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![Read More]
Blog
October is for Sowing Seeds!
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.
Get Ready to Plant the Best Garlic!
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. Curing Winter Squash for Storage
Butternut Squash
We’ve tried a number of ways to store squash, and we’ve been informed over the years by our friends at Seed Savers. If you’ve been canning, chopping and freezing, and cooking things down into sauce this harvest season, you’ll love the ease of storing winter squash whole.
First, be sure the squash are ripe. Each variety differs regarding color and sheen as indicators of ripeness, but as a rule we harvest when the thick stem connecting the fruit to the vine has dried. Cut the stem, leaving at least 1″ and up to 3″ of the stem attached. Be sure to harvest before the first hard frost – if you can’t harvest until after a frost, don’t try to cure and store the squash. Rather, either dice and freeze for later, or bake or make soup and freeze that for later.
Curing is a process that sets up the squash for several months’ of storage by allowing the skin, or shell, to harden. After harvest, elevate the squash off the ground, keeping room between fruits for air to circulate, and leave in a bright, sunny space that isn’t warm or hot for approximately two weeks. You’ll know when they are cured when they pass the ‘fingernail test’ – press your fingernail gently into the shell, and if the skin bruises or breaks, it’s not cured yet! A fully cured squash won’t even dent.
Storage instructions do sound a bit like the porridge in the Goldilocks story – the place you store the squash can’t be too hot or too cold. It needs to be just right! That means not colder than 50 degrees and not warmer than about 65 degrees. The warmer the temperature, the sooner you’ll need to use the squash. Find a cool spot in a closet, the back of a cupboard, a basement, or a garage (if it is temperature controlled). Wrap each squash in paper or straw and place in a box or on a shelf, leaving room for airflow. The paper or straw protects the squash and absorbs any moisture. If the squash does freeze, keep it frozen until you’re ready to use it. Inspect once a week, and use any damaged squash first. Here’s advice from Seed Savers:
- “Any damaged squash should be used as soon as possible.
- Delicatas, Acorns, and Buttercups should be used within a month or two.
- Hubbards, Pie squash, and pumpkins can last up to four months.
- Butternuts last the longest in storage and can take you right into spring.”
And if you don’t have the appropriate space, you can always preserve your squash by dicing and freezing the flesh.
Seed Saving – Seeds last up to a year in your squash – so whenever you use your squash you can scrape out the seeds, rinse and dry, and plant in the spring. Just be aware that squash is a notorious cross-pollinator, and if you grew several kinds you will not necessarily grow a fruit exactly like the one you harvested!
And yes, pumpkins ARE winter squashes. Save them using these same instructions.
Chocolate Flower and other Long Bloomers
Berlandiera lyrata is an amazing blooming champion. Native to south-eastern Colorado as well as the SW region, Berlandiera really does emit a strong aroma of chocolate or carob all morning.
I love the succession of ephemeral flowers in my garden: the spring-blooming bulbs that begin the wake-up call to the garden and pollinators, the delicate pasque flowers (Pulsatilla, primroses (Primula), Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium), bluebells (Mertensia), voluptuous peonies and many more.
The Sustainable Gardening Movement is Making Change
You, as a Harlequin’s Gardens community member, have made a tangible difference by choosing neonic-free plants and non-toxic pest management, choosing native and waterwise plants, building soil health, supporting local ecology, creating bird and pollinator habitat, and all while getting outside and beautifying your outdoor space! You deserve our gratitude and applause!
Harlequin’s Gardens will start our 34th season in 2026, and we couldn’t be prouder that your work, and ours, is making change.
A Trip to Kendrick Lake Park and DBG at Summer’s End, by Eve Reshetnik Brawner
Dalea candida, White Prairie Clover
On Saturday morning, I headed down to Kendrick Lake Park in Lakewood to participate in our local rock garden society’s annual fundraiser, the members’ sale. I always donate some plants, and I always come home with some, too, though I vow not to! It’s also a great time to catch up with friends and fellow members of the Rocky Mountain chapter of NARGS (N. American Rock Garden Society)[Read More]
Even Deeper Discounts on Great Trees!
Silver Maple in Fall Color
We need to clear space as our big nursery is on a very little acreage, so we are offering rock bottom prices on some of the best trees for the Front Range. They are large and healthy!
We have the following:
5 Acer saccharinum – Silver Maple in #7 pots @ $50 ea.
4 Miscellaneous trees in #5 pots @ $10 ea.
1 Acer tataricum ‘Hot Wings’– Hot Wings Tatarian Maple in #5 pots @ $50
1 Ulmus davidii – David Elm in #10 pots $25
3 Syringa reticulata – Japanese Tree Lilac in #10 pots @ $50 ea.
1 Acer ginnala – Ginnala Maple in #10 pot @$50
2 Caragana arborescens – Siberian Peashrub in #15 @$75 ea.[Read More]
Terrific Trees for Colorado – on Sale!
It’s risky to plant B&B (Ball & Burlap) trees this late in the season. But it’s a great time to plant our Container-Grown trees (like the Golden Rain Tree above)! Why the difference?
A container grown tree has a complete, healthy root system that’s able to start growing in your landscape as soon as it is planted. A B&B tree has been dug from the field where, unfortunately, about 60 to 90% of its roots have been left behind. This means the tree will struggle, needing a lot more water and physical support to establish. A container-grown tree will ‘catch up’ to or surpass a B&B tree in size in just a few years.
CLOSE-OUT SALE on beautiful Patio Trees in classy, outdoor ceramic pots, AND select trees.
A Hardy Geranium Shows its True Colors
Among our top favorite groundcover plants for low-water, partly-shaded gardens are Cambridge Geranium (Geranium x cantabrigiense) and its best cultivars. They excel as low-maintenance colorful, long-blooming and long-lived, low-growing, spreading evergreen carpets under trees and in east and north exposures.
Right now we have plenty of cultivars ‘Biokovo’(palest blush), ‘Westray’ (pink), ‘St. Ola’ (white flowers from red buds) and ‘Crystal Rose’(unique vivid pink).
Geranium cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’
Rarely exceeding 12” tall, they provide dense masses of bloom over attractive mid-green foliage that emits a spicy woodland fragrant when rubbed. A second season of color comes in fall and winter, when the foliage turns shades of red and orange.
Cambridge Geraniums are happy in most soil types, including clay, and thrive in USDA zones 4 through 7. They can also be grown in sunnier exposures with more water, and in full shade with less flowering.
Terrific Bulbs, now 30% off!
Allium ‘Graceful Beauty’
We still have some terrific bulbs that want to go home with you, so we’re discounting them by 30%!
Bulb-planting time is here! Spring-blooming bulbs feed early spring pollinators, and help us cheer up as winter recedes. Remember, nearly all the varieties we choose should last for years, even decades in your garden, and most will naturalize, forming larger clumps with a longer succession of blooms every year! And we always favor tough and reliable flowers with fragrance, unique and artistic form and coloration, and minimal care needs. Planting holes are easy to dig with one of our long-nosed trowels or with a cordless drill and an auger bit. Mark the spot with a discreet name-tag or record it on a garden map.
SMALL BULBS
Allium amplectens ‘Graceful Beauty’: 3” fragrant white globes w/mauve anthers on 1’ stems, NW native
Anemone blanda ‘Blue Shades’: long-blooming 1”+ blue daisies on low spring groundcover
Chionodoxa forbesii (Blue Glory of the Snow): brightens any spot in sun or shade
Corydalis ‘Beth Evans’: great early bloomer for shade, maidenhair fern-like foliage crowned with a mass of coral pink
Ixiolirion tataricum: late spring, elegant 1’ blue-purple and low-water
Muscari azureum: gorgeous early azure blue naturalizer
Scilla sibirica: True blue starry blooms naturalize in beds, lawns, meadows, 3” tall
Tritelia (Brodeia) ‘Rudy’: striking, graceful naturalizing California wildflower, late-spring
Narcissus ‘Altruist’
DAFFODILS – deer and rabbit resistant!
Narcissus ‘Altruist‘: Striking deep orange cup and unique tawny yellow perianth, fragrant
N. ‘Barrett Browning’: Brilliant scarlet cup and crisp white perianth, long-lived naturalizer
N. ‘Cornish King’: Very early, wide lemon frilled cup on white perianth, long-lived naturalizer
N. ‘Delibes’: Short yellow frilled cup edged in vivid orange, yellow perianth
N. ‘Double Poets’: Double the fragrance of standard Pheasant’s Eye!
N ‘Ferris Wheel’: Large frilled orange cup above yellow perianth
N. ‘Golden Echo’: Vigorous Jonquil, several fragrant blooms per stem, long gold trumpet, creamy perianth
N. ‘Jamestown’
N. ‘Mother & Child mix’
N. ‘Mount Hood’: Classic large white trumpet daffodil, lightly fragrant, tall and tough
N. ‘Pheasant’s Eye’: Very fragrant wildflower, late-season, white with small red-edged cup
N. ‘Yazz’: Lovely soft buff trumpet, cream perianth, several per stem, fragrant
and many beautiful tulips are still available!
Don’t forget to pick up some bone meal – this amendment helps all bulbs get established.
Bulbs for Spring Flowering – “Staff Picks”
Pheasant’s Eye Daffodil
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!
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!
These Narcissi (daffodils) like full to partial sun, and well-drained soils. They are very deer and rodent resistant!
Narcissus poeticus v. recurvus ’Pheasant’s Eye’– (pictured here) is a very fragrant, late-spring blooming daffodil, very close to its wild ancestor. This storied plant is also known as the Poet’s Daffodil, famous in ancient Greek literature and among the first cultivated daffodils! Pheasant’s Eye is known for its sweet scent and vigorous, spreading habit. This long-lived heirloom reliably multiplies and produces numerous blooms year after year.
Bulbs to Plant Now – “Staff Picks”
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!
These tulips like full to partial sun, and well-drained soils.
Tulipa viridiflora ‘Artist’ – (pictured here) is a late-spring blooming tulip known for its unique “painterly” blooms with golden-orange petals, soft green feathering, and rosy undertones. This compact variety grows about 12″ tall and is a distinctive choice for borders, pots, and stunning bouquets! Introduced in 1947, it is still considered one of the best of its kind and has been recognized by the Royal Horticultural Society.
Bulbs to Plant Now, for October Blooms!
Colchicum ‘Waterlily’
Autumn brings surprise treats for gardeners and pollinators alike, in the form of fall-planted, fall-blooming bulbs! Plant bulbs like ‘Waterlily’ colchicum (pictured above), Saffron crocus and Autumn crocus NOW to start richly colored colonies of these hardy fall bloomers that will grow larger and longer-blooming each year! You will love their surprise appearance just when you thought there’d be no more flowers, and so will your local bees.[Read More]
Trees and Shrubs on Deep Discount This Weekend!
Ligustrum vulgare ‘Cheyenne’ Cheyenne Privet Regular $52, On Sale $35
The most cold hardy privet, the least likely to die back in cold winters. Tall shrub 8-10′. Stand alone, or plant 3′ apart to make a shorter hedge. White flowers attract butterflies and bees. The blue-black berries are poisonous to people and animals, but eaten by birds. Makes a dense screen. Low to moderate water needs. Zone 3, 8500′
Pink Velvet Honeysuckle
Lonicera Korolkowii ‘Pink Velvet’ Pink Velvet Honeysuckle Reg $36, On Sale $25
A large, tough shrub with rose pink flowers and some red berries. Grows 8-10′ tall with blue-green foliage. Cold-tolerant to zone 3. Fairly fast-growing and water-wise. Very attractive to bees and butterflies.
Physocarpus ‘Copper’ Copper Ninebark Reg $55, On Sale $25
Tall shrub to 8′ with gorgeous copper-colored foliage turning maroon in summer. The showy white/pink flowers look great against the copper foliage. Best color in sun with once a week deep watering.
Western Catalpa
Catalpa Western Catalpa Reg $85, On Sale $45
Successful big tree to 40-50′. Showy clusters of beautiful white flowers and huge, roundish leaves. Often a big vertical shade tree. Water-wise and tough.
Cotoneaster racemiflora soongorica Redbead Cotoneaster Reg $35, On Sale $25
Big, tough, and beautiful shrub to 6-9′. White flowers in the spring, then red berries eaten by birds in the summer. Drought-tolerant, dense screen or windbreak. Very attractive. Hardy to Zone 3.
Autumn Brilliance fall color
Amelanchier grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’ Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry. Reg $160, On Sale $55.
Small tree/ large shrub 12-15′ with beautiful white flowers in spring, delicious small berries in summer, and brilliant red to orange fall color. The nectar-rich flowers are a favorite of birds. hardy to zone 3. Is good growing in full sun to part shade with deep watering once/ twice a week.
Get to Know Even More Great Trees!
Chinkapin Oak
Quercus muehlenbergii – Chinkapin Oak
40-50’h x 40-50’w Cold-hardy to USDA zone 5
This handsome spreading oak has proved very successful locally, grows faster than other oaks, tolerates our alkaline soils, and resists oak gall insects. It makes an excellent, long-lived shade tree with strong branching. The attractive foliage has yellow to russet fall color.
Quercus undulata – Wavyleaf Oak
8-15’h x 8-10’w Hardy to USDA zone 4, 9,000’ elevation
A drought-tolerant Southwest (including CO) native oak with small leaves varying in shape,[Read More]
Get to Know a Few More Great Trees!
Chicago Hardy Fig
Sorbus amurensis – Amur Mountain Ash
20-30’h x 15-25’w Hardy to USDA zone 3
Clusters of showy white flowers in mid-spring are followed by bright red-orange berries that persist through winter and are enjoyed by birds. Attractive dark green pinnate foliage turns purple, red and orange in fall. Plant in full to partial sun. Avoid planting in a heavily watered lawn. Water once a week, deeply. Native to Korea, China, Russia.
Get to Know These Great Trees!
Aspen leaves
Populus tremuloides ‘Erecta’ – Columnar Swedish Aspen
30-40’h x 10-15’w
One of the narrowest of hardy trees, great for small spaces and as a screen or lining a drive. Its white bark is stunning and the leaves with scalloped edges turn shades of orange and yellow in autumn and tremble with the faintest breeze. An underused ‘architectural’ tree and striking exclamation point in the landscape. Supports butterflies and birds. Exceptionally cold-hardy to USDA Zone 2, 10,500’. Water deeply once a week (not lawn watering).[Read More]
New Plants This Weekend!
Here’s some of the new plants available this weekend (7/25/25)
Artemisia ludiviciana, Silver Sage, Native
Asclepias tuberosa, Butterfly Milkweed, Native
Echinacea pallida, Pale Purple Coneflower, Native
Heliomeris multiflora, Showy Goldeneye, Native
Hymenoxys hoopesii, Owl’s Claws, Native
Liatris pycnostachya, Prairie Gayfeather, Native
Mirabilis multiflora, Desert Four-o’clock, Native
Oenothera macrocarpa, Missouri Evening Primrose, Native
Ratibida pinnata, Grey-Headed Coneflower, Native
Rudbeckia occidentalis, Western Coneflower, Native
Solidago ‘Fireworks’, Native
Solidago gigantea, Native
Solidago ptarmicoides, Native
Solidago rigida, Native
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, Aromatic Aster, Native
Thermopsis rhombifolia, Golden Banner, Native
Tradescantia occidentalis, Western Spiderflower, Native
Vernonia fasciculata, Native
Allium senescens ‘Blue Twister’
Delopserma: Alan’s Apricot, Carlisle Pink Firespinner, Granita Orange, Lesotho Pink
Iris versicolor, Harlequin Blue Flag
Monarda didyma ‘Jacob Cline’
Penstemon hirsutus, Hairy Beardtongue
Phlomis cachmeriana, Kashmir Sage
Rheum rabarbarum, Glaski’s Perpetual Rhubarb
Sedum: reflexum ‘Blue Spruce’, rupestre ‘Angelina’, sediforme ‘Turqoise Tails’
Sisyrinchium campestre, Prairie Blue-eyed Grass
Veronica liwanensis, Turkish Speedwell
A Trip Back to Spring
By Eve Reshetnik Brawner
On Saturday, I had the great fortune to participate in a botanical field trip to Wyoming with a small group of rock gardeners – members of the Rocky Mountain chapter of the North
American Rock Garden Society. The exploration was led by the incomparable, world-renowned rock gardener and plantsman, Panayoti Kelaidis, whose knowledge of the high steppe region and alpine plants is encyclopedic.
[Read More]
Planning for Spring, Think Bulbs!
A cornucopia of stunning, hardy bulbs will be arriving in August and early September at Harlequin’s, so get ready! Now is a great time to peruse our list (at the link below) and to look at your garden to identify areas where you can add fall-planted bulbs for (mostly) spring blooms (a few special Crocus and Colchicum bloom later in the fall!). Consider the gentle drama of a drift of mixed daffodils (Narcissus) that bloom from early to late spring[Read More]
Japanese Beetle Management/Tolerance
Japanese Beetle is an invasive insect pest that feeds on over 300 different plants. It emerges from a grub stage in the ground in late June, peaks around mid-July and continues until early September. There are no natural enemies for Japanese Beetle in the US, and no one seems to have a successful strategy for eliminating them. We recommend a cumulative approach which combine to be helpful. [Read More]
Save Seeds from Plants You Love!
Penstemon secundiflorus
To every thing there is season – like sowing and reaping. However, right now we can still be sowing seeds for fall crops (see below) at the same time we are reaping fruits and vegetables, and seeds. In nature and in our gardens at the nursery and at home, we have begun collecting seeds from wildflowers such as Sidebells Penstemon, Blue Flax and Blanket Flower. And in my vegetable garden, the tomatoes were planted late, so it will be a while before I can begin saving seeds[Read More]
How to Plant Successfully in July
Remember that encouraging phrase, “Yes we can!”? Well, at least one thing we can apply it to right now is planting. Here is a list of steps you can take to ensure your success establishing new plants even in summer heat. We have tested all these ideas in-house and at home.
1) Before planting , prepare the soil by spreading a 2″ layer of compost and digging it into the top 6″-8″. OR spread 1″- 2″ of expanded shale with the compost, then dig it in. [Read More]
Welcome to Summer!
Solstice in the Garden, photo by Pacha Edica
Last Friday, June 20th was the longest day and the shortest night of the year. This event is called the Summer Solstice. What does that mean? Sol means Sun. North of the Equator, where we are, the earth has its maximum tilt toward the sun and the sun is at its highest in the sky.
This is often a very hot time of year, when spring flowers have peaked and soils are drying. You may have noticed that our very green foothills have suddenly started turning brown. From the Summer Solstice until the Winter Solstice on Dec 21 this year, the days will be getting shorter and the nights longer.
For gardeners, this is a good time to remove spent flowers so the energies in the plants are not spent making seeds. Dead-heading followed by a deep watering will help to revive or keep the garden looking good, and can help support the plants to flower more. If you do want seeds, you can remove half the dead flowers, leaving half to make seeds and that will still save energy.
The Summer Solstice is also the best time to prune trees and shrubs for maximum dwarfing effect. Do you want that fruit tree to grow only 15’-18’ instead of 25? Does your Forsythia, shrub rose or Privet get too big? Prune them every year mid June to early July to keep them smaller. Why does that work? In the spring, plants use their stored energy to grow and make lots of leaves. By Summer Solstice, much of the spring energy is stored in the leaves and new growth. When plants are pruned at this time, you are removing resources from the plant so it has less energy to grow.
Two of the world’s top weather agencies predict upcoming years of extreme heat, which can lead to extreme wind and drought. We are already in this trend, so best to be prepared as best we can. We will have more to say in the future about making your garden more resilient. For now: grow more natives and Colorado-adapted plants, feed your soil biology, water deeply and seldom, and mulch.
This is last week of Pollinator Month…..if you’re looking for all-summer assistance, this week annuals are buy-one-get-one (of an equal or lesser price).
And: Mikl and Eve will be taking next week off to celebrate their 25th Wedding Anniversary! Congratulations for being business partners for all those years and still in love!
Non-Stop Summer Blooms!
The cool, cloudy and rainy days of this year’s uncommonly long spring brought us many blessings – among them, a spring superbloom, both in the natural world and in our gardens. Now we are headed into a season of intense heat and sun, and probably not a whole lot of rain. There are many stunning plants we can add to our gardens that will bloom non-stop through the summer and beyond. We still have loads of these annuals (plants that complete their life-cycle in one season), as well as choice, long-blooming perennials (plants that return year after year from their roots).
[Read More]
Aphids…Love Them and Manage Them, by Mikl Brawner
The squirming, sucking infestations of aphids are not exactly lovable, but they do have real value and they are not that hard to manage. Aphids are the bottom of the food chain, like plankton in the ocean: everything eats them and they are plentiful nutrition. I have even watched small birds like wrens and chickadees lean under leaves and eat the aphids. Aphids are a food source for many beneficial insects including lady bugs, lacewings, syrphid flies and parasitic wasps, and if we kill off all the aphids, the beneficial insects will not have enough food to prosper and will not lay their eggs in your garden.
June is Pollinator Month!
June is Pollinator Month, bringing awareness to the vital importance of pollinators for the survival of native plants and ecosystems, and their crucial role in producing so many of our food crops. Pollinating insects, birds, and bats need our protection from a broad range of threats. These threats include habitat loss, polluted environments, and toxic pesticides, herbicides and fungicides used in agriculture, landscapes, and home gardens.
Harlequin’s Gardens recently renovated our main xeriscape garden.
We’re Honored to Show off our Work! by Eve Reshetnik Brawner
On Monday, we had the great pleasure and honor of receiving a busload of several dozen public garden professionals from American Public Garden Association member institutions around the US and Canada. They represented prestigious arboretums and public gardens like the historic Vizcaya estate in Miami FL and Lotusland in Santa Barbara CA, and gardens from Guelph to Pennsylvania to Phoenix. . They had come to Denver for APGA’s annual conference, which began with for a tour of public gardens, hosted by Denver Botanic Gardens’ senior curator and director of outreach, Panayoti Kelaidis. Panayoti arranged a brilliant itinerary, including both the Hardy Roses Demonstration Garden at the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, and Harlequin’s Gardens Nursery!
Roses that Thrill, by Eve Reshetnik Brawner
I’ve often talked to you about native and water-wise plants, but I am still referred to as ‘the Rose Lady’ at Harlequin’s. I still love roses, and still grow some choice favorites for their fragrance, beauty and ease. Some of them have been in my garden far longer than I have – Banshee and Desiree Parmentier, and a few others that are particularly fragrant thrive and require with little care – Darlow’s Enigma, Stanwell Perpetual, Scotsbriar, Sharifa Asma and The Prince. They are all on their own roots – not grafted – and that’s a big reason they are still alive, robust and beautiful!
We currently have an excellent selection of many dozens of roses.[Read More]
A Boom Year for Yucca Blooms!
Spring rains have awakened a wonderful show of wildflowers on the Front Range this year. And along with all the smaller species, we see that our local Yucca glauca is having a boom bloom year. The flower stalks are pushing upward and will soon be blooming profusely, looking like big white candles dotting the landscape. The large bell-shaped, lily-like, fragrant flowers are creamy white to pale green and hang downward from a central stalk. They have thick, waxy petals that conserve moisture for a long bloom time.[Read More]
Our 21st Century View of Soil and Plant Health
The gardening movement that places soil health at the center of plant health has been where Harlequin’s Gardens has experimented, succeeded and educated for the past 33 years.
Mikl’s taking the movement well into the 21st Century! Here are his key points for sustainable gardening:
- Soil biology is the high road, not inputs made from fossil fuels or extractive methods.
Plant Feature: Prairie Goldenrod
Solidago ptarmicoides
Looking for a really different native Goldenrod? Solidago ptarmicoides (aka Oligoneuron album) is distinctive within the Solidago genus in having white to cream-colored daisy-like flowers, in heads arranged in a flat-topped cluster rather than in an elongated raceme. Known as Prairie Goldenrod or White Upland Aster, one plant can sometimes produce as many as 50 small heads, blooming from August to October. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows in clumps 12 to 24” high and wide, native to dry, sandy, usually calcareous soils, cracks in rocks, limestone pavements, rocky outcrops, grassy slopes and prairies from Quebec to Saskatchewan south to Arkansas, and west to Colorado. It’s cold-hardy to USDA zone 3.
[Read More]
Plan Now for Your Fall Vegetable Garden
Just because it’s July doesn’t mean vegetable planting season is over! This is the month to ensure an abundant fall harvest.
First, prepare your beds. Remove any plant residue from early and mid-season plants like peas and lettuce. Clear out any weeds, make sure your irrigation is still working, and add a general 4-4-4 or similar gentle fertilizer (like Down to Earth’s Fish and Kelp) and an inch of compost if you haven’t already done so for your first crops. Use a garden fork or broadfork to lift and loosen the soil (but don’t turn it all the way over – you want to protect your soil structure). Consider setting up low hoops with a light row cover for greens[Read More]
Preserving Summer’s Spice!
This season’s early rains, followed by heat, have resulted in an herbal harvest bonanza! If you’re finding you have more herbs than you can use fresh, here are four easy ways to taste a bit of summer freshness all year round. We’re saving dill, basil, cilantro, parsley, oregano, lemon balm and mint this month!
Dry Them – Create small bundles and hang until dry, or, remove leaves and dry in an oven on the lowest possible heat (below 180 degrees) to preserve essential oils and flavor, or use a dehydrator. Once dry, place in a jar and store out of the sunlight. Dried herbs can be used for a year or longer.
Freeze Them – Place leaves on a baking tray until frozen and then transfer to a freezer container or bag. We like to store in single-serving sizes. Use for up to a year.
Herbal Tea
Infuse Them – Pack a mason jar nearly full of cleaned, fresh herbs, then cover with any vinegar and seal with a lid. Place on a counter away from direct light for a month, strain out the herbs, and use for up to 6 months, or, fill ice cube trays 2/3 full of chopped herbs, add olive oil, and after frozen place in a freezer container and use for up to 6 months, or, add chopped herbs to softened butter and freeze till needed. Infused vinegar is terrific in salads and brightens vegetable dishes. The flavored oils and butters are great in any recipe that calls for either.
Turn them into Flavored Salt – Add one cup fresh herb leaves, packed, to one cup sea salt, blend in a food processor until finely chopped. Spread mixture in a thin layer onto a lined baking sheet, and bake on very low (under 200 degrees) until dry for 35 – 40 minutes, stirring halfway. Once cool, break up the mixture and store in an airtight container away from direct light. Use for up to a year!
And if your herbs are flowering and going to seed, no worries! Many of the seeds are useful and delicious, too. Cilantro’s round seeds are coriander, and dill’s yellow flowerheads produce many dill seeds. Collect coriander when 2/3 of the seeds are brown and dry, let them fully dry indoors or in a protected area, and store out of direct light in jars. Collect dill seed when brown and dry, and store in jars for use once fully dried.
Parsley, Giant of Italy
Salvias for Hummingbirds
Salvia Windwalker ‘Ruby Red’, courtesy Plant Select
Create a Hummingbird Haven
If your garden is missing that unmistakable buzz, planting Salvias will fill the void!
Not only do Salvia species and cultivars contain nectar that draws hummingbirds like a magnet, but they also feed a wide spectrum of native bees and butterflies, as well as honeybees.
In addition, Salvias (sages) provide spectacular, saturated color for long periods of time. Our perennial varieties bloom either continuously[Read More]
Our Community is Special!
So many very special experiences!
We were delighted with the turnout for our May Day festivities and sales, and loved seeing and helping old friends and new, first-time customers and loyal Harlequin’s supporters. The live music and gentle weather kept us all smiling and we so appreciate everyone’s cheerful patience in the check-out line. The Mothers’ Day weekend was equally exciting and heartwarming.
Walks in the neighborhood and the foothills reveal a superabundance of flowering right now! We hope you get a chance to enjoy nature’s show!
What Staff is Reading – “The Garden” by Matthew Ingram
When we garden with a mission of sustainability, driven by our conviction that plant (and all) life depends on vibrant soil health, we don’t always realize that we’re part of an alternative lineage grounded in an understanding that everything is deeply connected.
Mathew Ingram’s “The Garden: Visionary Growers and Farmers of the Counterculture” invites gardeners to meet the legendary outside-the-box thinkers and growers who quite literally broke new ground and transformed our contemporary practices.
Save 30 – 50% On Great Trees!
This is your best chance for big savings on healthy, highly desirable, container-grown trees that are very successful in our challenging Colorado conditions! We grew these healthy ‘seconds’ ourselves since they were little babies, in our own soil formulas and without any chemicals, in #5 (5-gallon) pots and larger. The only difference between these and their full-price counterparts is that the sale plants are a little shorter or slightly less full.
Choose from the following valuable plants:
Washington Lustre Hawthorn – on sale $65
Tatarian Maple – on sale $50
Swedish Columnar Aspen – on sale $55[Read More]
2025 Roses in 4″ Pots
Rosa nutkana
Alba suaveolens
Autumn Damask
Banshee
Baronne Prevost
JoAn’s Pink Perpetual
Marchesa Bocchella
Sidonie
Zephirine Drouhin
AUSlot – Sophy’s Rose
AUSmove – Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Autumn Sunblaze
Autumn Sunset
Awakening
Bill Reid
Bridal Sunblaze
Brilliant Veranda
Burgundy Iceberg
Carefree Beauty
Carefree Spirit
Carefree Delight
Celestial Night
Champlain
Cinco de Mayo
Cream Veranda
Denver’s Dream
Diamond Eyes
Dortmond
Earth Angel
Fairmount Proserpine
Firecracker Kolorscape
Fred Loads
Fun in the Sun
Gail’s Glauca Seedling
Gourmet Popcorn
Home Run
Iceberg
Jacqueline du Pre
Jasmina
Jeanne Lajoie
Julia Child
Lady in Red
Laguna
Lemon Fizz Kolorscape
Life’s Little Pleasures
Mandarin Sunblaze
Margaret Merril
Millie Walters
Morden Belle
Morden Blush
Morden Fireglow
Parkdirektor Riggers
Peach Sunblaze
Playboy
Plum Perfect
Red Meidland
Red Ribbons
Red Sunblaze
Rise n Shine
Robusta
Roxanne Veranda
Sally Holmes
Sister Soul Sunbelt
Sunbeam Veranda
Sweet Chariot
Trumpeter
Twilight Zone
Westerland
William Baffin
Avant Gardening
I recently attended a public conversation on the subject of ‘Avant Gardening’ at the Longmont Museum. Host Emily Maeda, co-owner of Tree of Life Landscaping, conversed with accomplished front range horticulturists and landscape designers Bryan Fischer and Kevin Phillip Williams about what constitutes the current avant-garde in gardening. I didn’t really feel that their discussion was conclusive, but the question has been in my thoughts. I now realize that in my mind, the definitive answer is habitat gardening.
Choice Fleabanes for Colorado Gardens
Showy Fleabane, courtesy SW Colorado Wildflowers
Erigeron is a large genus in the Asteraceae/Sunflower family, with about 460 species world-wide, 170 of them native to N. America. Our Rocky Mountain region is home to some of the most garden-worthy species. Fleabane, the common name in English, appears to be derived from a belief that the dried plants repel fleas or that the plants are poisonous to fleas. Erigeron species are host plants to the larvae of some butterfly and moth species,[Read More]
Cheerful Earth Day!
We are grateful to have one day to acknowledge the value of the Earth. Wendell Berry said, “Earth is what we all have in common.” Pope Francis said we all have a shared responsibility for protecting the Earth, our common home, and he urged us to care for the environment. It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?
If we poison our water, choke our air with carbon dioxide, kill off the diversity of beings, and in general make our living environment weak and unhealthy, we won’t have a decent home for our children and our children’s children.[Read More]
We’re Expecting These New Plants!
Pink Berkeley Tie Dye Tomato
These are the plants we’re expecting this weekend. They may not all arrive when we expect them – but there are so many great plants to choose from that we’re sure you’ll be satisfied with the selection in store!
TOMATO
Extreme Bush
Carmello
Gold Medal
Magic Bullet
Orange King
Pink Berkeley Tie Dye
PEPPER
Capriglio Rossa
Gatherer’s Gold
King of the North – Sweet
Marconi Red
Poblano
Beaver Dam
Anaheim
Pueblo/Mosco
NuMex 6-4
Sweet Banana
Surmeli
TOMATILLOS
Grande Rio Verde
Purple Blush
Aster x frikartii ‘Monch’
We now have a Big Influx of native plants, including many Penstemon species!
PERENNIALS, etc.
Achillea mil. ‘Paprika’
Agastache cana
Agastache ‘Firebird’
Agastache foeniculum, Anise Hyssop (native)
Agastache rupestris
Agastache ‘Sinning’
Akebia quinata – Chocolate vine
Alcea rugosa
Alchemilla mollis
Allium cernuum
Allium Millenium
Anemone ‘Cinderella’, ‘Honorine Jobert’, multifida ‘Rubra’, ‘September Charm’
Antennaria dioica ‘Rubra’
Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’
Asclepias incarnata ‘Cinderella’
Aster ‘Alert’, ‘Lady in Black’, oblongifolius (native), obl. ‘Raydon’s Favorite’
Aster x frikartii ‘Monch’
Astilbe chinensis ‘Pumila’
Baptisia minor
Begonia grandis v. Evansiana
Berlandiera lyrata – Chocolate Flower(native)
Callirhoe involucrata – Poppy Mallow (native)
Campanula rotundifolia
Centaurea montana, Mountain Cornflower
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, Plumbago
Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’
Corydalis ochroleuca
Creeping Thyme, Red, Wooly, White
Delosperma nubigenum dwarf, ‘Granita Orange’, ‘Gold Nugget’, ‘Granita Raspberry’, ‘Red Mountain’
Delphinium ‘Millenium Dwarf Stars’, ‘Summer Blues’
Dicentra eximia (dwarf), ‘King of Hearts’, ‘Luxuriant’, spectabilis ‘Alba’
Dictamnus a. ‘Purpureus’ – Gas Plant
Digitalis grandiflora, x mertonensis – Foxglove varieties
Draba aizoides
Echinacea pallida, Pale Coneflower, purpurea, angustifolia (native), ‘Cheyenne Spirit’
Engelmannia peristenia (native)
Epimedium v. ‘Sulphureum’
Eriogonum ‘Kannah Creek’
Gaillardia ‘Kobold’
Gallium odoratum, Sweet Woodruff, shade
Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’ – sun
Geranium ‘Rozanne’
Geum coccineum ‘Koi’, triflorum
‘Goldie’ Golden Creeping Jenny
Helleborus x ‘Orientalis’
Herniaria glabra – Rupturewort
Heuchera ‘Caramel’, ‘Forever Red’, ‘Melting Fire’, ‘Palace Purple’, ‘Ruby Bells’, ‘Silver Scroll’
Hosta ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’, ‘Blue Angel’, ‘Blue Mouse Ears’, ‘Dream Queen’, ‘Earth Angel’, ‘First Frost’, ‘Patriot’, ‘Francee’, ‘Guacamole’, ‘Praying Hands’, ‘Rainforest Sunrise’, ‘Regal Splendor’, ‘Royal Standard’
Iberis ‘Autumn Beauty’
Ipomopsis aggregata
Iris pallida ‘Aurea Variegata’
Jovibarba hirta s. arenaria
Lamium ‘Purple Dragon’ – shade
Liatris aspera, ligulistylis
Linum perenne ‘Lewisii’
Lysimachia nummularia ‘Goldie’
Nepeta ‘Jr. Walker’ – catmint
Oenothera ‘Silver Blade’
Origanum ‘Amethyst Falls’, ‘Herrenhausen’, ‘Kent’s Beauty’ – ornamental oregano
Orostachys iwarenge, spinosus
Othonna capensis
Paeonia ‘Duchess De Nemours’, ‘Flame’, ‘Karl Rosenfield’, ‘Red Charm’, ‘Red Sarah Bernhardt’ – Peony, perennial
Papaver ‘Patty’s Plum’, ‘Allegro’, ‘Royal Wedding’, ‘Beauty of Livermore’, Pizzicato – Oriental poppies
Penstemon pinifolius ‘Steppe Suns’
Phlox div, ‘Louisiana Blue’, ‘Pink’, ‘White’
Phlox paniculata ‘Super Ka-Pow Coral’
Polygonatum m. ‘Variegatum’- shade
Pulmonaria ‘Coral Springs’, ‘E.B. Anderson’ – Lungwort – shade
Thymus – Red Creeping, Wooly
Veronica Waterperry Blue
Rosularia chrysantha, serpentinica
Rudbeckia ‘Blackjack Gold’, fulgida v speciaosa, missouriensis, subtomentosa
Salvia azurea ‘Grandiflora’, greggii ‘Furman’s Red’, pachyphylla
Scabiosa caucasica ‘Fama’
Scutellaria ‘Smoky Hills’
Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’, glanduliferum, spurium ‘John Creech’, ‘Matrona’, spectabile ‘Neon’, spurium ‘Tricolor’, tetractinum, f. ‘Weihen. Gold’
Sempervivum ‘Classic’, arach. ‘Cobweb’, cal. ‘Mrs. Giuseppi’, mixed, ‘Red Heart’, c. mon. ‘Red Tips’, ‘Twilight Blues’
Silphium laciniatum, perfoliatum (native)
Solidago ‘Crown of Rays’, speciosa’Wichita Mtn’ (native) – goldenrod
Thalictrum aquilegifolium, rochebrunianum
Trifolium r. ‘Pentaphyllum’
Verbena canadensis
Vernonia lettermannii
Veronica ‘Crystal River’, oletnsis, ‘Purpleicious’, ‘Snowmass’, ‘Tidal Pool, ‘Illumination’
Vinca minor ‘Bowles Variety’, ‘Ralph Shugert’
Viola corsica – corsican violet
Viola wickroti ‘Ultima Morpho’
Zauschneria – ‘Orange Carpet’
Zizia Aptera
AND EVEN MORE!
This Weekend’s New Plants!
Nasturtium
New Plants!
ANNUAL
Calendula: ‘Indian Prince’, ‘Lemon Cream’, ‘Pink Surprise’; Cleome ‘Rose Queen’, ‘Violet Queen’, Coleus ‘Black Dragon’, ‘Rainbow Mix’, ‘Sunset’; ‘Purple Globe’ Amaranth; ‘Dakota Gold’ Helenium (Native); Nasturtium: ‘Alaska Mix’, ‘Black Velvet’, ‘Cherry Rose’, ‘Gleam Mix’, ‘Jewel Mix’, ‘King Theo’, ‘Ladybird’, ‘Moonlight’, ‘Peach Melba’, ‘Salmon Baby’, ‘Tom Thumb’; Nicotiana alata ’Crimson’, ‘Lime’; Nigella ‘Miss Jekyll’ Love in a Mist; Desert Bluebells, Phacelia (Native); ’ Sweet Alyssum ‘Carpet of Snow’; Tanacetum ‘Tetra Wonder’ Double-flowered Feverfew
BIENNIAL
Asphodeline damascena, Ithuriel’s Spear; Digitalis purpureus ’Apricot Beauty’ Foxglove; Eryngium creticum; Erysimum capitatum, Western Wallflower (Native); Thelesperma filifolium, Greenthread, Navajo Tea (Native); Townsendia eximia, Rocky Mt. Townsend Daisy (Native)
PERENNIAL
Achillea ‘Golden Fleece’; Alcea rosea ‘Jet Black’ Hollyhock; Dianthus nardiformis; Draba rigida, Whitlow Grass; Erigeron compositus ‘Lavender’ (Native); ’Pink’ (Native), Erigeron lineaeris, Yellow Fleabane (Native); Erigeron pumilum, Alpine Fleabane (Native); Erigonum jamesii v jamesii (Native); Geum ‘Mrs. Bradshaw’; Hedysarum boreale, Northern Sweetvetch (Native); Heliomeris multiflora, Showy Goldeneye (Native); Leucanthemum x supubum ‘Becky’, ‘Snowcap’, Compact Shasta Daisy; Lupinus perennis; Lupinus polyphyllus ‘Chatelaine’ (pink/white); ‘My Castle’ (red/white), ‘The Governor’ (Blue/white), Monarda didyma ‘Balmy Purple’, ‘Jacob Cline’ Tall Scarlet Bee balm; Oenothera berlandieri ‘Siskyou Pink’; Oenothera caespitosa, Tufted Evening Primrose (Native); Phlox paniculata ‘Bright Eyes’, ‘Laura’, ‘Nicky’, ‘Red Riding Hood’, ‘Starfire’; Physaria bellii, Bell’s Twinpod (Native); Physostygia ‘Summer Snow, White Obedient Plant; Polemonium viscosum ‘Blue Whirl’; Sagina sublata, Iris Moss; Salvia ‘Blue Hill’; Salvia ‘East Friesland’; Salvia hypargeia; Salvia nemorosa ‘Cardonna’, ‘Rose Marvel’, Scabiosa ‘Flutter Blue’, ‘Flutter White’, ‘Pink Mist’; Solidago ptarmicoides (Native); Sphaeromeria capitata, Rock Tansy (Native); Stachys lanata ‘Helene von Stein’; Symphyotrichum laeve, Smooth Aster BoCo (Native); Thums praecox ‘Coccineus’, Red Creeping Thyme; Thymus pseudolanuginosus, Wooly Thyme; Veronica tauricola, Turkish Rock Speedwell; Verinica ‘Waterperry Blue
Plant More Bulbs!
Lately, I’ve been taking most of my walks in my Longmont neighborhood. It’s rather charming, with impressive mature trees and mostly older homes, some (like ours) a hundred-year-old or older. Nearly all the houses are what my cousin Charlie, when he visited us from the East Coast, called ‘right-sized’ – neither big nor tiny. A few historic homes that belonged to bankers and wealthy merchants are the exceptions. And with these mostly modest homes, there are a surprising number of quite nice gardens.
But in the past two months, I’ve been searching the neighborhood in vain for displays of spring-blooming bulbs in front yards. A little clump of daffodils here, two or three hyacinths there, and an almost complete absence of crocus, snowdrops, glory-of-the-snow, Siberian squill; no ‘botanical’ iris, no species tulips (except at our friend Leslie’s place). What gives?
[Read More]
New Plants – This Weekend!
Penstemon ‘Silverton’
New Plants!
PERENNIALS
| Achillea | mill. ‘Paprika | ||
| Agastache | aurantiaca ‘Coronado’ *Plant Select | ||
| Allium | ‘Millennium’ | ||
| Aquilegia | barnebeyi | ||
| Aquilegia | chrysantha | ||
| Aquilegia | coerulea | ||
| Aster | alpinus ‘Goliath’ | ||
| Aubrieta | deltoidea ‘Purple Gem’ | ||
| Aurinia | saxatilis ‘Gold Ball’ | ||
| Callirhoe | involucrata | ||
| Campanula | cochleariifolia | ||
| Campanula | poscharskyana | ||
| Centranthus | ruber | ||
| Cerastium | tomentosum | ||
| Coreopsis | verticillata ‘Moonbeam’ | ||
| Delosperma | ‘Firespinner’ *Plant Select | ||
| Delosperma | ‘Mesa Verde’ *Plant Select | ||
| Delosperma | nubigenum | ||
| Delosperma | ‘Red Mt. Flame’ *Plant Select | ||
| Delosperma | ‘Table Mountain’ *Plant Select | ||
| Dianthus | grat. ‘Firewitch’ | ||
| Epilobium | canum garrettii ‘Orange Carpet’
*Plant Select |
||
| Erigeron | formosissimum ‘Rambler’ *Plant Select | ||
| Eriogonum | umbellatum | ||
| Eriogonum | umbellatum v aureum ‘Kannah Creek’ *Plant Select | ||
| Erodium | chrysanthum *Plant Select | ||
| Fragaria | vesca americana – Wild Strawberry | ||
| Gaillardia | aristata | ||
| Galium | odoratum, Sweet Woodruff | ||
| Gaura | lindheimeri ‘Summer Breeze’ | ||
| Geranium | macrorrhizum ‘Bevan’s Variety’ | ||
| Geranium | viscosissimum | ||
| Geum | triflorum | ||
| Gypsophila | repens ‘Rosea’ | ||
| Helianthemum | ‘Wisley Pink’ | ||
| Heuchera | sanguinea ‘Splendens’ | ||
| Heuchera | micrantha ‘Palace Purple’ | ||
| Iberis | sempervirens | ||
| Liatris | ligulistylus | ||
| Liatris | punctata | ||
| Lupinus | polyphyllus ‘The Governor’ | ||
| Mirabilis | multiflora | ||
| Monarda | fistulosa v menthifolia | ||
| Monarda | ‘Gardenview Scarlet’ | ||
| Nepeta | x faassenii | ||
| Nepeta | x faassenii ‘Six Hills Giant’ | ||
| Nepeta | x faassenii ‘Walker’s Low’ | ||
| Oenothera | fremontii ‘Shimmer’ *Plant Select | ||
| Oenothera | macrocarpa | ||
| Origanum | levigatum ‘Herrenhausen’ | ||
| Paxistima | canbyi, Mountain Lover | ||
| Penstemon | linifolia coloradoensis ‘Silverton’
*Plant Select |
||
| Penstemon | mensarum | ||
| Penstemon | rostriflorus | ||
| Penstemon | xylus, Tushar Penstemon | ||
| Potentilla | neumanniana ‘Nana’ | ||
| Prunella | laciniata | ||
| Pulsatilla | vulgaris | ||
| Pulsatilla | vulgaris ‘Red Clock’ | ||
| Rudbeckia | fulgida ‘Goldsturm’ | ||
| Salvia | azurea grandiflora, Pitcher Sage | ||
| Salvia | daghestanica, Platinum Sage
*Plant Select |
||
| Salvia | x lemmonii ‘Windwalker Desert Rose’
*Plant Select |
||
| Salvia | reptans ‘Autumn Sapphire’
*Plant Select |
||
| Salvia | ‘Windwalker Royal Red’ | ||
| Santolina | chamaecyparrissus, Lavender Cotton | ||
| Saponaria | ocymoides, Rock Soapwort | ||
| Scrophularia | macarantha, Red Birds in a Tree | ||
| Sedum | acre, Evergreen Stonecrop ‘Goldmoss’ | ||
| Sedum | hybridum, Oakleaf Stonecrop | ||
| Sedum | rupestre ‘Angelina’ | ||
| Sedum | spurium ‘Red Carpet’ | ||
| Sedum | spurium ‘Voodoo’ | ||
| Sisyrichium | montanum, Mountain Blue-Eyed Grass | ||
| Solidago | canadensis ‘Golden Baby’ | ||
| Solidago | rugosa ‘Fireworks’ | ||
| Sphaeralcea | coccinea, Cowboy’s Delight | ||
| Sphaeralcea | munroana, Orange Globe Mallow | ||
| Staychs | lavandulifolia, Pink Cotton Lamb’s Ear | ||
| Teucrium | chamaedrys, Wall Germander | ||
| Thermopsis | divaricarpa, Golden Banner | ||
| Thermopsis | lupinoides ‘Golden Candles’ | ||
| Thymus | praecox ‘Albiflorus’, White Creeping Thyme | ||
| Thymus | praecox ‘Coccineus’, Red Creeping Thyme | ||
| Thymus | praecox ‘Minus’, Dwarf Creeping Thyme | ||
| Thymus | praecox pseudolanuginosus, Wooly Thyme | ||
| Tradescantia | occidentalis, Western Spiderwort | ||
| Veronica | x ‘Crystal River’ *Plant Select | ||
| Veronica | liwanensis, Turkish Speedwell | ||
| Veronica | pectinata, Wooly Speedwell | ||
| Veronica | prostrata, Prostrate Speedwell | ||
| Veronica | x ‘Snowmass’ Speedwell *Plant Select | ||
| Veronica | specata incana, Silver Speedwell | ||
| Veronica | ‘Sunny Border Blue’ | ||
| Vinca | major, Big-leaf Periwinkle | ||
| Vinca | minor ‘Bowles Variety’ | ||
| Viola | corsica, Corsican Viola | ||
| Waldesteinia | ternata, Barren Strawberry | ||
New In Store – This Weekend!
Pansy Ullswater
New Plants!
PANSY, VIOLA
Pansy – ‘Alpenglow’, ‘Beaconsfield’, ‘Claret’, ‘Silver Bride’, ‘Ullswater’ (pictured)
Viola – ‘Bambini’, Johnny Jump-Up, ‘White Perfection’
PERENNIALS
Achillea – ‘Little Moonshine’, ‘Paprika’
Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’
Ajuga – reptans ‘Black Scallop’, ‘Bronze Beauty’, ‘Burgundy Glow’, ‘Catlin’s Giant’; A. tenorii ‘Chocolate Chip’
Coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’
Delosperma (Iceplant) – ‘Firespinner’, ‘Garnet Jewel of the Desert’, Yellow Hardy Iceplant, ‘Ruby Jewel of the Desert’
Ibiris ‘Purity’
Lamium ‘Orchid Frost’
Oenothera ‘Siskyou Pink’
Phlox – ‘Crimson’s Beauty’, ‘Drummond’s Pink’, ‘Purple Beauty’, ‘White’, ‘Rose Marvel’
Sedum – ‘Angelina’, ‘Dragon’s Blood’
Stachys ‘Helen von Stein’
Thyme – ‘Pink Chintz’, Red Creeping Thyme, Elfin, Wooly Thyme, albiflorus
HERBS
Lavender – ‘Hidcote’, ‘Munstead’, vera, ‘Grosso’
Mint – Peppermint, Spearmint, ‘Kentucky Colonel’
Oregano – Greek Oregano
Sage – Green and Purple Culinary sage
Thyme – Lemon thyme, German Winter thyme
FRUIT
Strawberry – Fragaria vesca ‘Alexandria’, ‘Yellow Wonder’
The Blooming Begins!
Townsendia hookeri, pictured above, is already supporting butterflies! Also known as the Easter Daisy, it blooms for a long time – often through May. This Rocky Mountain native is drought-tolerant, is found in gravelly areas and grasslands, can withstand freezing conditions and snow, and thrives in crevice gardens. This particular one bloomed this weekend in Eve’s garden in Longmont!
That’s a Milbert’s Tortoiseshell butterfly – the larvae can be found on stinging nettle. Milbert’s Tortoiseshell’s habitat includes most of North America, extending all the way into Canada and Alaska (south of the tundra). We’re delighted to see these harbingers of spring. We usually carry stinging nettle and Townsendia hookeri later in the season, if you’re of a mind to create this habitat in your garden. For a list of natives we often carry, Read More….
Spring – The Garden Awakens!
This Thursday, at 3:01AM RMT, is the Spring Equinox. When you wake up Friday, Spring will be here. For gardeners, this moment when night and day, light and darkness, are exactly in balance marks the beginning of our season of hope, and lengthening days. It’s when we spend our time looking closely for the signs of new growth, and beauty. We find it in the hellebores flowering among last season’s leaves (pictured above), the crocus and early species iris, the earliest daffodils, and fragrant hyacinths.[Read More]