By Deb Lebow Aal The question of how many native plants, or native plant species, a garden should contain to be considered a native plant garden, comes up all the time. The question we should probably be asking ourselves is, “When does my garden become ecologically beneficial?” If you really want to support the ecosystem, […] Continue reading "How Native Should My Garden Be?"
This question and answer are part of our Ask CSU Extension Anything (About Native Plants) series. We appreciate CSU Extension for answering these questions to expand our community’s knowledge of native plant landscaping. Send us your questions to the Ask CSU email account. FULL QUESTION: I am looking for suggestions for native vines that will […] Continue reading "What native vines could help cover a chain link fence?"
By Kristine Johnson The Front Range is the dry boundary of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains. In Boulder, Colorado, where I live, we receive about 20 inches (51 cm) of precipitation per year, peaking in late Spring. One problem with gardening in this relatively arid environment is that many Colorado residents moved here […] Continue reading "Rainwater Harvesting"
By Karen Vanderwall Probably like many of you, I regularly have the desire to identify plants. Sure, I do know how to key out plants. I have a multitude of plant guides and gardening books. But I often enjoy taking a few moments in my own garden to quickly identify a plant. Other times I am […] Continue reading "Plant ID Apps"
By Kate Hogan* I started my home garden native plant conversion back in 2015 – I foolishly decided to attempt to replant my entire front and back garden beds to exclusively Colorado and New Mexico native plants while on maternity leave with my second child, which happened to be September of that year. We had […] Continue reading "Native Plants for Hummingbirds"
By Deb Lebow Aal In July, 2021, we reprinted an article from Harlequin Gardens on tips and tricks to water less. We’d like to highlight some of those tricks, again, add to them, and update some ideas from that article. That article focused on the advantages of xeriscaping your landscape; we’ve moved away from that […] Continue reading "I Know You Want To Water Less"
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!"
By Karen Vanderwall and Deb Lebow Aal Many of you live, or garden, at high elevations, and we’ve heard that sometimes you feel neglected in that we don’t address your specific issues at elevation. Well, here we will. If you live “high,” and we will define that as above 7,500 feet, you have many unique […] Continue reading "High Altitude Gardening in Colorado"
This question and answer are part of our Ask CSU Extension Anything (About Native Plants) series. We appreciate CSU Extension for answering these questions to expand our community’s knowledge of native plant landscaping. Send us your questions to the Ask CSU email account. FULL QUESTION: We heard at the Landscaping with native plants conference that […] Continue reading "Do you recommend adding expanded shale when planting native plants? "
By Karen Vanderwall Many of you are looking at your tired thirsty lawns right now, thinking I should get rid of it! It’s a daunting task, you are also probably thinking. Once you’ve worked through the challenging decision to replace some or all of your lawn to a native garden, the next challenge is how […] Continue reading "NATIVE PLANT GARDEN PREP – THE NITTY-GRITTY OF LAWN REMOVAL"