By Deborah Lebow Aal Ah, yes, water. It IS the weather in Colorado. We are constantly talking about water. Skiers are obsessed with the snowpack; anglers are obsessed with river flow; farmers talk about the drought that seems to be omni-present. But, is it really a drought if it’s the normal condition? Denver gets an average of about 15 […] Continue reading "Let’s Talk Water and Yes, Native Plants Too"
By Tom Swihart An important goal for the Front Range Chapter of Wild Ones is for members to move their own yard toward native landscaping – and then move their neighbors in the same direction. The example you set can show your neighbors and friends how native landscaping is both possible and desirable. Upgrading yards, […] Continue reading "Can You Get Your Community to Act? Town of Erie Example"
Primary Author: Deb Lebow Aal If you want to attract butterflies (and who doesn’t?), you will need to plant the right native plants to attract them. The challenge is to support all life stages of the butterfly, from the egg, through the larval and pupal stages, and then the adult. Many plants labeled as butterfly […] Continue reading "Attracting Butterflies with Colorado Native Plants"
by Deb Lebow Aal What have you done, or will you do, this month, or this year, to inspire and empower people to plant native plants? Wild Ones was established to… “promote environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration, and establishment of native plant communities.” That is our mission statement. The more […] Continue reading "A Call To Action"
By Deborah Lebow Aal This article is a bit of a book review. There is a wonderful little booklet entitled Colorado Wildscapes: Bringing Conservation Home, put out by Audubon Colorado in 2005 (maybe time for an update?). The point of the booklet is to know your Colorado Wildscape region so that you plant the right […] Continue reading "Know Your Colorado Wildscape Region"
By Deborah Lebow Aal, Lisa Olsen, and Beth Hanson Wild Ones Front Range Chapter and Highlands Garden Center hosted a talk by Beth Hanson entitled “Meet the Natives” on June 29, 2019. We were competing on that date with the Colorado Native Plant Society’s garden tours, but we had a wonderful turnout. Goes to show […] Continue reading "Highlighting Chapter Activities: Meet the Natives, A Talk by Beth Hanson"
By Deborah Lebow Aal I know your interest is in native plants, and I’ll get there, but I will presume if you are reading this, that you are also interested in ecosystem issues and maybe even what steps you can take with your landscape to combat climate change. I recently read a wonderful post by […] Continue reading "Zero-Waste Gardening"
By Deborah Lebow Aal As you will recall, we have said many times that insects are half the show. We tend to try to get rid of them, especially if they are eating your prize roses, but remember that the only reason a plant flowers is to attract pollinators, mostly insects like bees. It’s a […] Continue reading "Let’s talk about Bees"
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 for bouquets ourselves or supporting our local farmers who grow them? Have you ever wondered where that flower bouquet you picked up from the […] Continue reading "Sustainable Flowers, One Bouquet at a Time"
By Cynthia Reiners Rocky Mountain penstemon, Penstemon strictus, is an attractive Colorado native perennial that meets several important objectives for a suburban native plant gardener. This species of penstemon is often commercially available, easily grown in a variety of micro-climates and ordinary soil, and visibly supports the local web of life. A less well- known […] Continue reading "Rocky Mountain penstemon: An excellent choice for a native plant garden"