by Deb Lebow Aal In addition to Alex’s plastic-free seed-starting method, I wanted to write about how we can garden with less waste in general. Since Wild Ones’ goal is not just encouraging native plant gardening, but also sustainable gardening, it only seems right. First, a word about why we should be reducing our plastics […] Continue reading "Towards a Zero Waste Gardening Goal"
By Ayn Schmit If you happen to find yourself on a summer Sunday along East Alameda Avenue in Denver, you might hear the happy hubbub of people working in the gardens at Ekar Farms. Ekar Farms, located on land belonging to the Denver Academy of Torah, is a non-profit organization that fosters community and connection […] Continue reading "Native Plant Demonstration Garden at Ekar Farms: A New Partnership"
You may know that Wild Ones Front Range Chapter has three demonstration projects, and one more we are “adopting.” We have also partnered with Denver Parks and Recreation on another project. They are all different, but worthy of some attention. So, we will be highlighting two of them here this month, and the other three […] Continue reading "Colorado Native Plant Demonstration Gardens"
By Deb Lebow Aal I have written an article on Gambel Oaks, and another article on why all native plants are not equal. This article combines the two, and coins the term super native plants! Oak trees are super native plants, as anyone who listened to Doug Tallamy’s talk on oaks last month knows. Doug’s […] Continue reading "Colorado Native Oaks, Again!"
By Deb Lebow Aal One of the biggest challenges we face as native plant gardeners is how to design a native plant garden. After all, we are challenging the norm. We are not planting an expanse of turf with two trees plopped in somewhere. We are changing the way we landscape on the Front Range […] Continue reading "Designing a Colorado Native Garden"
By Deb Lebow Aal I love being asked to look at people’s yards. I am not a professional landscaper, but I read gardening books like they’re novels, and from many years of gardening I know enough to give some advice. I frequently hear garden myths that I am reluctant to rebut on the spot, but […] Continue reading "Colorado Native Plant Gardening Myths"
By Deb Lebow Aal I think most people believe that shade gardening with native plants requires quite a bit of creativity, especially on the Front Range of Colorado. We do not have many native trees, so there is not much shade. It’s a given that most plants require light and water to do their thing, […] Continue reading "Colorado Native Plants in the Shade"
This article is reprinted, with permission, from Harlequin’s Gardens’ June 15, 2021 newsletter. Harlequin’s Gardens is a family nursery and garden center dedicated to natural and sustainable gardening for our region. We at Wild Ones Front Range Chapter thought the article worthy of wider circulation as we face drought and higher temperatures across the Western United […] Continue reading "Tricks and Tips for Your Xeriscape Garden"
By Deb Lebow Aal Pocket Prairie is not a new term, but if you follow many sustainable gardening websites and blogs, like I do, it is suddenly everywhere. What is the buzz about? Well, as you know, the Front Range, and much of the Midwest was prairie – short and long grass prairie. If we […] Continue reading "Colorado Native Plants in Pocket Prairies"
By Jan Midgley Also known as Prairie Sagebrush or Fringed Sage, the soft mounding mat of silvery gray green foliage typical of Artemisia frigida is an excellent matrix for a garden bed of native grasses and forbs. This is a sensory plant: soft to the touch, sweet smelling, edible and visually soft and soothing. It is an excellent […] Continue reading "Colorado Native Plant Focus: Artemisia frigida"
