Basil is one of the great culinary pleasures of summer, and it’s definitely NOT TOO LATE to plant Basil and enjoy a good crop! Basil plants are beautiful, grow equally well in the ground or in pots, thrive in hot weather, provide a continuous, bounteous crop, and Basil’s many different flavors are essential to a variety of distinctive cuisines. It can be used fresh, dried, or frozen in oil or as pesto. Though basil leaves lose most of the aromatic oils when dried, we have still found that basil dried from your garden is so much more flavorful than commercial dried basil.
ALL of our Basil plants are organically grown! [Read More]
First, let’s count our blessings: the cool and wet spring has been great for plant growth (and of course, weeds galore!). The profusion of wildflowers this spring has been glorious, the foothills are still green going into July, and conditions for gardening are now quite pleasant. And we will have fruit on most of our fruit trees! Don’t forget to thin them to keep branches and trunks from breaking.
October 2020 went from record high temperatures in the 80s to record lows, 19 degrees by October 25. May 2021 also made some shocking temperature changes. These rapid and dramatic changes can cause woody plants to die back, lose branches or die completely.
Harlequin’s Gardens has been growing (pun intended!) and needs more space for garden products. So, we have decided to close our bee-keeping supply business, affectionately known as the “Bee Barn”. We are sorry to discontinue this service to the bees and to our local beekeepers, but the Bee Barn has not been profitable, and we need the space for our nursery products. On the bright side, this means that starting this week, ALL the bee equipment will be sold at 40% off. 
The procession of spring flowering continues to unfold and is heading toward a glorious crescendo! It has been so exciting to witness the constant shifting of focus in the garden from one species or group of plants to the next. Hellebore, Daphne, Creeping Phlox, Golden Currant, and fruit trees, along with Crocus, Tulip, Narcissus, and other early bulbs give way to the first Penstemons, Basket-of-Gold, Catmint, Filigree Daisy, Sunrose, Evening Primrose, Blue Flax, hardy Geranium, and the dance goes on through the season! (Pictured left, Eve’s garden the week of May 24.)
What a glorious spring! Having been blessed with generous snow and rain, the land is bursting with energy, greener than green, and flowering in kaleidoscopic exuberance! Migratory birds have been arriving or passing though our region this month, offering sightings of avian treasures like Lazuli Buntings and Western Tanagers, not to mention the hummingbirds. We do live in a wondrous world!
Q: Can I plant now?
Our best selection of plants for the 2021 season is here now! Our selection of plants for shade and part shade has never been better, including Hosta (many kinds!), Ferns (5 kinds!), Bergenia, Hellebore, Foxglove, Geranium (many), Coral Bells (many), Monkshood, Persicaria, Pulmonaria, Golden Wood Poppy and Clematis (lots!), and some new selections, like Solomon’s Seal (2 kinds)!
Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday. There are several different claims to the inception of the Mothers’ Day or Mother’s Day holiday in the US, inspired by ideas of helping less fortunate mothers, reducing infant and maternal mortality, voicing opposition to wars, and honoring motherhood. All of these share the common core idea of honoring Nurturers. 
Don’t Miss our May Day Plant Sale and Celebration!
We hope you will celebrate Earth Day, maybe all week. It is good to acknowledge that we have a planet and that it has been supportive of life and human life for a long time. Unfortunately, we humans have not treated Her well, Gaia, our Mother Earth. We were told the story that we humans are the masters of the earth and that all the creatures and resources are here for our use and glory. Not everybody believed that story. Chief Joseph told our ancestors: “The Earth does not belong to us; we belong to the Earth.” 
Just as we need to add another layer of clothing during these cold snaps, our warm-season veggie starts also need additional insulation as the spring season and soil slowly begin to warm up. This layering can come in several forms, each with their own advantages and applications: low-tech 
A couple of days ago, I decided to trim back the clumps of Narbonne Flax in my garden, which had been bent over by the heavy snow in March. I grabbed my hedge clippers and cut the first clump down to about 8”. Then I took a closer look at it. Something was in there, and it wasn’t a wad of dry redbud leaves. I had just missed cutting through a Praying Mantis egg case by about a quarter of an inch! A little shaken and much relieved, I inspected all the other clumps carefully before trimming the rest.
Do you have plants that you like, but that need to be moved to a different location in your garden? Or has your clump of Shasta Daisy, Daylily, Hardy Geranium, etc. become too wide and now needs to be divided? By dividing your mature perennials, you get free plants to expand your garden, to give to neighbors, or pot up and donate to a fund-raising event like KGNU FM Community Radio’s Spring Plant Sale! The next couple of weeks bring the very best opportunity to accomplish these moves without stressing your plants too much. Search the web for instructions from a trusted source for dividing the specific plant you’re working with.
This year we continue to offer a wonderful selection of seeds from our local Botanical Interests for tried-and-true vegetables, herbs, flowers, and sprouts, local MASA seeds, local BBB seeds. And from Seed Savers Exchange preserving heirloom varieties and sharing them.
Catalpa
Many Lavenders
Native Bee-Balm
Many Agastaches
We are known far and wide for our selection of 
One of our specialties is 
Triple Crown Thornless Blackberry
Hinnomaki Red Gooseberry
Niwot primocane Black Raspberry
PLUMS
PEACHES
PEARS
Our 
This company located in Paonia, Colorado uses more than 20 products in their soil blends, scientifically designed and balanced to provide organic minerals, organic matter, and beneficial biology. We welcome your feedback and experience with Paonia Soil Company products. 
Memberships help Harlequin’s to do those extras that are so valuable to the community but that are not profitable, like: 5 demonstration gardens of Natives, low-water groundcovers, the New Western Garden etc; plus, plastic pot recycling; plant and pest identification for customers; hand-outs on many subjects like pollinator plants, how to plant, what blooms in July etc; local seed collecting and propagation, and more. 
1) Half-price Harlequin’s Class of your choice.
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR MEMBERS!!!
Please, 
Little 
COOL SEASON VEGGIES
MARCH
AUGUST 23 thru 29th
OCTOBER 1st
ONIONS
EGGPLANTS
Etiuda Bell Pepper, Orange – NEW!
A FEW of our NEW TOMATOES: offering 
Can we have human health if our domesticated animals, wildlife, plants, and all nature are unhealthy, polluted, poisoned, weak and struggling? The answer seems to be NO. Climate Change “…coupled with a species-extinction crisis, habitat and soil degradation, pollution, extensive destruction of forests and coral reefs…” are all leading to our current health crisis.
We might ask ourselves: Why does the USA, the richest country in the world, lead the world in coronavirus cases and deaths? With only 4% of the world’s population, we have 25% of all cases and 20% of all deaths. This cannot be blamed on mismanagement alone. Our government has for years favored business profits over public health and environmental health. For example, the EPA website warns that glyphosate (active ingredient in Roundup) at 700 parts per billion can cause “problems with kidneys or reproductive difficulties” and yet 700 ppb is the permitted level in U.S. tap water. Only .1 ppb is allowed in European Union tap water. Roundup also causes many problems with fungi, bacteria (like in our guts), kills insects, birds and in general undermines the health of our planet. It shows up in baby food and beer. This is one example of a poison in our ecosystem that is leading to the poor health in our nation and in our world.
Even though we are about to receive our biggest snowstorm of this winter thus far, you can still make great progress on your garden by starting seeds indoors or even outside if your garden is prepared and you’re quick and can sow them tomorrow morning! You can also plant our hardy perennials, vines, shrubs and trees that have overwintered outdoors ahead of the storm. And our 
Welcome to Harlequin’s Gardens’ 29th Year! We will open this Thursday, March 4th so you can get a Jump on Spring! In Mid-February, just a couple of weeks ago, temperatures dived far below zero and Spring seemed a long way off. But even with Climate Change and Covid Chaos, we gardeners know we can depend on Spring coming. That is one of the guarantees of the basic goodness of our earth and solar system. (Pictured left, ‘Katharine Gold’ Botanical Iris.)
Historically February is one of Colorado’s snowiest months, and finally we’re beginning to see evidence of that this year! Additionally, the forecast indicates more to come. It remains to be seen how some of our marginally hardy garden plants have suffered from the below zero temperatures.
BBB’s specialties include individual wildflowers (many locally native!), wildflower seed mixes, and pollinator-supporting mixes specific to honeybees, butterflies or hummingbirds. Many of their offerings are hard to find elsewhere.
Botanical Interests goes to great lengths to provide all the information you need, and more (like an illustration of what the seedling looks like when it emerges), on both the outside and the inside of the packet, plus stunning, botanically accurate illustrations by highly skilled local artists adorning the front of each packet! We have carefully selected varieties from their catalog that will thrive in Colorado’s short season, early heat, cool nights, etc.
AND – NEW THIS YEAR! from MASA Seed Foundation, a wonderful line of locally-adapted seeds from master seedsman Rich Pecoraro and colleagues! Their seeds have been trialed, selected and reselected over the years to succeed in Front Range Colorado growing conditions. In our experience, these seeds have high germination rates and great seedling vigor, and develop into healthy plants, often with superior drought, heat and cold tolerance and disease resistance.
Attractive Evergreens for Colorado Gardens
We’ve heard from some of you that your trip to Harlequin’s for holiday gifts was your first foray into shopping since the COVID precautions began! This is such a strong affirmation that we are offering something of real value and importance to you, and we are honored to have this level of support!