By Kristine Johnson A few years ago, I applied for and received a Terra Foundation Grant from the Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Conference. This meant $1000 toward native plants which supported birds, while also requiring turf removal and tracking biodiversity in some way in my yard. We removed the last of the lawn in […] Continue reading "Habitat Gardening is for the Birds!"
By Lani Rush In author Kate Bradbury’s own words, she specializes in practical wildlife gardening and her latest book One Garden Against the World is a memoir told over the course of a year in her ‘modest’ and ‘relatable’ garden in the United Kingdom. In it, she focuses on the power of small fixes like […] Continue reading "Book Review: One Garden Against the World"
By Richard Phillips Datura in Full Bloom (All Photos by Vicki Saragoussi Phillips, unless noted otherwise) One of my wife’s (Vicki) favorite plants is poisonous. I was supposed to write an article about the Maximilian Sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani). In bed last night, I spent wakeful interludes making a mental list of what I needed to […] Continue reading "Datura: An Unnatural Native Plant"
QUESTION: Do I need to keep dead perennial stemsfor three years in order for them to be of benefit topollinators?ANSWER: While it seems like “new” information, the three-year timeline for perennialstems is derived from the life cycle of stem-nesting pollinators. Your first reaction might be,“Three years!,” but it isn’t as dramatic as it would seem—you […] Continue reading "Ask CSU Extension Anything: Keeping Dead Perennial Plant Stems for Insect Nesting"
On June 22, 2024 the Fourth Annual Denver Pollinator/Native Plant Swap & Giveaway Event was held between 10am – 1pm with sunny skies and warm temps reaching 90°F. We appreciate the estimated 700 participants, including volunteers and families, who attended despite construction hassles, lines and heat. 2024 Denver Pollinator/Native Plant Swap & Giveaway at 11:30am […] Continue reading "2024 Denver Pollinator/Native Plant Swap & Giveaway — It’s a Very Successful Wrap!"
Pam has recently stepped down from her role as Chair of the Propagation Committeefor other pursuits including travel to exotic places and we thought it a perfect time togive her a shout out of appreciation. For many years we received member comments and survey responses requesting morepropagation training. In 2021, Pam answered the call to […] Continue reading "Volunteer Spotlight – Pam Schulz"
Wild Ones Front Range (WOFR) would not be the same without Rick Phillips’ mostlybehind the scenes help. A list of what he does is quite inadequate, as he is an “allaround handyman kind of guy.” He is the web chair, or web master for the WOFRwebsite; he is the zoom host, along with his wife, […] Continue reading "Volunteer Spotlight: Rick Phillips"
The Crevice Garden:How to make the perfect home for plants from rocky placesBy Kenton Seth and Paul Spriggs This gardening book is a great fit for Wild Ones Front Range Chapter–as well asgardeners elsewhere in the state and even the world. The authors hail from Fruita,Colorado and British Columbia; they have studied crevice gardening with […] Continue reading "Book Review: The Crevice Garden"
By Deborah Lebow Aal If you are reading this, you have some familiarity with, and/or, some interest in the interdependence of native plants and native insects. Some native plants provide the ecosystem with more benefits for insects than others. The measure I am using for ecosystem benefits is how many species of caterpillars a native […] Continue reading "Colorado Native Plants for Caterpillars and Birds"
Moving Towards Sustainable Flowers One Bouquet at a Time By Ayn Schmit, Wild Ones Front Range member and flower enthusiast, and Helen Skiba, owner, Farmette Flowers in Longmont Why would Front Rangers passionate about native landscaping care about growing flowers ourselves or supporting our local farmers who grow them? Have you ever wondered where that […] Continue reading "Sustainable Flowers on the Front Range"