r/Minnesota_Gardening

Advice needed on tree selection/placement!

I have a 20ft eastern facing side yard. On one side is my house (2.5 story, wood with stone foundation) and on the other is my 3-4ft retaining wall, adjacent to the public sidewalk.

I desperately need a shade tree for this side of my house to help cool things down, but all the recommendations say to keep a tree 20' from your house and 10-15' from a retaining wall.

What would you do? Right now I am thinking about a medium tree like an Ironwood/Hop Hornbeam and put it 15ft from the house / 5ft from the retaining wall. But I would love something bigger or fast growing.

We live in a newly built community and by some miracle my HOA was ok with this! Putting in some oak bare roots this fall and starting some seeds/plugs over winter.

Zone 5, MN

a shot of my garden in the Twin Cities (zone 5a)!

This is the first year with much flowering since last year mostly was spent building good root systems. I haven't watered these plants since getting them established after germination. The path is made with cedar chips, but the garden itself isn't mulched. The very immediate foreground area is growing in a 3+ inch layer of sand as a weed suppression / drought tolerance experiment

I made a seed mix of predominantly native plants with some cultivars and non-natives in the mix. There's a lot more growing here but plainly visible in this shot are:
* Eragrostis spectabilis (purple lovegrass)
* Gaillardia aristata 'Burgunder' (blanket flower cultivar)
* Monarda punctata (spotted bee balm)
* Lobelia cardinalis (cardinal flower)
* Erigeron sp. (some volunteer fleabane)
* Echinops bannaticus 'Blue Glow' (globe thistle cultivar, non-native)

Something got into my garden and wreaked complete havoc. Ate squash leaves, all my bush beans, okra leaves, and MY PUMPKIN :( Also attempted to eat my cantaloupe. Last picture is its poop - WHAT WAS THIS THING?

I also found an area of my fence dug under, so my suspicious is either raccoon or groundhog?? For a horrifying moment I thought it was human poop 🫠 zone 5B

Don't worry... I will continue to be a good host and let these little native weirdos do their thing

We inherited this dead tree when we bought the house and I’d like to replace it with something pretty! I think it was witch hazel but not too sure. It’s a nice sunny spot. Love the idea of having color/interest throughout the seasons and ideally native. Right now I’m thinking of American Mountain Ash or Winterberry Holly, it would be nice to have some colorful berries in winter and feed the critters! Would love any advice or recommendations. Thanks!

Hi all,

I recently moved into a new place with a tree that I need help identifying. It is quite large and hangs over my garage and a neighbor's garage. I was hoping to determine tree type as well as the possibility for removal so I can add solar and put a full sun garden in my backyard.

Any help is appreciated! I think it is an American elm but I am very much unsure.

Any idea on what pest might be causing this in my tomatoes? Also happening to a bean plant as well

First time growing Shallots and looking for advice on when to stop watering, or how often to keep watering. Some of the shallot tops are still green but floppy, while some are ram-rod straight! As it's mid-August, should I stop watering now so I can harvest in September? And if not, how often and how deeply I should I still keep watering?

Much thanks for any advice!

I havent seen one since I was a kid, and now my whole week has been made. Terrified the chickens or squirrels will eat it.