We’ve always liked growing our own food and have four very productive raised beds in the backyard garden. These have been a great source of fresh produce throughout the summer and the kids love to help with the harvesting. The gardens are also a bit of a biodiversity oasis in our little patch of suburbia and we get all sorts of insects, birds and much more dropping in from time to time.

A couple of years ago we inherited a small hazelnut tree from a friend who was having no luck with it in her rural property. The deer proved too much and constant browsing kept it from growing very well. We planted it in our front yard and over the last three years it’s gone from about thigh height to well over my head. It hadn’t produced any hazelnuts until this fall, but the wait has been well worth it!

Ideally, you’d have two different hazelnuts in your yard so that cross-pollination can occur. We’re not sure where the closest tree to ours is, but thankfully it was close enough!