Recent Posts

Spring Cleaning for Fall 2016

Thursday November 3, 2016

Do you spend the first warm weeks of May just cleaning up the wreck winter has wrought? Well, this year get out ahead of the mess with some simple housekeeping now. Remove any plant debris including any old fruits or veggies bugs and disease love old rotting produce left on the ground or on plants. Rake up leaves Dead leaves …

Why Do We Carve Pumpkins on Halloween?

Friday October 21, 2016

The practice of carving pumpkins on Halloween originated in Ireland during the Celtic festival of Samhain. According to legend, on Samhain night the door between the world of the living and the world of the dead was flung open and sprits and ghosts were thought to walk the earth. People would hollow out turnips to create makeshift lanterns, often carved …

Winterize Your Roses in Four Easy Steps

Wednesday October 12, 2016

“…the red, red rose. In ageless sleep, she finds repose.” Sleeping Beauty Now that autumn has arrived, it’s time to start getting your roses ready for their long winter’s nap. With a little bit of planning and prep, you can make sure your sleeping beauties wake up healthy and refreshed in the spring. 1. Get Your Roses Ready for Bed …

Frost Protection for Your Garden

Wednesday October 5, 2016

In the fall or early spring, temperatures can plummet without warning. Chalk it up to living in Colorado. But with a little preparation, you can protect your tender plants against frost and extend your growing season by several weeks Light Frost vs. Hard Frost A light frost is when the temperature dips below 32° at some point during the night. …

Tulip Mania!

Wednesday September 28, 2016

Economic bubbles, the rapid escalation in prices followed by an equally rapid drop, are all too familiar to us today. But did you know the very first economic bubble in history was started by something you probably have growing in your garden? In the 1600s, nothing more than the pretty little tulip kicked off a speculative frenzy that gripped an …

Ask a Gardener – Privacy Screens

Friday September 9, 2016

You know what they say, “good fences make good neighbors.” A hedge, tall shrub or a line of trees can be the perfect way to get a little privacy. Before your start planting, take a look at your yard and ask yourself a few questions. What kind of sunlight, water and soil is available? It’s always important to take into …

Ask a Gardener – Watering New Trees

Friday July 29, 2016

How much water does a newly planted tree need in the hot summer of Colorado? – Candice With most watering questions, the not-very-satisfying answer is “it depends.” How much water your trees need can vary a lot depending on where they’re planted, what kind of soil they’re planted in, the amount of sunlight they get and other environmental factors. Really …

Ardengay Atinlay

Thursday July 28, 2016

If you’re like us, your Latin is strictly of the porcine variety. Most gardeners are too busy weeding or planting to practice verb tenses and declensions, so it’s easy to skip past those long lines of Latinate lingo you find on the back of plant labels. But Latin names can be very useful once you know how to use them. …

Five Favorite Summer Blooming Perennials

Thursday July 28, 2016

Are looking for a splash of color to re-invigorate your perennial garden during the Dog Days of Summer? Look no further than these five fantastic flowers! These five perennials start to bloom just as your spring flowers begin to fade. Not only will they provide fantastic summer color throughout the season, they’re hardy enough to take all the hot and …

Ask a Gardener – Hail Damage

Thursday July 7, 2016

With all the recent hail storms, do you have any advice to help our flower and vegetable gardens get back to normal? – Barbara Like death and taxes, hail storms are a sad inevitability for Colorado gardeners. The entire Front Range sits smack dab in the middle of “Hail Alley,” one of the most hail prone regions in the entire …