Gardening for Bungalows and Arts & Crafts Style Homes in Minnesota
Deborah Brown, Extension Horticulturist, University of Minnesota
Prepared for the Twin Cities Bungalow Club meeting, March 21, 2004

Top references for Minnesota-hardy plants:

Growing Perennials in Cold Climates, Mike Heger and John Whitman, Contempo Books, 1998
Growing Roses in Cold Climates, Jerry Olson and John Whitman, Contempo Books, 1998
Growing Shrubs and Small Trees in Cold Climates, Nancy Rose, Don Selinger, and John Whitman, Contempo Books, 2001
Perennials for Every Purpose, Larry Hodgson, Rodale Organic Gardening Books, 2000
Annuals for Every Purpose, Larry Hodgson, Rodale Organic Gardening Books, 2002
Trees and Shrubs for Northern Gardens, Leon C. Snyder, Anderson Horticultural Library, 2000

University of Minnesota Extension Web site: http://www.extension.umn.edu/ Click on “garden” for dozens of fact sheets on growing flowers, trees, fruits, and vegetables here.
SULIS sustainable landscape Web site: http://www.sustland.umn.edu/

Some suggested vines for arches, gate posts, pergolas:

Kentucky wisteria, Wisteria macrostachya ‘Aunt Dee’ or ‘Blue Moon’ (flowers and clusters are
smaller than Japanese wisteria)
Hardy climbing roses, ‘William Baffin,’ ‘John Cabot,’ and ‘Henry Kelsey,’ part of the Canadian Explorer series; must be trained onto sturdy supports
Clematis jackmanii – deep purple flowers, may die back to ground some winters
Wild riverbank grape, Vitis riparia; also, beta grape
Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquifolia – grown for foliage; brilliant red fall color
Engelman ivy, Parthenocissus engelmanii – very similar, but smaller leaves, finer texture
Boston ivy, Parthenocissus tricuspidata – green ivy-like leaves
Morning glories, especially blue

Some suggested flowering shrubs:

‘Anthony Waterer’ spirea, produces flat clusters of tiny rosy colored flowers on new wood
Bridal wreathe spirea – large shrub with gracefully arching stems, covered with small clusters of white flowers in June
Forsythia, must be ‘Northern Sun,’ ‘Northern Gold,’ or ‘Meadowlark’ for blooms every spring
‘Honey Rose’ honeysuckle (others are severely attacked by honeysuckle witches’ boom aphids)
Hardy roses; Rugosa roses would be historically accurate (red, rose, white)
Modern shrub roses from the Explorer and Parkland Canadian series – many excellent choices
Hills of snow hydrangea, Hydrangea arborescens
Tree hydrangea, Hydrangea paniculata
Lilacs, common purple and common white, also named cultivars such as ‘Ludwig Spaeth’ (deepest purple blossoms)
Viburnums: American or European highbush cranberry, including the cultivar ‘Roseum,’ the common snowball viburnum; also, wayfaringbush viburnum (Viburnum lantana)
Weigela – some new cultivars aren’t as rank growing as older ones.... ‘Wine and Roses’ is compact; ‘Red Prince’ is more showy, but gets very large

Some suggested small trees, suitable for adding to small scale landscapes: (many bungalows sit on small, urban lots, and would be dwarfed by larger trees)

Cockspur hawthorn, cultivars ‘Crusader’ or ‘Inermis’ (others are too large)
Japanese tree lilacs
Juneberry, Amelanchier laevis, also called Alleghany serviceberry – may be tree or shrub-form, with white flowers very early, followed by edible, blue berries
Ornamental crabapples – choose disease-resistant cultivars that hold their fruit in winter, for instance: ‘Adams,’ ‘David,’ ‘Prairiefire,’ ‘Sugar Tyme,’ and ‘Harvest Gold’
‘Minnesota Strain’ redbud, sculptural in form, but good only for protected sites

Perennials – foliage may be as important as flowers:

Artemesia (wormwood), grown for silvery foliage
Balloon Flower, Platycodon
Bleeding hearts
Chrysanthemums
Columbines, wild and cultivated varieties
Cupid’s Dart (Catanache, blue flowers)
Daylilies – tawny daylily, lemon daylily rather than “meatier” hybrids in a wider color range
Daffodils
Ferns, suitable only for shade
Hostas (but not too fancy), primarily for shade (used to be called funkia or plantain lilies)
Iris, both Siberian iris and tall bearded (German) iris
Monkshood (Aconitum), tall perennial for semi-shade (highly toxic)
Oriental poppy – red-orange poppies would be most common in bungalow heyday
Peonies – fern-leaf peonies, single cultivars, or newer cultivars that stand up to rainfall
Phlox – common magenta and named cultivars (some especially good ones; ‘David’, ‘Franz Schubert,’ ‘Bright Eyes,’ Laura,’ ‘World Peace’
Perennial sweet pea, Lathyrus latifolia
Shasta daisies, relatively short-lived perennial here; ox-eye daisy more reliable, but considered a weed by many gardeners, as it self-seeds aggressively

Flowering annuals and biennials:

tall, old-fashioned ageratum such as ‘Blue Horizons’
tall, old-fashioned bachelor’s buttons (‘Blue Boy’ and others)
Balsam, Impatiens balsamina, for shade – not to be confused with standard impatiens
Bells-of-Ireland
Black-eyed susan vine (Thunbergia)
California poppies
Castor beans, caution; highly toxic!
Cosmos, tall pink, white, and rose varieties (‘Sonata Mix’ is knee high)
Cleome (spider flower) – older cultivars very tall, newer ones more compact (‘Sparkler’ series)
Cups and saucers, a biennial campanula, blooms the second year, then dies
Feverfew self-seeds prolifically
Foxglove (Digitalis), a biennial that blooms its second year, then dies (highly toxic)
Four o’clocks – flowers open late in afternoon, very fragrant at night
Geraniums – red, pink, or white
Heliotrope (‘Marine’ and others), incredibly fragrant plant with large clusters of tiny blossoms
Hollyhocks (biennials that will yield blooming plants every year once well-established)
Kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate – Persicaria orientale (used to be Polygonum orientale)
Love-in-a-mist (Nigella)
Love lies bleeding (Amaranthus)
Marigolds
Nicotiana sylvestris, tall flowering tobacco; extremely fragrant pendulous, white, tubular blooms
Pansies (newer cultivars may last for months in semi-shade)
Petunias
Scabiosa or pincushion flower
Snapdragons, especially tall varieties (‘Rocket’ and others)
Sweet alyssum, white cultivars are most vigorous
Sweet peas, for morning sun or dappled shade – choose early bloomers to avoid summer heat
Zinnias; ‘Cut and Come Again,’ ‘Granny’s Bouquet,’ ‘Persian Carpet’ – for more compact, modern “groundcover” zinnias, look at Profusion series

Web sites worth checking into:

http://www.florabundaseeds.com/Catalogue/heirloom_per_bi.htm (Canadian; use as a reference)
http://www.reneesgarden.com (seeds for annuals, perennial, vegetables – many heirloom types)
http://selectseeds.com (antique flower seeds and plants; annuals and perennials)

Small fruit trees and shrubs to consider for small, urban lots:

Apricot trees, ‘Sungold’ and ‘Moongold’ (grow for flowers; you need both to ever get fruit)
Dwarf apple trees
Half-high blueberries, ‘Chippewa,’ ‘Polaris,’ ‘St. Cloud,’ ‘Northblue,’ ‘Northcountry’
Nanking cherries (also called Hansen bush cherries)
Cherry plums (‘Compass’ and others)
Tart pie cherries, ‘North Star’ and ‘Meteor’

reference: Extension bulletin, Fruit for Minnesota, Emily Hoover and Mike Zins
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG1104.html