirements—the soil, light, and water—that you need to grow trees such as pawpaws, serviceberries, and persimmons; shrubs such as blueberries, hazelnuts, spicebush, and elderberries; and perennials such as ostrich ferns, violets, and ramps. We will be tasting a few of these native treats and you can take home recipes for delicious native plant-based dishes such as serviceberry compote, persimmon bread, pawpaw pie, spicebush tea, and elderberry jam.

This workshop will be led by Diane Ehrich, nursery manager of Collins Nursery, located at historic Edgehill Castle in Glenside. Collins Nursery specializes in container grown plants of the Mid-Atlantic region and stocks many of these edible native plants. The nursery is open by appointment only except during our Open Houses in May and September. You can find more information about Collins Nursery at www.collinsnursery.com.

This Workshop is FREE and open to the public, but registration is required. Please Register HERE (or call 215-843-2350, ext. 118).

Weavers Way Sustainability Workshops offer our community diverse resources, tips and education in support of lifestyles that reduce waste, support the environment and promote responsible land use. Would you like to suggest a topic or lead a workshop? Contact the Membership Dept. to share your idea!

Weavers Way Working Member Workshops are a great way to build co-operative culture, providing on-going opportunities to share experience and information, freely. Working members who lead workshops receive three hours of household credit towards a standing 5% stackable discount on all their purchases at the Co-op. Interested in presenting something? Let us know. Contact The Membership Department at 215-843-2350, ext. 119, or write to outreach@weaversway.coop.