By Deb Lebow Aal
It is almost spring and many of you are thinking about what Colorado native plants to plant in your landscapes. In our Coloradoscaping toolkit, we have two documents that propose native alternatives to the common non-native species you see your neighbors’ yards. These native alternatives do many, if not all, of the same things those non-natives do. I know many of you plant a shrub like a lilac because it has purple flowers in the spring. Well, you can plant a native shrub that has purple flowers AND does so much more for the environment (here’s a document in our toolkit that explains what native plants do for the environment. I am guessing if you are reading this, you know, but it never hurts to make this point again and again!) Of course, the plant characteristics between the non-native and native alternative don’t exactly match up. They are different plants. But they will either bloom at the same time, or have the same habit, and/or be equally beautiful. Of course, beauty is subjective…I happen not to like lilacs. I don’t find them attractive 50 weeks of the year, they take up a lot of real estate and I don’t like their smell! I know that is blasphemy, and I’m happy to hear your rebuttal.
Why do we have two documents with the same title? Well, we have a version that is more than 10 pages long, and has pretty pictures of all the plants. That is not the one we want to give out at events. So, we have a version tat is one page long that is printer-friendly.
I have heard many a gardener perusing the list say “I wish I didn’t have so many of the ‘Don’t Plant plants’ in my yard.” Yeah, we know. Don’t feel bad.
And, while we are on the subject, and you are thinking about what to plant come spring, here’s another document from our toolkit, titled: Native Plants No Colorado Garden Should be Without. We tried to limit ourselves to 10 or so, but couldn’t, so the list contains 19 or 20 that we really love. Maybe you should just wander over to the toolkit and find out what else is there!
I do want to note that there are lots of other Plant This, Not That lists out there. There is a handout done by CSU Professor Jennifer Bousselot a few years ago, which has many of the same plants on it and is very good. The one in our toolkit includes our favorite Colorado native plants, many of which are keystone species and very important to the ecosystem.
How many of these Colorado native plants are available in the nursery trade? Some are, but some you’ll have to get at the WOFR plant swaps in the spring. Check the Events page for upcoming plant swaps.