S.R.S. - I'm in Toronto, Zone 6a. Hackberries are one of our native trees and it's on the list of trees that the city will plant in one's front yard for free. So it can't be all bad! I think that things do grow a bit slower up here, what with the snow falling all year and all. (kidding - we don't have snow on July 1 - that's why we celebrate Canada Day). The Humber catalogue (the gardener's bible for Southern Ontario imho) says that the hackberry grows in "poor, wet or dry soil...Tolerates wind and pollution and glows in the dark". One reason I like the 176 page Humber catalogue (they no longer print them so if you do own one, don't give it away!) is that they mark all native plants and trees with a maple leaf. I do look in books and websites for more information, but it's a pretty reliable little manual and you can check out the price and availability of a product right away.

Kentucky Coffee Trees are also native here. They don't say much about them in the Humber ("A handsome tree...") but everything else I read about them sounds good ("a tree for future generations"). I certainly think I'd rather brush the fallen pods of a coffee tree off my furniture and patio, than sit down in smushed berry juice from a Hackberry Tree. They sound a bit sloppy to me.

I'm going to plant a Redbud too. I already have 3 Saskatoon Serviceberries, and the Redbud would be a nice contrast at the other end of the garden. Also 3 river birches, I think.

My rhubarb was on the readjusted fence line. It's toast.

~b.w.