Bats!

Bats are an important part of our Minnesota ecosystems. Seven different species of bats are native to Minnesota--little brown myotis, big brown bat, northern myotis, tri-colored bat, silver-haired bat, eastern red bat, and the hoary bat. 

Big Brown Bat, Image from wikimedia commons, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flickr_-_Furryscaly_-_Countertop_Bat.jpg

All native Minnesota bats are quite small, with most weighing less than one ounce.  All Minnesota bats are insectivorous. This makes them wonderful mammals to have around the garden, as they will reduce mosquito populations. Bats also eat beetles, and can be used to help control unwanted pests like the Japanese Beetle.

Making the bat house

Populations of bats are decreasing in Minnesota, as habitat is being destroyed. Bats often nest in hollowed out trees which, in the urban landscape, are removed quickly.  Putting up a bat house in your yard can help provide habitat and a safe nesting space for bats! I decided to build one for the Display Garden out of some recycled cedar (remember the arbor that blew over in a storm?).

Finished Product

Basic construction of a bat house is pretty straight forward. It's basically a box made of rough wood (or with notches cut into it) with some ventilation and an opening in the bottom.  The house can have one or many chambers, depending on how complex you are willing to make it.
I made a single chambered box, similar to the plans from the Organization for Bat Conservation. Check out their website. Build a bat house
For more information on Minnesota's bats, visit the MN DNR website. DNR on Bats

What's blooming and ripening in the garden this week!

 We have lots of grapes ripening in the garden. These are the UMN cultivar 'Frontenac Gris', one of four major releases of cold hardy wine grapes for Minnesota. Others are 'Frontenac', 'Marquette', and 'La Crescent'. They have also released three varieties of table grapes-- 'Bluebell', 'Swenson Red' and 'Edelweiss'.  Hopefully we can get to them before the birds!

 Our hops are blooming! We have Golden Hops, variety 'Aurea'. These are grown for ornamental purposes more than brewing. They look beautiful on the grape arbor. The foliage and hops both add a nice bright green spark!

 We have several varieties of garden phlox, ranging in color from white to striped to hot pink. They provide a nice bloom in the garden later in the year than most other flowers we have.

 The clematis is sending out lots of flowers. Clematis is in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. Ours are climbing on a trellis north of the grape arbor.

 Cardinal Flower is looking great this year. Lobelia cardinalis loves wet soils, so ours is growing on the pond edge where the soil gets a little soggy. It's wild habitat is along streams and ponds, so it's doing really well here.

 False sunflower, or heliopsis, has been sending out blooms almost all summer. It pairs well with Joe Pye weed, another tall plant. The heliopsis adds a nice bright yellow flower to the garden. It's a prairie flower and has few insect, soil, or disease problems and can tolerate drought well.

Evening Primrose makes a wonderful low growing ground cover in the landscape. It's drought tolerate and easy to grow. The blooms are huge and the wrinkly foliage adds some interesting texture.

 Goldenrod is a Minnesota native plant.  It's a good plant for attracting beneficial insects and pollinators. Ours is constantly covered with bees. It's a fast spreading plant so beware that it may spread into places you didn't want it.

 The balloon flower on the west end of the garden is doing great!  It's grown quite tall and has been blooming continuously for the past few weeks.

 Moss roses are a fun annual for path borders or rock gardens. Sometimes they will even reseed themselves, as this one has done. The succulent-like foliage and the bright colored flowers are a great addition to the path near the ginkgo in the garden.

Our Honeycrisp apples are almost ready! Dwarf apple trees look great in the landscape and provide you with a delicious crop. The Honeycrisp is one of the most popular apple releases from the University.

Growing Blueberries in Minnesota

Photo from Wikimedia Commons,
 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blueberries_on_branch.jpg

We just planted 3 new blueberry bushes in the garden! To celebrate, I thought I would write a little about how to grow blueberries in Minnesota.
1. Choosing a site: Blueberries love sun. The sunnier the spot, the more blossoms and fruits the plant will produce.  Select a site away from large trees to reduce competition for water and nutrients. Also, make sure there is good air circulation to avoid disease damage.
2. Soil requirements: Blueberries prefer a well-drained soil high in organic matter. They REQUIRE acidic soil. If you have neutral soil, amend it with peat moss before planting. You can do this in an entire bed, or by digging a hole larger than your plant and mixing in peat moss.
3. Planting: Blueberries are best planted in spring, about 3' apart. Dig the hole deep enough to cover the top roots with a few inches of soil and mulch with a couple inches of peat.
4. Care: In the first few years, it is recommended that flowers be removed to encourage the plant to grow, rather than expend energy on fruit and flowers. Pruning should be done minimally at first, to only remove dead wood, or wood that doesn't seem to be growing. Blueberry bushes are slow to grow, so be patient. On a mature plant, pruning can be done in the spring to shape the bush and encourage new growth.
5. Potential problems: Birds love blueberries. If this is a problem in your yard, netting can be used to keep them off of your crops. Sometimes rabbits will girdle the bush in the winter; fencing can prevent this. Overall, there are relatively few problems with pests and disease for blueberries.
The University of Minnesota has several blueberry cultivars developed for northern climates. Check them out! Blueberry Varieties
For more information on growing blueberries, visit the extension page:
Extension Article on Blueberries

Citation:
Hoover E, Rosen C, Luby J. Blueberries for Home Landscapes. University of Minnesota Extension. http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG3463.html. Accessed 8/9/13.

The Art of Food Preservation

It's getting to be that time of year again! If you're green thumb is paying off, you might be running into more produce than you can consume.  Preserving your own food is a key skill for any gardener to have. By preserving your food, you can enjoy your garden year round. And if you don't have a garden, or can eat everything you grow fresh, consider finding some bulk produce at the farmer's market and using that to stock your pantry for the winter.  There are many ways to preserve your fruits and veggies, so I will highlight a few of the main methods.

Canning is the art of preserving food in sterilized jars by cooking it to kill bacteria. People can everything, from tomatoes to meat.  When canning vegetables or fruits, first consider the acidity of what you are canning. Non-acidic foods include most garden vegetables. These require pickling first, or the use of a pressure cooker. Acidic foods, like tomatoes or strawberries, can be done by hot-water bath methods. Jams and jellies can be canned this way as well, since the sugar acts as a preservative. Cleanliness is key to healthy canning. Sterilizing jars, ladles, funnels, lids, and anything else you'll be using is a vital step. Use vinegar to wipe down counters and keep a fresh stock of clean linens handy.  Mother Earth News has a very comprehensive guide to home canning. Or check out a book from the library. Canning is a long and hot process, so be prepared to spend the day in the kitchen.
Mother Earth News Canning Guide

Pickling uses acid to lower the pH of foods, thus killing harmful bacteria.  Other than the obvious pickled cucumber, you can pickle just about anything from boiled eggs to green beans. Pickled beets and pickled brussel sprouts are two of my personal favorites. Serious Eats has some unique pickling recipes that I personally plan on trying this summer. My grandma's refrigerator pickles are super easy and delicious. They will also stay good in the fridge, no canning required, for months. Give it a try!
8 cups cucumbers, sliced into rounds
1 cup onion
2 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 t celery seed
1 t mustard seed
Sprinkle the salt on cukes and let sit overnight. The next day, warm up the vinegar. Add sugar, celery seed, and mustard seed. Stir until dissolved. Pour over cucumbers and refrigerate.
 Serious Eats Pickling Recipes

Drying, or dehydrating foods, is a fun alternative to canning or freezing foods. Dehydrated foods can be stored in the cupboard and take up less space than canned foods. There's also no concern about botulism. Dried foods are also great for camping or backpacking trips.  Store bought foods meant for this purpose are expensive, so doing it yourself saves a bunch of money.  Basically, you just need a food dehydrator. Some people just use their oven for this purpose. Or do it the old fashioned way: use the sun!   Check out these recipes from the Backpacking Chef.
Backpacking Chef Recipes

Freezing is one of the simplest, easiest ways to preserve your food. If you have a chest freezer, this is the way to go for a lot of fruits and veggies. Since there's no cooking involved, all of the nutrients in the food are preserved. I like to freeze tomatoes, berries, and bell peppers.  I've also frozen some herbs from my garden.  Herbs like rosemary and thyme can be frozen still on the sprig, while herbs like basil and parsley are best chopped and frozen into ice cubes with a little bit of water. When I freeze berries, I first set them on trays, and then bag them once they are frozen. This prevents them from becoming one big chunk of strawberries. With tomatoes, I blanch them first to remove the skin. Colorado Extension has a good paper on freezing vegetables. Freezing Veggies

Horticulture Night at the University of Minnesota Morris Campus

Every year, the University of Minnesota Morris Campus hosts Horticulture Night, a public event meant to get people excited about horticulture. Morgan and I were lucky to be able to leave the garden for a day to check out this special event.  Seeing the gardens at Morris was a treat in and of itself.  Many of the University's annual plants are trialed at Morris' garden, so the beds are full of brightly colored flowers.  It is clear that many people are invested in maintaining the garden.  It was fun to get some ideas on how to use annuals more effectively.

Throughout the night, educational presentations are given throughout the garden. You can take a tour of the gardens or farm, learn about vegetable garden, see a healthy cooking demonstration, learn about the University's meat processing program (yes, we watched half a pig getting processed!), hear presentations from entomologists and soils scientists, and more.

I definitely recommend this event to anyone interested in gardening.  There are even activities for the kids.  Check out our pictures, and save the date on your calendar for next year!

Perennial garden- lots of Hosta varieties!

Just one of many annual gardens at Morris

More Annuals

Pond with mini cattails- there's even a waterfall!

Cooking demo- zucchini salsa, melon salsa, and blackened flank steak. Samples included!

Hops fort in the children's garden

Hen's and Chick's T-Rex

Biggest Bean Teepee I've ever seen

Japanese Beetles: Invasion

The Japanese beetles have arrived!  All week, we have been working to control the population and minimize damage.  It seems appropriate to write a little about this pest, and give a few pointers on how it can be controlled in the garden.

History
Japanese beetles are, obviously, native to Japan. In Japan, the beetle is controlled by natural predators.  However, in the U.S. this is not the case and the Japanese Beetle has proved to be a formidable pest.  It was first found in 1916 in New Jersey. Since then, it has spread to almost all states east of the Mississippi, and has found it's way into Minnesota in the 1990's.



Problem
Japanese Beetles damage plants by skeletonizing leaves and sometimes other plant parts, like fruit or flowers.  The larvae feed on grass roots, and can cause serious damage to turf.  Over 300 plants can host the beetles.  In our garden, the beetles seem to prefer roses, fruit trees, grapes, hollyhocks, and a few like milkweed.  In eastern states, the beetle can be controlled by a soil bacteria.  However, it won't survive in Minnesota, so we have had to think of other means of control.  A healthy tree should be able to survive an attack from Japanese beetles, but a stressed or diseased tree may not.

Identification

The Japanese beetle is easy to identify by it's distinct coloration.  It's back is a copper color, while the thorax and head are a glittery sapphire green.  The beetle is about a half inch long.  They spread by flying. In the garden, we find them most often inside of a rose bloom, often in groups of 4 to 8 insects per flower.  If you notice brown patches on your lawn, Japanese beetle larvae may be the cause.  Roll back the sod and look for large, white, c-shaped grubs and a lack of a healthy root system.  

Control
In the garden, we are utilizing two methods of control: Kaolin clay and hand picking.  Kaolin clay is a natural control, and is approved for use in organic production.  We used a backpack sprayer to apply a Kaolin clay and water mixture to our fruit trees and grape vines.  It works as a repellant to many harmful insects, including the Japanese beetle.  When we hand pick the beetles, we put them immediately into water.  A little insecticidal soap will work to kill them in the water, but we have just been feeding them to the chickens on campus instead.  Like I mentioned before, we have been finding them mostly inside of roses.

Pheromone traps are available, but not recommended.  Recent studies have shown that more insects are attracted to the garden than are actually caught by the pheromone traps.

Several insecticides will also work to control Japanese beetles. For more information on insecticide use, check out the Extension website.
UMN Extension: Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetles are in Minnesota to stay.  While there are many control methods that should be utilized by gardeners, there is no way to eradicate them.  In addition to controlling populations, gardeners should practice good horticulture to keep trees, shrubs, and perennials.  Healthy plants are less likely to suffer fatal damage from Japanese beetles. 

For more information on Japanese beetles, refer to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and your local extension office.

Images from wikimedia commons

Rain Gardens

Photo from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bioretention_cell_rain_garden_US_winter.jpg

We took a field trip to the landscape arboretum a couple weeks ago, which got me thinking about rain gardens.  I thought I would share a short how-to on rain garden design, and talk about why they are so wonderful.

Rain gardens use deep-rooted plants in a slightly depressed area to capture rain water runoff before it goes into storm drains.  When water flows off of a lawn, it contains all sorts of nasty stuff--lawn chemicals, salt, oil, sediment, etc.  When this contaminated water flows directly off of our yards and into the storm drain, it ends up in our lakes and rivers. Rain gardens are able to capture this water, and the plants, mulch, and soil essentially filter out the pollutants.  Plants in the garden use the water, putting fresh clean water back into the cycle. It's a beautiful thing. So how do you go about designing and building such an awesome garden?

First things first- select your site. The garden should be at least 10 feet from your foundation, and should be built in a location where water naturally flows (i.e. at the bottom of a small slope). Underground drainage systems can be installed to direct the flow of water, but that's beyond my knowledge. Before digging, of course call 811 to have the city mark your gas and electric lines of course.

Have your soil checked out to make sure that drainage will happen properly. The University of Minnesota does affordable soil tests. If the soil is too clayey or too sandy, it can be amended with compost.  Sand or sandy loam is preferable for rain gardens. 

Now that you have all that out of the way, it's time to start digging. Ideally the garden should be dug out about six inches.  This can be a trench or just a flat area.

Then comes the fun part--planting! Native plants are ideal for the rain garden, as they generally have good, deep roots and will create beneficial insect habitat.  They also usually require less inputs, like fertilizers.  Trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses can all have a place in a rain garden, depending on the size.  Check out the Minnesota DNR website for more information on native MN plants.
Minnesota Native Plants: DNR

Lastly, add a few inches of mulch. Woodchips work well. This will help plants get established, suppress weeds, and prevent soil erosion.  Water plants regularly while they get established. Maintenance is pretty simple in the garden. Regular weeding and mulching are basically the only things you should need to do.  Once the plants are well established, their deep roots should be very drought tolerant.

What to do with what's in season

This week in the edible landscape, we have been harvesting the last of our lettuce (some has started bolting), some herbs, swiss chard, and beet greens. We've eaten a few peas, green beans, and cherry tomatoes.  Everything in the garden is running a little later than normal, because of the cold Minnesota spring we had this year, but once the sun came out, our veggies and herbs bounced right back.
If you are having an abundance of fruits and veggies this spring, here are some ideas on how to use what you grew. Otherwise, head to your local farmer's market and get a few seasonal fruits and veggies for your pantry.

Beets:  Pickled beets are one of my favorites.  For folks savvy on preserving through the fall, canning is definitely an option. But if you think you're like me and will just eat them all right away anyway, check out Alton Brown's recipe.  I also love to juice beets. It adds a nice flavor and color.  Try orange, ginger, carrot, grape fruit, and beets. I know it sounds a little weird, but it's delicious.
Alton Brown's Pickled Beets

Blueberries: Most likely you won't have any trouble eating the blueberries you grew fresh (yum!).  But if you have been blessed with an abundance of blueberries, freezing is an easy option. Don't wash them first; they will get a thicker skin that way (this may be an old wives tale).  Spread them out on a pan in the freezer, and then bag them up once they are frozen solid.  I also love blueberry preserves.

Broccoli: Toss it in with some onions, carrots, snap peas, or green beans for a delicious stir-fry. Or go for a mid-western classic: broccoli bacon raisin salad. It's easy to make and goes great at a picnic.

Chard and Kale: Brown some onion and garlic in butter. Then toss in the chard and saute for about 5 minutes. Take the stems and veins out of the leaves first to get rid of the toughness. Drizzle a little lemon juice on top, add some salt and pepper, and you're good to go!  I cook almost all of my greens this way.

Lettuce: If you are tired of eating salad all the time, try some Thai-style lettuce wraps.  I serve this as a help yourself finger food. Just prepare a plate with crushed up peanuts, bean sprouts, dried or fresh shrimp, ginger and garlic pieces, toasted coconut, chilies, and some leaf lettuce. Wrap it all up in the lettuce, dip it in some peanut sauce, and you will be loving life.

Radishes: I like radishes fresh with some spinach or ranch dip. However, I stumbled across a delicious looking list of radish recipes from Real Simple. Don't listen to me. Just check it out.
13 Radish Recipes from Real Simple

Service Berries, or Saskatoons: If you haven't tried one fresh, do it. The seeds are a little big, but I think they are delicious.  I haven't tried making a saskatoon jam, but I think it would be very good.  They are pure sweet, no sour, so you might be able to get away with a low sugar jam.
  
Spinach: Strawberry, goat cheese, spinach salad with a little vinaigrette. Spinach is so good for you.  Low in calories, but high in nutrients, it is definitely a super food.  Toss a handful in with an egg for breakfast. Or use it instead of lettuce in a salad. If healthy food is not your biggest concern, make southern style creamed spinach. It's decadent and delicious.

Welcome to July!

It's been a hot, dry week in the garden.  After a couple months with constant rain, it was nice to have a few dry days. That said, let's hope it rains this weekend (after everyone has gotten their 4th of July celebrations in, of course).  As we wait for rain, a post on drought tolerant plants seems appropriate.

Using drought tolerant plants in the landscape is really a smart choice for everyone. For starters, you won't have to spend time watering as often. In addition, water conservation is becoming a more important issue as clean water becomes more and more scarce and our population is on the increase.  Choosing appropriate plants is the best way to conserve water in the landscape.  Many Minnesota native species are drought tolerant, so inadvertently you will also be helping spread native plants!

Many juniper and pine species are drought tolerant and can be good landscape trees and shrubs. Bur oaks are a good choice if a larger tree is needed.  There are a ton of good perennial options out there, so I will just list some of my favorites:

Yarrow
Echinacea
Rudbeckia
Irises
Peonies
Salvia
Sedum
Little Bluestem
Baptisia
Check out this list from the UMN extension for more options:
http://www.arboretum.umn.edu/droughttolerantplants.aspx

During last summer's drought, I saw a ton of dead lawns. If you are thinking of redoing your turf grass, consider using a Fescue mix instead of Kentucky Bluegrass for a more drought tolerant lawn. Some seed companies are even selling slow growing species, cutting down on how frequently mowing is necessary. 

Hopefully this dry spell doesn't last. Our vegetable garden has been loving the rain.

On a lighter note, check out what is in bloom right now in the garden!

A large variety of roses, some developed at the University of Minnesota

Poppies

Stonecrop Sedum

More sedum- Dragon's Blood variety

Veronica, or Spike Speedwell

Globeflower

Lavender

Yarrow

Serviceberries are ripe and delicious!

Storms and the garden

Some sad news today: the arbor on the west end of the garden blew over in yesterdays insanely windy storm. Thankfully, we didn't lose any trees in the garden, although many were blown over on campus.  In honor of our lost arbor, today's post will be about preparing your garden for a nasty storm. I will also talk a about trees, as many beautiful old trees were lost in the storm.

Most advice on storm preparation is geared towards preventing damage from hurricanes. Lots of this information is still applicable for us in the Midwest, as high winds in a storm and flooding can cause major damage to the landscape. Trees are generally most impacted by these winds.
Maintaining a healthy tree is the best thing you can do to prevent damage.  Removing dead, dying, or weak limbs is the best way to prevent a tree from uprooting or dropping branches.  When pruning, keep branches that have a 45-90 degree angle to the trunk. Staking taller plants or plants with weaker stems can prevent them from snapping.  I'm proud to say none of my tomatoes toppled over yesterday. Bring hanging baskets into the garage. 

After a storm has passed through, be sure to inspect trees for damage.  Broken limbs should be removed back to the trunk of the tree to minimize disease susceptibility.  If bark has been torn away, clean the edges of the wound to speed the healing process.  The Arbor Day Foundation has a great article on repairing storm damaged trees.
Check it out: http://www.arborday.org/media/stormrecovery/4_treefirstaid.cfm

Sometimes, obviously, trees need to be removed and replaced.  While it is sad to see an old tree go, take the opportunity to pick something fun and new for your landscape. Here are some interesting and unique options:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ginkgo_biloba_MN_2007.JPG

Ginkgo biloba can grow up to 50' tall.  Leaves have a great fall color and the tree maintains a nice rounded form. I also really like the bark texture. The UMN extension recommends purchasing a 4-5' tree to insure Winter hardiness.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pink_flowers.jpg

Flowering Crabapple trees are a great way to add some color to the landscape. And you can make pickled apples out of the fruit! Size can range from 7-25' depending on the cultivar. There are many different types available.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ostrya_virginiana_2.jpg

 Ironwood, or Hop Hornbeam, is a nice native tree for the landscape. The bark is very smooth and they grow some interested catkins, resembling hops.  Ironwood can grow 25-40' tall.  The tree has few insect or disease problems and will tolerate a wide range of soils. 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elaeagnus_angustifolia_%28habitus%29.jpg

 Russian Olive Trees are grown for their silvery foliage.  The trees, considered shrubs by some, grow up to 25' tall. They are drought and soil tolerant, making them pretty easy to grow and maintain.

 For a more complete list of trees for the Minnesota landscape, refer to the UMN extension website: www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/components/0545frame01.html

Greening the Garden

Gardening isn't all about plants.  As environmental awareness increases, more and more people are finding ways to "green" up the garden.  There are lots of ways to make the garden more environmentally friendly, ranging from complex projects to simple things that can actually save you money.
  
Rain barrels are a great way to reduce water usage. Rain barrels sit under the downspout of roof gutters to collect rainwater from the roof.  We don't have a rain barrel in the garden since we don't have any shelters with gutters, but they are definitely a great option for the home garden.  Most home improvement and garden stores carry rain barrels, with prices ranging from $60 to $150.

Making your own rain barrel is also an option if you can get your hands on a barrel.  It's usually easy to find 30 gallon plastic barrels on craigslist. Make sure that they were not used to store any harsh chemicals.  Barrels used in food manufacturing work well.  Hardware stores sell spigots to add to the barrel. Putting a screen on top is a good idea, as this will keep debris from clogging up the barrel.

Whether you buy or make your rain barrel, water pressure needs to be high for a hose to be attached and functional.  This can be achieved two ways: a pump or elevation.  A raised platform will provide enough water pressure to be able to use a hose. Otherwise, an electric pump ($60+) will create needed pressure, enough to power a sprinkler or a soaker hose.

Composting will help you add organic matter back to your soil and also keep garden waste out of landfills.  Composters can be purchased or built pretty easily.  Prices on composters range from $60-$200 depending on the style on size. Most manufactured composters are barrels with a crank that allow gardeners to turn the compost easily.  Turning compost speeds the breakdown process and produces better compost. 

Homemade bins can be complex or simple.  The easiest way to build your own compost bin is with pallets. Pallets can be found easily for free.  Simply take three pallets, arrange them in a square with one side missing, and nail them together.  Leaving the front open will make it easy to turn the compost with a pitchfork.  More complex compost bins can be made with three separate compartments, allowing for multiple loads of compost to be processing at once at different stages. 

Knowing some best practices for composting is important. Compost piles need air, water, and nutrients for optimum performance.  When rain water is not keeping your pile sufficiently moist, watering the pile is important to encourage microbial activity and speed breakdown.  Different materials have different carbon:nitrogen ratios.  To provide the best ratio (30C:1N) pay attention to the things you are adding. Green stuff (grass clippings, manure) is high in nitrogen, while browns (sawdust, dried leaves) are higher in carbon. If the ration of C:N is too high, nitrogen fertilizer can be added to fix the ratio. Turn the pile 1-2 per month to speed decomposition.  For more details on composting, check out the University's Extension website: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG3296.html

Wise plant selection is another way to minimize your environmental impact in the garden.  Native plants are usually better adapted to the climate you live in and will likely require less inputs than non-native plants.  Knowing the micro-environment of the location you will be planting in can help in plant selection. Finding out the soil type, drainage and water availability, and light in the area of the garden and selecting plants that are well adapted to those conditions will mean a healthier plant, less work for you, and a lessened environmental impact. 

Always avoid planting invasive species in the garden, as these can have major impacts on ecosystems.  Many invasive species are introduced by horticulture practices.  The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has a thorough list of invasive plants, along with recommend removal methods.
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/terrestrialplants/index.html

The plant pictured above is purple loosestrife, a plant that has invaded Minnesota's lake shores, riverbanks, and marshes.  It is thought to be spread from gardens and nurseries in the state. 

Gardening is a wonderful way to connect to nature and the outdoors.  Incorporating sustainable practices into horticulture is vital for our environment, our health, and the future of gardening.  Throughout the summer, we will keep posting more ideas on greening up the garden. Enjoy!

Images from wikimedia commons:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Purple_loosestrife.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Compost_Bins_-_Vale_Grove.JPG
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kilmeadan_-_The_Cosy_Thatch_Pub_rain_barrel_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1635414.jpg