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"
Compiled by Karen Vanderwall This month we thought we would update something we’ve done before and ask our Chapter Board of Directors for nuggets of wisdom from their experience planting natives in their own landscapes—passing on tips, and tricks that will help you establish and enjoy your native garden in the diverse and complex climate […] Continue reading "Tips and Tricks for Gardening with Native Plants on the Front Range"
By Deb Lebow Aal Jonathan Sciarcon in his article “Consider Rewilding Your Yard with Aggressive Native Plants” has made a great case for strategically placing what he calls aggressive native plants, and what I call garden thugs, in your yard. I heartily agree with his arguments and have a few more to add to the […] Continue reading "Garden Thugs"
By Jonathan Sciarcon Based on online posts in the Colorado Native Plant Gardening room on Facebook and in-person conversations with Wild Ones members, it appears that most gardeners, even ones who advocate planting native plants, want well behaved flora in their yards or gardens. This makes sense as many gardeners’ aesthetic preferences tend towards some […] Continue reading "Consider Rewilding Your Yard With Aggressive Native Plants"
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"
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"
By Deb Lebow Aal Okay, it’s not the most exciting gardening article, but no doubt you have heard that mulch is important for a healthy garden. Is that true? And, mostly what we see on the Front Range is wood chip mulch. Is that the right mulch for your native plant garden? Well, it depends. […] Continue reading "Mulch for Your Colorado Native Plant Garden (Post)"
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"
We had a great group come out to tour the Greenverein Garden, which was started in 2019 as a collaboration between Denver Turnverein, Uptown on the Hill, and Front Range Wild Ones on a former Denver hell strip located on Clarkson Street! The garden is 100′ long and 11′ wide and uses berms, swales, check […] Continue reading "Colorado Native Plant Demonstration Garden | Tour of Denver’s Greenverein “Hell Strip” @ Turnverein"