The Rocky Mountain Native Plant Primer: 225 Plants for an Earth-Friendly Garden
by Lauren Springer and Bryan Fischer
The great Colorado gardening book we’ve been waiting years for is HERE AT LAST! Over the years, Colorado’s best and brightest garden writers, including Lauren Springer, have produced excellent books to help gardeners understand and work with the weather, soils, plants, pests and peculiarities of gardening here in the Rocky Mountain region. But before long, they were all out of print! With so many new gardeners, ‘new-to-Colorado’ gardeners and ‘new-to-natives’ gardeners needing expert advice for gardening HERE, in our various situations, from the urban-suburban metro area, to the plains, foothills, steppe and mountains, the lack of good resources in print was a big problem.
Fortunately, Lauren Springer returns, partnering with colleague Bryan Fischer, with an essential resource for gardening successfully and beautifully with native plants to attract and support pollinators and beneficial wildlife, and reduce maintenance at the same time! The wonderful photographs, the organization and presentation of accurate, practical growing information, and the solid decades of experience behind this book make it a treasured resource you will refer to for a lifetime. And remember – Harlequin’s Gardens members get 25% off books all year long!
This Weekend! New Perennials, Vines, and Annuals
There is nothing like a homegrown tomato! Here they come, Harlequin’s’ fabulous and enormous selection of tomato starts, and some of the first peppers, too! We cover all the bases, including varieties of many uses, sizes, colors, flavors, days to maturity, origins and special qualities, but they are time-proven and resilient in
TREES & SHRUBS: To avoid breakage from heavy snow, periodically put on your boots, heavy coat, and a hat with a brim, and gently shake snow off trees and shrubs that are already in leaf.
Tomatoes: We’ve always started bringing out our outstanding selection of tomato varieties in the second week of April, but a little glitch with our new grower has caused a slight delay…we expect them to arrive starting the week of April 21st. So please hang in there with us – our exceptional, locally adapted varieties are truly worth waiting for!
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.” This famous quote, often attributed to Martin Luther, symbolizes hope, faith, and the importance of stewardship. It highlights that planting a tree is a proactive, hopeful act for the future, regardless of current circumstances.
Indigenous scientist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer tells us that the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of interconnectedness and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth of berries to meet the needs of its natural community, and this ensures its own survival.
Our healthy, overwintered and water-wise shrubs are waking up! Choose from hardy Manzanita, B
Who doesn’t love houseplants? Here a few that make perfect gifts.
Ficus ‘Ruby’ (Ruby Rubber Tree). This pink-tinged variety of the standard Rubber Tree adds an interesting splash of color to any space. They typically grow with multiple stems each with multi-colored leathery leaves, with the newest growth showing the most intense red/pink coloring. The Ruby Rubber Tree prefers bright indirect light with moderate moisture. Generally, they prefer a thorough watering when the top 2 inches of soil is dry.
Grocery prices are projected to rise even more this summer. You can save, by planting your own veggies for storage. These delicious, hardy varieties are some of the longest-storing, and can be enjoyed for most of the winter, and even into spring.
The benefits of gardening on mental and physical well-being are renowned. But here across the Front Range gardening isn’t just laying around in the hammock! (although there is that, too.) For gardening to truly increase your quality of life, a bit of pre-season preparation pays off.
At Harlequin’s Gardens, we love to celebrate May Day. It is an ancient festival welcoming Spring and celebrating the beauty, fertility, and abundance of the earth.
Officially, Earth Day is April 22nd and Arbor Day is April 24th, but since the Earth is our Mother, on whom we depend for our Life, we must protect and support her every day. And Trees are our lungs, providing oxygen, our shelter from heat, and primary support for soil biology, so we need to plant them and continue to care for them. Progress may be slow, but humans are evolving to see individual trees and individual people as partners in communities.
Update: Our GoFundMe appeal has brought in important support for Harlequin’s Gardens, and we deeply appreciate your generosity. We are a little over half-way to our goal of $35,000. We are working to make this a successful year in spite of challenges. Harlequin’s Gardens is not just a store; we are a lot like a farm. We grow thousands of plants with challenges of supply, heat, cold, drought and wind, not to mention rising costs. 
Welcome to a Glorious Early Spring. It’s warm; everything is growing and there are masses of blossoms and fragrance. Please, do enjoy. Our tax dollars are funding wars our Congress did not approve and more than a majority do not want. This is not representative government. What can we do? We have to celebrate The Good, even while enduring the unbearable. We can grow healthy food and both eat it and share it. 
Sat./Sun. Nov. 8 & 9
I confess. I am definitely a plant hoarder. Every year, I amass a formidable collection of plant starts, and then spend evenings through the season walking around my garden, little pots in hand, trying to find a few square inches where I can fit them in. Then I make tags and put them in the spots I’ve found (or created by taking some other plant out). If the critters don’t pull them out, most of those tags wait months for the magical moment when the weather is mild enough for me to plant them – October at last!
All summer and fall, Mikl and I have been collecting seeds from our own gardens and from wildlands where we have collecting permits, and at this point, most of that collecting is done. After spending last Sunday cataloging our seed collections, I’m delighted to report that so far, we have collected at least 85 species, most of them local natives. We can’t sell you the seeds we collect (the USDA won’t allow it), and besides, we need them for growing our plants for you. But we have excellent wildflower seed mixes from BBB Seeds in Boulder.
I’ve been shopping at my local Farmers Market on Saturday mornings, and have been really impressed with some of the gorgeous, large vegetables some of my favorite farms have grown this year. Most notable were the huge fennel bulbs and the stunning, large, firm heads of purple radicchio. But the garlic bulbs I found at the market have been, to be blunt, puny. And most are sold without variety names. Some were not properly cured. Small bulbs with small cloves are just fine for use in the kitchen for the next 3 to 5 months, but they are not suitable for planting. 
Our staff have been restocking bulbs, and a few favorites have emerged! Mid–October to mid-November is the right time to plant them. Come in this weekend as they’re going fast! We have a curated collection of flowering Allium, Narcissus (daffodils), Crocus, Tulips, and more!
