By Deb Lebow Aal As we approach the winter solstice, I am taking time to pull back, pull inside, reorganize, and yes, already think about my landscape for next year. We gardeners don’t only find solace and joy in working in our gardens, but planning them as well, and as a respite from the tumult […] Continue reading "A Colorado Pocket Prairie"
Compiled by Deborah Lebow Aal Bugs are in trouble, and our yards, both the plants we put in and the way we garden, can be part of the solution. The Xerces Society had an article I particularly liked on using your landscape to make a difference to bugs by adding microhabitats. I am summarizing and […] Continue reading "Adding Microhabitats to Your Landscape"
Review by Pam Sherman Brad Lancaster lives in a city which gets 11 inches of rain a year. Tucson AZ is one water-stressed city in the desert, getting its city water from the Colorado River 300 miles away. He writes: “we’d typically have more free local water than we need if we’d consciously harvest it, […] Continue reading "Book Review: Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond by Brad Lancaster"
By Jonathan Sciarcon Sedges are “grass-like plants” in that they have skinny green stems, but they are not grasses. Sedges, unlike grasses, are in the Cyperus (Cyperaceae) family, have solid, triangular stems (occasionally round). They are not jointed or hollow like grasses. When looking at the stem, you can see the leaves are in three […] Continue reading "Consider Native Sedges in Your Landscape"
By Jenifer Heath I have spent several years transforming my yard and specifically building low-water (xeric) and mostly native plant habitat for pollinating insects, and only incidentally for birds and other creatures. This winter I decided that I’d like to make a bigger effort to support birds specifically. Bird habitat should provide water, food, shelter […] Continue reading "Colorado Native Shrubs for Bird Habitat"
By Ayn Schmit Sustainability of the materials we use in our landscapes is an increasing focus for many gardeners, from the use of gravel mulch (gravel mining harms rivers and wetlands) to the source of soil amendments. Gardeners in the U.S. have relied on peat moss for years for its ability to retain water and […] Continue reading "Ditch the Peat Moss!"
Primary authors: Deb Lebow Aal & Danna Liebert The Front Range of Colorado is (or was) a short grass prairie ecosystem. That is what issupposed to be here, or at least what was here before European settlers came. Those plants that were here before Europeans arrived we refer to as native plants. The plants that […] Continue reading "Why Go Beyond Xeriscaping to Coloradoscape?"
By Jenifer Heath Honey bees are native to Europe and were imported to the U.S. There are over 900 different bee species that are native to Colorado. About 30 percent of our native bee species nest in stems. Most are not yellow and black and only 12 percent of species are social; the rest are […] Continue reading "Protecting Colorado Native Bee Habitat | Spring Stem Cleanup"
By Deb Lebow Aal; Updated October 2023 by Jen Smith Here we are again, talking about grass. I mean the Kentucky Blue Grass (KBG) and other non-native expanses we use as our default landscape. We wrote articles on this in past Wild Ones Front Range chapter newsletters (That Non Native Turf Grass Has Got to […] Continue reading "So Many Alternatives to Non Native Turf"
By Richard Phillips When you were making your list of new native plants to add to your yard this past spring, I bet it contained all forbs with no shrubs or trees. Everyone wants to add more beautiful flowers! This article is to encourage you to add shrubs to your yard this year. You might […] Continue reading "Colorado Native Shrubs – Ecological Powerhouses and More!"