4 medium tomatoes – diced

1 mango, peeled and diced

1 avocado, peeled and cubed

3/4 cup fresh (or frozen) sweet corn

1/2 cup minced cilantro

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 japaeno pepper – seeded and diced

3 Tbsp. lime juice

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients and chill before serving.  Serve with the tortilla chips that are scooped, or the “fiesta” variety with the multi-colored chips – makes a great presentation.

One difficulty with normal River Birch has been that they are sometimes too large for smaller areas of our landscapes.  Fox Valley Dwarf River Birch solves this problem with a mature size rating of 12′ tall by 12′ wide.  Fox Valley sports an interesting bark similar to regular River Birch, can handle damp soils, and can be used as a focal point around which to artfully group shrubs and perennials.

The ‘Fox Valley’ Dwarf River Birch prefers neutral to acidic soils, and with just a bit of supplemental watering, can prosper in upland soil.  Check out this new and interesting birch for small spaces.  

I have also shared this post with the Northfield News.

Our perennial of the week, through Labor Day, at 10% off regular prices.

This post was submitted by Heidi Brosseau, our retail manager.

Have you noticed here and there the beautiful white (and pink) blossoms on small (4′-9′ tall) trees over the last 5-6 weeks?  You have probably been admiring the lovely mid to late summer blossoms of the hardy hydrangea trees.

The whole paniculata family of hydrangeas are exceptionally cold hardy, and are useful in the landscapes in both shrub form and also when carefully trained into small trees.

My wife and I are frequent visitors to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which takes up to Ely, MN on a regular basis.  I gained an awful lot of respect for hardy hydrangea trees when I noticed several large specimens growing in the front yards of homes in Ely, where -40 degrees temperatures occur almost every winter, and sometimes as low as -55 degrees.   The trees were in full bloom in late July to late August and had to be 30-50 years old or more, judging from the trunks that were up to 6″ in diameter!

Besides hardiness, hydrangea trees are easy to prune and keep under 8′ tall, since even after a very aggressive pruning in late fall or early spring, they will bloom splendidly by mid to late summer on the new shoots that grow out quickly in early summer to form a handsome head.  They also have few pest problems, and can prosper in light conditions from full sun to fairly heavy shade.

Make sure you water hydrangea trees very consistently the first year after planting.  They use large amounts of water and during the first couple of seasons most of the water will need to come from your hand watering.  Once they are established, hydrangea trees can get along mostly on rainwater, except for a few waterings during long dry spells.

I recommend fall pruning for the hydrangea tree.  In mid to late October, it’s a good idea to cut off all the spent blossoms so that the heavy wet snow or ice storms won’t weigh down the branches to the point where they break.

Hydrangea trees are great for smaller spaces.  many varieties are becoming available such as PeeGee Hydrangea, Limelight Hydrangea™, Pinky Winky Hydrangea™, Pink Diamond, Quickfire®, Kyushu and for the last blooming, Tardiva.  Quickfire has become a variety of mine because its branches keep a nice upward thrust and the lacy open white blossoms appear to be floating on air.  Tardiva  is great for late season impact, since it’s blossoms attain their most vibrant appearance right when the blossoms of other varieties are finishing.

I have also shared this post with the Northfield News.

The dwarf version of Limelight Hydrangea, also in the Proven Winner lineup, it is one third the size which enables it to fit more easily into urban landscapes.  Hardy to Zone 3 – you’ll be seeing many more of them in Minnesota in the years to come.  The height and width of this plant is only 3′-4′ which will make it very versatile.  The standability of these young shrubs is just amazing. 

We just had a customer in this morning – coming all the way from the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities metro area because we were the only ones that had these plants.  She had called all of the major garden centers in the metro area and came up empty on all counts.  This is one of the areas that we are striving for is to have the plants that people are looking for.  We stock the standard plants that are needed, but we try to reach out and get the new varieties and try some that have been around for a while, but not found commonly on the marketplace.

Each year, I take a few cuttings of flowers from the hydrangeas for drying and then I keep them in vases for displays inside the house.  The ones that I currently have at home have been dried for two years now.  They are getting a little brittle so I decided it was time for another round of “fresh” hydrangeas for the living room!

My bouquet here features five different varieties – Limelight, Little Lime™ and Invincebelle Spirit®  – each of which is a Proven Winner variety and then Endless Summer and Twist ‘n Shout, both of which are part of the Endless Summer series of Hydrangeas.   I will take these home, place in a cool location that is dark, hang them upside down for 2 to 3 weeks and that is it!     The color will fade some but will still be quite colorful!

Shown here is one of our employees – Luis Olave – who volunteered on his day off to help with the project, and Todd Uplegger planting a large balled and burlapped maple tree which we donated to the project at 230 Spring Wheat Drive in Dundas, MN.  We also donated plant materials to the house being built in Lonsdale, MN at 127 Elm Street N.    Our hats off to Luis! 

The Habitat for Humanity program gives a start to families that have struggled in the past and have met the criteria for being selected as a recipient for the homes.  The formal dedication for these homes is Sunday afternoon, August 29th.   More information on the dedication of this year’s homes can be found in the article in the Saturday, August 28th, Northfield News.

Providing an amazing relationship with wind, even the slightest breeze can create a rustle and gentle nod from these gracefully bending, versatile plants.   They’re able to grow in a wide range of soil types from sandy to heavier clay, most varieties are tolerant of drought once established and some can be tolerant of moisture making them ideal in rain gardens.

These pictures both are of the same perennial bed – one in summer showing their ability to show off other perennials and the wonderful winter interest that they provide.   Ornamental grasses are on sale through the end of August at 10% off regular prices.

The above article was submitted by Heidi Brosseau – our retail manager.

“Trees on a Stick”

Bring in your ticket stub from the Minnesota State Fair and receive 20% off any regularly priced tree purchase.   (For those non-fair goers, create a ticket stub and bring it in)

This special tree sale cannot be combined with any other discounts or offers. 

 ”Trees on a Stick – Get ‘em While It’s Hot!  or come and check out our  Midway Side Show – the BURNING Bush, INCREDIBALL Hydrangea, FAT Albert Spruce, TOM THUMB Cotoneaster, BLOOMERANG Lilac, FIREFALL Maple – and more!