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<br />. Plants that require full shade (no direct sunliglEJ. <br />~ORBS" <br /> <br /> <br />Scientific Name <br />Aralia nudicaulis <br />Arctostaphylos uva-ursi <br />Gaultheria procumbens <br />Uvularia sessilifolia <br />Maianthemum canadense <br />Mltchella repens <br />Solidago f1eXicaulis <br />Streptopus rosues var longipes <br /> <br />Scientific Name <br />Quercus alba <br />Amelanchier laevis <br />Amelanchier arborea <br />Diervilla lonicera <br />Symphoricarpos albus <br /> <br /> <br />Blooming lime <br />May - June <br />May - June <br />June - August <br />April - May <br />May <br />June - July <br />May <br />May - July <br /> <br /> <br />Notes <br />Purplish-red fall color <br />Orange fall color <br />Great understory tree <br />Does well on shaded slopes <br />White fruit; forms colonies <br /> <br />Most of the plants can be viewed at the NatiOnal Plant Data Base Center website: httpllnpdc.usda.S!.ov/nDdclindex.htlm <br />Some plants can be viewed at the University of Minnesota Extension Service website: http://www.sustland.umn.edu <br /> <br />SITE PREPARATION AND PLANT INSTALLATION <br /> <br />Eliminating Turf <br />The first step in establishing a Rain Garden is to remove the turf, unwanted plants, or other material in the <br />areas that you have identified for plant installation. Most areas will require the removal of turf. Removing <br />the existing turfgrass will produce a more attractive site plus it reduces competition with your Rain Garden <br />plants, and prevents the encroachment of weeds into your garden. <br /> <br />On~ method of turf removal is to directly dig up the sod using a sh,ovel or a ga-s powered sod cutter. This <br />method is labor intensive, but very effective in small areas of your lawn. When cutting sod, your blade <br />should be placed so that it reaches the roots of the grass. Any turf roots or fragments left behind <br />may regenerate and sprout, making your site weedy and less unattractive. Avoid trampling the site too <br />much during the removal process. Once the soil becomes too compacted, plants are difficult to establish <br />because oxygen is forced out of the area making it difficult for the root system to collect 'air. Cut sod <br />should be com posted on-site or used to fill in open soil areas of your lawn. If you only have a few strips of <br />sod, the Olmsted County Composting Facility will accept it on a limited basis. <br /> <br />A second method of turf removal avoids the heavy work but requires patience. You can smother your <br />turfgrass with black polyethylene plastic, or old carpet. Stake the material down over the turf, and leave <br />it in place for one entire growing season (five to six months). It takes this long to kill the extensive root <br />system of the grass. After this period, you can plant directly on the dead turf. If you are seeding, till the <br />dead sod before spreading the seed. Leaving the grass in place will add valuable organic material to the <br />soil and saves on the labor of hauling the dead sod aroun~, <br /> <br />The last available option is to use an organic herbicide such as Scythe or Superfast Weed Killer to destroy <br />the turfgrass. They are made from naturally occurring fatty acids and kill the plants by dehydrating the <br />'foliage. These herbicides are considered acceptable by most organic certification programs,2 RoundupTM, <br /> <br />14 <br />