Forbidden Fruit: Don’t Eat the Food Growing in Downtown Ottawa Planters, Says NCC

A person takes a photo of corn and other vegetables growing in a planter box surrounded by metal fencing, at Major's Hill Park in Ottawa, on July 31, 2024. The National Capital Commission says the food it's growing in these planters is not meant to be eaten, and may actually be unsafe to eat. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

On the western side of Major’s Hill Park, tall stalks of corn wave in the breeze from planters overlooking the place where the Rideau Canal empties into the Ottawa River.

Scarlet beans have wound their way up the corn, decorating it with bright orange flowers. A variety of squashes are just beginning to take shape on the soil below. Bees and other pollinators are drawn to the purple salvia flowers and wild strawberries that fill out the space.