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!"
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 Jody Gardiner, Wild Ones Front Range chapter member Join us in saving our bees and the world’s food supply, ONE YARD AT A TIME! Not all bees are alike. Most of us are familiar with honey bees. Less familiar to most of us are the cross-pollinating solitary (hive-less) native bees, like mason and leaf cutter bees, […] Continue reading "More Native Bees Equals More Local Food"
Moving Towards Sustainable Flowers One Bouquet at a Time 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 ourselves or supporting our local farmers who grow them? Have you ever wondered where that […] Continue reading "Sustainable Flowers on the Front Range"
By Deb Lebow Aal There are a myriad of reasons to get rid of turf grass such as the ubiquitous Kentucky Blue Grass lawn on the Front Range, not the least of which is the amount of water it takes to keep it looking green. Why we have as much turf grass (I’ll use the term turf grass or […] Continue reading "Using Native Grasses for a Lawn"