Living on an island near the coast is interesting in that thunderstorms often fall apart as they pass overhead. This often puts our area in a very dry situation, that, in summer can approach a drought. Being in drought conditions often causes a drop in the island’s only reservoir and the imposition of water restrictions. […]
The past few weeks have been quite exhilarating for gardeners: chores to tackle like cleaning out the potting shed, waking up the garden then attacking with vigor all the prepping, planting, and sorting before summer heat sets in. Along the Front Range the weather has been mixed, to say the least, with 90 degrees F […]
Dahlias come in many colors, shapes, and sizes, which is a major reason for their popularity. If you’re a fan of huge flowers, you can grow dinner-plate variety dahlias, with blooms up to a foot across. If compact blooms are your preference, you can grow small, pompom dahlias with tight flowers balls only about two […]
This month I have the pleasure of talking with my good friend, Judith Jones about ferns—her favorite subject. Judith is the owner of Fancy Fronds Nursery in Gold Bar Washington, and ferns have taken center stage in her life since 1975. When she was tapped as the fern expert for the Sunset Western Garden Book, […]
To paraphrase the 18th-century essayist, Alexander Pope, “hope springs eternal in the gardener’s breast.” Certainly true of this one and others like me across the Front Range, as we keep a watchful eye on the weather, and a hopeful one on our tomato seedlings. Is there anything more redolent of hopeful visions of summer bounty […]
A month or two ago, I was watching an English whodunnit and was impressed by the country gardens where the story took place, so I decided that this year I would expand my English country-style flower garden. I purchased seeds for hollyhocks, cleome, rudbeckia, coreopsis, primrose, and columbine and planted them in my basement germination […]
The Anna’s hummingbirds have been in my Pacific Northwest garden all winter. But this month the rufous hummingbirds return. And all kinds of hummingbirds are returning to gardens all over the U.S. So I’m talking with my friend Ciscoe Morris, author, garden expert, and media personality about what plants we can purchase from the nursery […]
The moment has come to sow seeds under glass, on a sunny windowsill or in a glasshouse, to be set out in May when the frosts are finally over — as we diehards in the Front Range sincerely hope! This year I’m determined to grow a flower that I previously was only half-hearted about growing: […]
Along with seeds and plants, potting soil has traditionally been one the most expensive items in my gardening budget. I often used several large bales of Pro-Mix BX every year until I finally decided to make my own planting medium. It isn’t difficult to do. The first step is to decide what ingredients you’ll include […]
What to do? As the west draws ever more settlers to its wide-open spaces, the region becomes more densely packed. Development along the stretch of Interstate 25 pretty much from well north of Denver, and south nearly to Pueblo is fast becoming one giant megalopolis. Yet people want to garden, keen to turn their postage […]
This coming spring is the perfect time to add trees to your garden. And as you decide what to plant, have you considered allergies? Allergies, especially to windborne pollen, are on the rise around the world. But Thomas Ogren says you can create a garden full of low-allergy trees and other plants—and he should know. […]
There’s been a couple of snow flurries, but the days are early-spring-balmy and the soil dusty, plants equally so. It’s a glasshouse moment for sure–watering and fussing over the greenery that lives outdoors in summer, and indoors during winter. So I’ll keep this brief out of necessity, as I’m hard pressed to turn my mind […]
