Tree Schwag

A heart for tree art (hey, that rhymes)

Matt and I have been picking apples for over a month now.  Pretty steady routine really:  Tuesday night, Saturday, and Sunday.

We’ve  observed a very interesting phenomena: Tree Schwag. Normally, you’d be expecting an abandoned bird’s nest, broken limb, or the stray plastic grocery bag that’s blown in from the neighbor’s house.

Our tree owners not only take care of their prized fruit producer, but they apparently find the time to dress up their malus pumila with necklaces (glass ornaments – see photo to the right), neckties (Slackline), and earrings (tire swings).  One minute you are picking an apple, the next minute you are face-to-face with disco ball reflecting your sunburn 100 times back at your.

We say–keep it coming.  Let us know of your favorite Tree Schwag.  How do you dress up your tree to produce the highest yield possible?  If you have a suggestion, post it out to our Facebook page.

Did you know that over 80% of all apple juice consumed in the United States comes from another country?  Branch Out Cider is dedicated to breaking our dependence on foreign apples.

The Apple Independence blog is our chance to share this endeavor in urban agriculture with you.  We’ll post stories about how we’re collaborating with apple tree owners to create apple wine from their local apples.  Maybe, you’d like to submit “Your Story” idea?