Yellowwood (Cladrastis kentuckea) Laburnum (Laburnum ÃÂ watereri 'Vossii') Siberian Pea Tree (Caragana arborescens) Hedge Maple (Acer campestre) Amur Maple (Acer ginnala) Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) Pagoda Tree (Sophora japonica aka Styphnolobium japonicum)

The redbuds are nice. Cercis canadensis 'Hearts of Gold' or 'The Rising Sun' are great. While visiting Michigan in July, I seen Cercis canadensis 'Hearts of Gold' first hand for the first time. I must say I never thought much of it while searching the internet. It's a nice tree! I've purchased one for fall planting. Cercis canadensis 'Hearts of Gold' (picture taking at Duvall Nursery, Michigan) I always wanted a Robinia pseudoacacia 'Lace Lady', 'Twisty Baby' because of the cool contorted branches. Well I purchased it two years ago, and I've hated it since. I live in Southern U.S., so it may be hardier here. It grows like a weed! It grew about 4 ft in every direction the first year. I pruned it extremely hard back to the trunk. This year, it has grown 6 feet in every direction. I can handle the very aggressive growth because I enjoy pruning for shape. The main issue is the suckering. I have black locust shoots popping up 4-8 feet away from the trunk in my surrounding bed. I'm constantly removing them. Earlier in the summer, I missed a shoot from below the graft site. I was waiting until fall/winter to remove it because it was too large, and I tried to prevent making a large cut during the harsh summer conditions. Well...What a mistake! Now the shoot is a 1.5 inch caliper (almost as large as the main trunk) and 8 ft tall Robinia pseudoacacia covered with thorns extending straight up. I'm removing the tree this fall! I think it might be larger than what you're looking for. Other slow growing maple considerations Acer pseudoplatanus 'Esk Sunset' Acer campestre 'Carnival'

Just a caution. As I recall, laburnum seeds should be kept away from children, as they can act like a drug, if ingested.

Marlorena, I sent a link to Elgoods Brewery website to my son in law, and he loved it. I told him if he was thinking of visiting the brewery, I was going along for the garden. I'm sure he was thrilled at the thought. He and my daughter are going to France this fall for a wine tour (she's the wine person) with some fellow college alums and a prof as the guide. Wine--hohum. Give me some tequila any day. You asked about anything unusual I might grow, and I thought of your comment about the wild blue flax (you saw it in a nursery, I believe) that grows in these parts. Since it's desert around us, blue flax only blooms after it rains and just for a day. At that time, it appears in stunning swaths down in the desert gully, only to disappear the next day. I do grow several small clumps in my garden, but I need to get some photos of the big waves of it. My gardening friend and mentor has huge clumps of blue flax growing in her garden, and gave the starts for my garden. Sultry, I asked son in law about Cave Creek Chili Beer, and he has drunk it, likes it, but said it's pretty spicy. This is a guy who loves habaneros and Thai Hot chiles, which I grow for him. I'm growing some Ghost peppers this year, too. Last year, I grew Fish peppers which were grown by African Americans in the Chesapeake Bay area way back when. Diane This isn't particularly unusual--Siberian Bugloss or Brunnera, false forget me not. It's from last year. It's about over with for this year, and I didn't take any photos. I've got to get going with the camera.