Planting: Trees and Ideas

The back slope is getting new sumac gro-low shrubs (non-toxic) to go with the arborvitae. The sumac will attract bees and butterflies and provide food for small creatures. We discovered that the current groundcover is "White Nancy" (spotted deadnettle) which is deer resistant and fast growing. In the winter, the sumac and arborvitae change colors which I think will look lovely against the backdrop of green.

Saint Mchael (and Minneapolis area) has two severe weather alerts for today. The first is a thunderstorm expected at 9:00pm. The second is a heat advisory. It is 90 degrees with humidity of 65% and 'feels" like 100 degrees according to the weather channel. Our air conditioner is running so it is comfortable in the house. Joe is outside planting the sumac and drinking lots of water to stay hydrated. He doesn’t seem to mind the heat. When he comes in his t-shirt will be completely wet as though he hosed down before coming into the house. The only way I know he has not hosed down is that he will also be covered in dirt from digging and planting. 

We got notice that the storm is now expected as early as 6:00pm. Joe came in a few minutes ago, having removed his work clothes in the laundry room, and he was drenched in sweat and dirt as expected. It is handy having the laundry room accessible from the garage. 

We drove over to the nursery in Buffalo this morning to pick up the sumac plants. It looked foggy; however, it was smoke from fires in Canada. The corn tassels are turning red and brown so field after field of green, topped with the colorful tassels, made for a pleasurable drive. 

I have been researching corn as we see fields with short stalks of corn with tassels. Come to find out there are short varieties. I also found out about grain sorghum plants that can look like short corn. Grain sorghum is also grown in Minnesota. 

I do not know why I want or feel the need to know this information (and then to share it with you). Except, I do want to know. I keep a notebook with lists of things to look up. I don't normally keep notes on what I find out. I am simply happy to know something and then to move on to the next topic. Thank goodness for the internet. Otherwise, I'd be living in the local library.