By Tom Swihart The picture above was taken on the first day of Spring in Denver. Springtime in the Rockies. Buckle up! The forecast is for even more extreme weather shifts. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Summary for Colorado, we are already experiencing above average annual temperatures, above average numbers of very hot […] Continue reading "Climate Change and Landscape Change "
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 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 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"
By Deb Lebow Aal. Updated by Jen Smith, September 2023. No, no, not Kentucky Blue Grass! Banish that thought and that grass – definitely not native, here. Kentucky Blue Grass (referred to from now on as KBG !!), the bane of water providers in the west, is ubiquitous, and, while it serves a purpose (it […] Continue reading "Glorious Grasses Native to Colorado’s Front Range"