Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts

“Outrageous diversity throughout the ecosystem will always be essential for growing healthy fruit and nuts. Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano have provided a thorough guide to adding an intriguing selection of productive plantings to your landscape. Get on board and plant more of everything!”—Michael Phillips, author of The Holistic Orchard and Mycorrhizal Planet

“At a time when we are rediscovering the value of biodiversity and habitat enrichment, Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts offers a compendium of lesser-known backyard forageables that can turn a home garden into a homestead landscape ripe with flavor and nutrition.”—John Forti, author of The Heirloom Gardener; executive director, Bedrock Gardens

“Allyson and Scott are deeply committed plant lovers, and this well-researched, handsome book—with educational photographic portraits of each plant—shares their botanical love affair with us! Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens is their magical plant playground that we get to visit, and this delicious gift is birthed from that rich source. They deftly guide us to diversify our landscape with beauty we can eat, while increasing our personal and ecological health.”—Dina Falconi, author of Foraging and Feasting and Earthly Bodies and Heavenly Hair

“This is the book for growers looking to expand their range of perennial and tree crops. Levy and Serrano have not wasted too much space on general cultivation tips. Instead, they wisely dedicate the bulk of the book to detailed, practical advice on a wide variety of species, some of which I had never come across before, others which I had assumed would need warmer conditions. You will be inspired!”—Ben Raskin, author of The Woodchip Handbook; head of horticulture and agroforestry, the Soil Association

“Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano are consummate gardeners and artists. They bring horticultural prowess and designer insights to this beautiful, easy-to-use, and easy-to-read book. Their in-depth research and hands-on knowledge are invaluable to those looking to expand their palette of plants. Featuring taste profiles, landscape tips, and propagation techniques, Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts is my new go-to guide for growing these plants. It is wonderful to see native trees and shrubs included with such enthusiasm and appreciation.”—Marc Wolf, executive director, Mountain Top Arboretum

“This book is filled with enthusiasm for growing uncommon fruits and nuts and I can’t agree more. Allyson and Scott give honest assessments of each plant based on years of hands-on experience. Along with the detailed plant and fruit descriptions, I particularly like their ‘Growth Difficulty Rating’ and ‘Taste Profile and Uses’ sections to help readers decide what to grow. They have me dreaming of growing Himalayan chocolate berries and Korean stone pines.”—Charlie Nardozzi, author of Foodscaping

“Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts offers practical experience and useful information on a great diversity of species, including a few surprises. A great place to turn for anyone developing a perennial edible landscape, one of the world’s highest-carbon forms of gardening and farming.”—Eric Toensmeier, coauthor of Edible Forest Gardens, author of Perennial Vegetables

“Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano have been my ‘go-to’ source for information on unusual or common plant subjects to draw. Now they have made their wealth of knowledge available in this beautiful and concise book. Full of essential information alongside interesting facts about each tree, shrub, or vine, the book tells us what to plant and why, how to best grow it, when to harvest, how to crack the nuts, and what to do with an abundance of fruit to preserve. The photos are lovely and descriptive. As an artist, a harvester, and a novice gardener, I now have all the information I need about my fruit and nut growing in one book!”—Wendy Hollender, botanical artist and author of The Joy of Botanical Drawing

“Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts covers a full range of edible plants for the home landscape—from the familiar to the lesser known to the truly exotic. Highly recommended for its great level of detail. The authors’ deep research into botanical history and descriptions both satisfies my curiosity and makes me want to delve even deeper into the information they provide.”—Robert Kourik, author of Sustainable Food Gardens and Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally

“Beautifully and profusely illustrated, Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nut is impressively and comprehensively informative, exceptionally well written, and thoroughly ‘reader friendly’ in organization and presentation. Especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library.”—Midwest Book Review

“If you are an edible gardener interested in widening the scope of what you grow, or a designer looking to explore where edible perennials meet the ornamental, this book will serve you very well indeed.“—Gardens Illustrated

Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano are both exhibiting visual artists and codirectors of Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens in New York’s Hudson Valley. Their garden began as a source of inspiration and raw materials for their art. 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 plants. The arboretum is now a nonprofit organization and level II arboretum.