Harlequins Gardens

Boulder's specialist in well-adapted plants

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High Spring Walks on the Wild Side

Yesterday we managed to sneak away from work and visit a couple of the fabulous Open Space parks in the foothills. We were too late to see the Pasque Flowers in bloom, but we were surrounded by botanical treasures, nonetheless. A picture is worth a thousand words, so this will be mostly a photo essay of most of the species we encountered. However, you might want to know that in spite of being difficult or impossible to find in nursery production, quite a few of these native treasures have been offered or are currently offered at Harlequin’s Gardens this year.

[Read More]

June’s Garden To-Dos

Planting, weeding, mulching, watering and amending soil are your key June garden tasks.

The soil is warm enough now for final annual seed sowing and transplanting.  Edible crops that need warm soil to germinate (and to keep from rotting), like beans, corn and squash (the Three Sisters!) and okra can be sown direct now.

Nasturtium, marigold, zinnia, sunflower, scarlet runner beans and morning glory seeds can be
sown directly in the soil – for August flowering. For earlier flowers, consider transplanting Cypress Vine, Spanish Flag Vine and Black-eyed Susan Vine (while supplies last).

[Read More]

Great Selection of Dwarf Native Conifers

We finally got a chance to bring out our excellent and unique selection of Native Conifers! Most of them are special dwarf forms that can easily fit in a home garden. These accent plants can give structure and winter interest to elevate your garden design in all seasons.

What’s special about our dwarf conifers? First of all, most of them are Colorado and regional (CO, UT, NM) native species. This makes them easy to grow in Colorado gardens.

Second, most are selections made by the late, great plantsman Jerry Morris, who devoted his career to searching out the dwarf forms of conifers in our forests.

[Read More]

Successful Container Gardening

We know that not all of customers live in a house with a yard. Many of you live in apartments or condominiums or townhomes and have only a balcony or a very small patio on which to grow anything outdoors. We would love to help you make the most of your outdoor space, even if it’s tiny.

Many vegetables, ornamental annuals, and most culinary herbs can be planted in almost any kind of container as long as there’s sufficient width and depth to accommodate the roots and enough soil mass to hold sufficient water. That means that you should be sure the pot is big enough to hold the roots and potting soil. There should be enough room for potting soil so that when you water, it can be absorbed into the soil around the roots. Make sure your container has at least one drainage hole, and won’t require watering more than once a day. DO NOT fill the base of the pot with gravel, rocks, Styrofoam, or any material other than soil. This creates a perched water table and will be harmful to plant roots.

Sungold Tomato

Best Vegetables for Containers

The following types and varieties of vegetables that we offer this year can do very well grown in pots. Varieties requiring extra- large or specialty containers are listed with an (L) after the name. Read their descriptions in the PLANTS section of our website.

GREENS: Arugula, Sorrel, Kale, Mizuna, Shiso, Mustards, Lettuce (especially when heavily seeded and treated as cut-and-come-again through spring), Watercress, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Scallions, Endive

POTATOES: In large fabric grow-bags or half-barrels (plant tubers by end of April)

PEAS: Dwarf varieties (plant seeds of this cool-season veggie early in the spring, or in August for fall peapods)

CUCUMBERS: Spacemaster, Bush Champion, and Mexican Gherkin are successful in containers. Provide stakes for the relatively short vines, or allow the Mexican Gherkin to hang down from a container atop a wall.

TOMATOES:
Dwarf and micro-dwarf varieties: Jochalos, Pinocchio Orange, Tasmanian Chocolate, Vilma.
Cascading varieties: Hundreds and Thousands or Rosy Falls.
Determinate varieties: Black Sea Man, Burrell’s Special, Bush Early Girl, Glacier, Gold Nugget, Healani, Juliet, Lemon Drop, Martino’s Roma, Mountain Delight, Native Sun, Orange King, Red Robin (in shade or indoors), Stupice, Sunrise Sauce, Super Sioux, Taxi, Tidy Treats, Tumbling Tom.

Note: Larger indeterminate varieties can be grown in Earth Box self-watering planters or other large containers if support trellising is provided. Transplant by June 15 to ensure a crop from these long-season vegetables.

PEPPERS: All peppers can be grown in containers, but varieties over 16” tall should have support. Peppers appreciate a bit of shade, especially in the afternoon, to prevent sunscald. Especially well suited to containers are Shishito, Jalapeno, Adaptive Early Thai, Aurora, Mini Bell, Purple Cayenne, Fish, Lanterna Piccante (L), Cambucci (L), Bishop’s Hat (L), Gypsy Queens. Transplant by June 15 to ensure a crop from these long-season vegetables.

EGGPLANTS: Asian varieties like Orient Express, Pingtung Long Purple Comet, and shorter classic varieties like Morden Midget do very well. And all eggplants do well in containers with rich soil and consistent watering. Provide support, specially for heavy-fruited varieties. Eggplants like heat, so dark pots in a sunny location work well. Transplant by June 15 to ensure a crop from these long-season vegetables.

STRAWBERRIES: Most Strawberry varieties can grow well in containers, especially if protected from critters. If the container is large enough, like a wooden half-barrel, they should overwinter successfully. We do not recommend using ‘strawberry pots’ with multiple side ‘pockets’ because they are difficult to keep watered in our climate conditions.

CARROTS: Most carrots are not good candidates for container growing. The exceptions are varieties ‘Little Fingers’ and ‘Tonda di Parigi’ (Round of Paris). These are meant to be harvested small and are fairly quick to mature, leaving room for a late crop, like basil or kale.

VEGETABLES NOT SUITED TO CONTAINER GROWING
The following are less likely to grow well in containers: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Brussel Sprouts, Celery, Celery Root, Artichoke, Asparagus, full-sized Carrot, Beet, Turnip, Rutabaga, Parsnip, Squash, Melon, Watermelon, most Cucumber, Onion, Leek, Garlic, Shallot, Bean, Corn.

ANNUALS IN CONTAINERS

Nasturtium, ‘Orchid Flame’

Nearly all annual flowers can be grown in containers. If you want to grow it in a pot, give it a try! If you are planning to mix annuals in a pot, be sure to do a little homework to find out what each variety’s soil, fertilizer, light and water needs are, and group them accordingly. For example: In rich soil, Nasturtiums grow lots of leaves and few flowers, while Petunias bloom well.

You can crowd plants closer together in a container of Annuals, but don’t overdo it. We usually plant them 4” apart. Some annuals can grow exceptionally tall, like Lion’s Mane (Leonotis nepetifolia or L. leonurus) and could be vulnerable to breaking and spoiling the display. If you are using trailing plants, choose a pot that is tall enough to let the trailing plants trail.

Ocean Forest Potting Soil

POTTING SOILS: We recommend Ocean Forest and Coco Loco potting soils for most container plantings. See product descriptions here.   We add Harlequin’s Fertility Mix or Age Old ‘Grow’ or one of Thompson’s Organic Fertilizers to most vegetable and ornamental containers. When transplanting into the container, we use a mycorrhizal inoculant product.

A valuable product to add to you potting soil is Hydrosource. It can save you a lot of time and worry by holding more water and holding it longer, making it available to you plants throughout the day. This can be especially helpful when you are growing multiple plants together in a pot. Don’t use more than the recommended amount (too much of a good thing can be very bad!).

Annual Culinary Herbs such as basil, cilantro, parsley, dill, Mexican Oregano, Chives, and Vietnamese Coriander appreciate rich soil.

Perennial Herbs like Rosemary, Oregano, Sage, Savory and Thyme do better with Yum Yum Mix fertilizer, which offers trace minerals, phosphorus and potassium but not much nitrogen.

Succulents and Cacti are better grown in a mix that is composed of about two-thirds granular material (gravel, scoria, tufa, coarse sand) and the remainder organic material (conventional potting mix of peat moss and perlite. Our Crump’s Cactus Succulent Potting Mix does well. Do not add compost or worm castings.

YEAR-ROUND PLANTINGS IN OUTDOOR POTS

A good rule of thumb: If you are planning to grow perennials, roses, shrubs or trees in them year-round, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens recommend that your plants should be cold-hardy to three USDA zones colder than the zone where you are gardening. This is because the roots are above the ground, exposed to much more cold than if they were planted in the earth. When looking at USDA hardiness zone ratings, the lower the number, the colder the winter temperature the plant can withstand. In the cities of Boulder and Denver, our USDA hardiness zone changed several years ago from Zone 5 to Zone 6 because our low temperatures in winter have been less cold than they used to be. So here in Zone 6, plantings in pots that remain outdoors all year should be rated as hardy to USDA zone 3, 2 or 1. Most outdoor pots or planters offer little or no insulation from cold air temperatures. If it is possible to move the container for winter against a north-facing wall and pack sealed bags of loosely-packed leaves around them, the insulation can add an extra zone or two. Against a north wall, temperatures will fluctuate less and snow, which is a very good insulator, will stay on and around the pots much longer. If there isn’t consistent snow-cover, be sure to water pots a couple of times per month.

Our personal experience: At Harlequin’s, we have successfully grown some shrubs and small trees in very large pots. A small ‘character’ Russian Hawthorn, which is hardy to Zone 2, has lived for about 10 years in a big, thick stoneware pot. We move it every winter and pack shredded leaves all around it. A ‘Walker’ Weeping Peashrub, hardy to Zone 3, lived in a 24” diameter foam pot at the nursery for about 5 years, but died from lack of winter watering. Eve used to successfully grow a few roses in wooden pots, moving them to a sheltered north wall and packing bags of leaves around them until mid-April.

There are other factors to be considered, namely your micro-climate, and the size, material and thickness of your container. If your pot is very large, say at least 24” diameter, and at least 18” deep (unlikely on a balcony!), you can plant in the center and the surrounding mass of soil will give the plant roots extra insulation. As for materials, ceramic, metal, concrete, resin and plastic conduct cold readily. Wood and double-walled plastic or resin pots do not conduct cold so they offer some insulation. Fabric pots are too thin to function as insulators.

TERRACOTTA (unglazed, low-fire clay)
Terracotta pots are the classic flower pot. They look great. They work very well in places like England, southern Europe, the Middle East, Southern California and Mexico. But because the humidity here is usually very low and the wind is so often present, unglazed terracotta clay pots, which are fired at low temperatures and are quite porous, dry out quickly and draw moisture out of the potting soil within. So they are only suitable for desert plants. Even cacti and desert succulents will need more frequent watering if placed outdoors in a terracotta pot. Large terracotta pots are fairly heavy, are easily broken or cracked, and cannot withstand the freezing and thawing of winter weather. They will need to be brought indoors to a frost-free space for the winter.

STONEWARE (high-fired clay, unglazed or glazed)
Stoneware pots can usually be left outdoors year-round if the plantings in them are very hardy. The glazed stoneware pots we carry are considered ‘frost-resistant’. Pots with soil in them should be covered (with an overturned saucer or similar) or brought indoors for winter, and empty pots should be overturned or covered.

 PLASTIC or RESIN
These cast pots have the advantage of being very light-weight, but they can differ widely in their durability. Try to assess the outside finish, whether it will chip or scratch easily. Thin plastic can crack, but Resin seems stronger. Make sure the pot has drain holes or that holes can be drilled in the bottom of the pot. We offer used large black plastic nursery pots (#7 and #10) for sale a t very reasonable prices. These are economical, perform very well, but are not ornamental or stylish. We used to have a source for wonderful, clay-toned double-walled cast resin pots The 3/8” air space between the inner and outer walls provided excellent insulation and the finishes held up for many years. Covid put an end to our supply, and we haven’t been able to find any since. Keep an eye out for them at yard sales!!

FABRIC
We are carrying a very economical fabric pot by Root Pouch. These are practically weightless, the color of the felt-like fabric is a neutral gray. They have two well-attached handles for ease of moving the pot. And under normal use, they will last for three or four years. The dimensions are 12” high and 14” diameter, making them large enough for growing a tomato, pepper or eggplant. At only $7.50 each, they are a great bargain and a very practical choice for growing plants on a balcony.

WOOD
Wooden planters are usually not as heavy as ceramic, have some insulation value and hold moisture in. They will usually fall apart within about 10 years, depending on how well they are made. Half-barrels from whiskey distilleries are heavy-duty (and heavy!) and can last longer. They are some of the best containers for planting shrubs or trees.

CONCRETE & HYPERTUFA
Concrete containers are expensive, extremely heavy and difficult to move. They conduct cold and heat. However, if they are large enough and you get help placing them, they can be very durable and have good potential for long-term plantings.

Echinocereus viridiflorus in trough garden

HyperTufa is made from a concrete mix with peatmoss, and often perlite and fiberglass added. They are thick-walled and insulating, and are durable if made well and are not as heavy as concrete. One of the best things about them is that they look a lot like stone. Hypertufa containers are usually called ‘troughs’ because they imitate ancient stone troughs from Europe. Because they are made with concrete, they offer an environment that is perfect for rockery plants that grow in limestone formations.

How to Plant in the Heat

It’s not ideal, but sometimes you have to plant in the middle of a heatwave. Fortunately, it can be done successfully, even here in the high, windy and dry zone. High temperatures, wind and strong sunlight cause water to evaporate from plant leaves faster than the roots can take up water.

The key to survival of new plantings is shade – for the plant and for the soil.  Here are some tips:[Read More]

A Penstemon Primer, by Mike Kintgen

Penstemon virgatus

Few genera are as synonymous with Western North America as penstemons or beardtongues. The genus is almost entirely native only to North America with the center of diversity falling west of the 100th meridian. Over 250 species are found in North America with one outlier in
Japan. The outlier is often placed in its own genus. Penstemons are native to every state in the union except Hawaii and almost every Canadian province besides Nunavut.

[Read More]

A Few Sought-After Native Plants

Right now, we have our biggest selection of highly desirable plants for the season. Some of them are unusual and available in limited quantities. This includes a number of very choice native perennials that are very hard to find and will sell out fast, like:

Scrophularia macrantha (Red Birds In A Tree) – This rare New Mexico wildflower was first brought into cultivation, and given its delightful common name, by the late, great plantsman David Salman, only a couple of decades ago. Subsequently promoted by the Plant Select program, it won the hearts of native plant gardeners and pollinator gardeners, and is a great favorite of hummingbirds. [Read More]

You’re Invited to Trial Rare Dwarf Tomatoes

Vilma Tomato courtesy Sara’s Kitchen Garden

A Special Tomato Offer! 2 half-price plants in return for your evaluations!

We know that many of our customers need to grow small but bountiful vegetables in containers.

So we searched out and grew a group of very special, rare varieties of tomato that are specifically intended for growing in containers – Dwarf, Micro dwarf and even hanging tomatoes! They are ready this week, but quantities are limited – only 25 to 60 plants of each variety.[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, and it was preceded by a rare and thrilling display of the Northern Lights on Friday night. We hope many of you were able to see it!

Walks on foothills trails this week reveal the earliest Penstemons (Beardtongues) in our area – the xeric, and showy Sidebells Penstemon (Penstemon secundiflorus). [Read More]

Water-Wise Trees and Shrubs for Sunny Locations

XERISCAPE   TREES AND SHRUBS  for  SUN

Harlequin’s Gardens    303-939-9403  www.harlequinsgardens.com

 

Note: plants listed in bold are native to our region

TREES

Acer ginnala / Amur maple

Acer ginnala ‘Compacta’ / Dwf. Amur Maple

Acer grandidentatum / Bigtooth Maple

Acer negundo / Boxelder

Acer negundo ‘Sensation’ / ‘Sensation’ Boxelder, male selection

Acer tataricum ‘Hot Wings’ / Hot Wings Tatarian Maple

Aesculus glabra / Ohio Buckeye

Amelanchier utahensis / Utah Serviceberry

Catalpa speciosa / Western Catalpa

Celtis occidentalis / Western Hackberry

Celtis reticulata / Netleaf Hackberry

Crataegus ambigua / Russian Hawthorn

Crataegus crus-galli / Cockspur Hawthorn

Crataegus mollis / Downy Hawthorn

Crataegus monogyna / Singleseed Hawthorn

Crataegus phaenopyrum / Washington Hawthorn

Cupressus arizonica / Arizona Cypress

Gleditsia triacanthos inermis / Honeylocust

Gymnocladus dioica / Kentucky Coffeetree

Juniperus monosperma / One-seed Juniper

Juniperus scopulorum & selections / Rocky Mt. Juniper

Koelreuteria paniculata / Goldenrain Tree

Malus species / Flowering Crabapple selections

Morus alba / White Mulberry

Pinus aristata / Bristlecone Pine

Pinus cembroides edulis / Pinyon Pine

Pinus contorta v. latifolia / Lodgepole Pine

Pinus flexilis / Limber Pine

Pinus ponderosa / Ponderosa Pine

Prunus americana / American Wild Plum

Prunus padus / Mayday Tree, Bird Cherry

Prunus virginiana / Native Chokecherry

Prunus virginiana ‘Shubert’ / Canada Red Chokecherry

Prunus x virginiana ‘Sucker Punch’ / Non-suckering Chokecherry

Pseudotsuga menziesii v. glauca / Rocky Mt. Douglas Fir

Ptelea trifoliata / Wafer Ash, Hop Tree

Pyrus ussuriensis / Ussurian Pear

Quercus bicolor / Swamp White Oak

Quercus gambelii / Gambel Oak

Quercus macrocarpa / Bur Oak

Quercus muehlenbergii / Chinkapin Oak

Quercus undulata / Rocky Mt. Scrub Oak

Robinia neomexicana / New Mexico Locust

SHRUBS

Agave parryi ssp. neomexicana

Amelanchier alnifolia / Saskatoon Serviceberry

Amelanchier aln. ‘Regent’ / Regent Serviceberry

Amelanchier canadensis / Shadblow Serviceberry

Amelanchier laevis / Allegheny Serviceberry

Amorpha canescens / Great Plains Leadplant

Amorpha nana / Dwarf Leadplant

Artemisia cana / Silver Sagebrush

Artemisia filifolia / Sand Sagebrush

Artemisia tridentata / Tall Western Sagebrush

Artemisia versicolor (canescens) / Seafoam Sage

Atriplex canescens / Four Wing Saltbush

Atriplex confertifolia / Spiny Saltbush

Buddleia alternifolia ‘Argentea” / Silver Butterfly Bush

Buddleia dav. nanhoensis cultivars / Compact Butterfly Bush

Buddleia davidii cultivars / Butterfly Bush

Caragana arborescens / Siberian Peashrub

Caragana pygmaea / Pygmy Peashrub

Caryopteris x clandonensis cultivars / Blue Mist Spirea

Ceanothus fendleri / Mountain Lilac

Ceratoides lantana / Winterfat

Cercocarpus brevifolius / Little-flowered Mt. Mahogany

Cercocarpus intricatus / Littleleaf Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus ledifolius / Curl-leaf Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus montanus / Common Mountain Mahogany

Chamaebatieria millefolium / Fernbush

Chrysothamnus n. ssp. graveolens / Tall Grn. Rabbitbrush

Chrysothamnus naus. ssp. albicaulis / Tall Blue Rabbitbrush

Chrysothamnus naus. ssp. nauseosus / Dwf. Blue Rabbitbrush

Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus / Dwf. Grn. Rabbitbrush

Cotinus coggygria / Smoke Tree

Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ / Royal Purple Smoke Tree

Cotinus x ‘Grace / ‘Grace’ Smoketree

Cotoneaster divaricatus / Spreading Cotoneaster

Cotoneaster lucidus / Peking Cotoneaster

Cotoneaster multiflora / Big-flowered Cotoneaster

Cowania mexicana (Purshia stansburyana)  / Cliffrose

Cytissus purgans ‘Spanish Gold’ / Andora Broom

Cytissus scoparius ‘Moonlight’ / Moonlight Broom

Ephedra americana / American Ephedra

Ephedra viridis / Mormon Tea

Fallugia paradoxa / Apache Plume

Forestiera neomexicana / New Mexico Privet

Genista lydia / Lydian Broom, Dwarf Broom

Genista tinctoria / Woadwaxen

Hesperaloe parviflora / Red Yucca

Hippophae rhamnoides / Sea Buckthorn

Holodiscus dumosus / Rock Spirea

Ligustrum vulgare ‘Cheyenne’ / ‘Cheyenne’ Privet

Ligustrum vulgare ‘Lodense’ / Lodense Privet

Lonicera k. v. floribunda ‘Blue Velvet’ / Blue Velvet Honeysuckle

Lonicera syringantha v. wolfii / Tiny Trumpet Honeysuckle

Lonicera tatarica selections / Shrub Honeysuckle

Mahonia aqu. Compactum / Compact Oregon Grapeholly

Mahonia aquifolium / Oregon Grapeholly

Mahonia fremontii / Fremont’s Mahonia

Mahonia haematocarpa / Desert Holly

Opuntia species / Cholla Cactus

Perovskia atriplicifolia / Russian Sage

Philadelphus lewisii / Lewis Mockorange

Physocarpus opulifolius cultivars / Ninebark

Juniperus communus/Common Juniper selections

Prunus besseyi / Western Sandcherry

Prunus besseyi ‘Pawnee Buttes’ / Pawnee Buttes Sandcherry

Prunus besseyi ‘Boulder Weeping’ / Boulder Weeping Sandcherry

Prunus tenella / Dwarf Russian Almond

Purshia tridentata / Antelope Bitterbrush

Pyracantha coccinea / Firethorn

Rhamnus smithii / Smith’s Buckthorn

Rhus aromatica / Fragrant Sumac

Rhus glabra / Smooth Sumac

Rhus glabra v. cismontana / Rocky Mt. Sumac

Rhus trilobata / Threeleaf Sumac

Rhus typhina / Staghorn Sumac

Rhus typhina laciniata / Cutleaf Staghorn Sumac

Ribes aureum / Native Golden Currant

Ribes cereum / Wax Currant

Ribes odoratum / Golden Currant

Robinia neomexicana / New Mexico Locust

Rosa ‘Alba Maxima’

Rosa ‘Alba semi-plena’

Rosa ‘Alba Suaveolens’

Rosa ‘Felicite Parmentier’

Rosa ‘Fruhlingsgold’

Rosa ‘Golden Wings’

Rosa ‘Harison’s Yellow

Rosa ‘Henry Kelsey’

Rosa ‘John Cabot’

Rosa ‘John Davis’

Rosa ‘Konigen von Danemark’

Rosa ‘Lawrence Johnston’

Rosa ‘Maiden’s Blush’

Rosa “Banshee”

Rosa arvensis

Rosa ‘Complicata’

Rosa eglanteria / Sweetbriar

Rosa foet. Persiana / Persian Yellow Rose

Rosa foetida bicolor / Austrian Copper Rose

Rosa glauca (rubrifolia) / Redleaf Rose

Rosa hugonis / Father Hugo’s Rose

Rosa woodsii / Wood’s Rose

Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Arp’ / Arp Rosemary

Shepherdia argentea / Silver Buffaloberry

Robinia neomexicana / New Mexico Locust

Spiraea ‘Cheyenne Snowmound’

Spiraea jap. ‘Goldflame’ / Goldflame Spirea

Syringa patula ‘Miss Kim’ / Miss Kim Dwf. Korean Lilac

Syringa prestoniae cultivars / Canadian Lilacs

Syringa vulgaris cultivars / Common Lilacs

Yucca baccata / Banana Yucca

Yucca filamentosa / Adam’s Needle

Yucca glauca / Native Soapweed, Narrowleaf Yucca

Yucca harrimanii / Harriman’s Dwf. Yucca

2024 Harlequin’s Gardens’ Roses

 

 

2024 Rose Availability List 

  • Austrian Copper

    Above and Beyond

  • Austrian Copper – (f. bicolor)
  • Autumn Damask
  • Autumn Sunblaze
  • Banshee
  • Bridal Sunblaze
  • Brilliant Veranda
  • Burgundy Ice
  • Campfire
  • Carefree Delight
  • Carefree Spirit
  • Carefree Wonder
  • Celestial Night
  • Champlain
  • Charles Darwin
  • Coral Cove

  • Darlow’s Enigma

    Cream Veranda

  • Darlow’s Enigma
  • Denver’s Dream
  • Dortmond
  • Double Knockout
  • Earth Angel
  • Emily Carr
  • Fairmount Proserpine
  • Felix Leclerc
  • Fire Meidiland
  • Firecracker Kolorscape

  • Golden Wings

    Fred’s Loads

  • Gertrude Jekyll
  • The Gift
  • Golden Opportunity
  • Golden Wings
  • Gourmet Popcorn
  • Henry Kelsey
  • Heritage
  • Hope for Humanity
  • Iceberg
  • Jeanne Lajoie
  • JoAn’s Pink Perpetual 
  • John Davis
  • Lady In Red
  • Laguna
  • Lemon Fizz Kolorscape

  • Morden Sunrise

    Lilian Austin

  • Mandarin Sunblaze
  • Mary Rose
  • Millie Walters
  • Morden Sunrise
  • Mountain Mignonette
  • Petite Peach
  • Quadra
  • Red Ribbons
  • Robusta
  • Scarlet Meidiland
  • Sophy’s Rose
  • Sunbeam Veranda
  • Sweetbriar Rose
  • Sweet Chariot

  • Victorian Memory

    Tess of the d’Urbervilles

  • Valentine’s Day
  • Victorian Memory
  • White Meidiland
  • William Baffin
  • Winchester Cathedral
  • Winner’s Circle
  • Zephirine Drouhin

 

Grow Your Own Vegetables for Nutrient-Dense Food

An article in the Guardian caught our eye with the alarming headline ‘Vegetables are Losing Their Nutrients’. It begins with the findings in a 2004 University of Texas study showing dramatic declines in the nutrient content of 43 foods, mostly vegetables, between the mid and late 20th century: green beans have seen a nearly 50% drop in calcium, while asparagus has lost almost half its Vitamin A content.

[Read More]

Compost Tea and a New Organic Compost!

Our compost tea will be ready this week, hopefully by Friday. Our tea has always been good, but this year we are working on making it even better. Please let us know if you can see good results from using it, and if it seems to be more effective.

Say Hello to ECOPLUS Organic Compost! We are replacing our A-1 Eco-Grow compost with the newly-available ECOPLUS Organic Compost, an OMRI certified organic compost made by A-1 Organics in Colorado.[Read More]

Daphne Shrubs

They’re hardy, evergreen, fragrant, gorgeous! Some of you are familiar with Daphne ‘Carol Mackie’, a much sought-after semi-evergreen shrub with cream-edged leaves that try to be evergreen all winter but usually defoliate by February.

But there are less well-known, compact, mounding Daphne shrubs, like ‘Lawrence Crocker’ and D. neapolitanum that are much easier, completely evergreen, and even more gorgeous and fragrant, and we’ve got some very nice ones right now!  [Read More]

Potted Spring Bulbs!

Miss planting bulbs last fall? No worries, we’ve got you covered. Choose from miniature daffodils, chionodoxa, hyacinth, tulips and more.

You can enjoy these in their pots while they bloom and plant in-ground later, or plant the blooming flowers now. Either way, you’ll have blooms for years to come!

 

[Read More]

The Fullness of Spring

The fields and the foothills are turning green! So many trees are blooming or beginning to leaf out! There is so much energy bursting forth everywhere I look! After the lovely rain last weekend we emerged from our Sunday class to be greeted by the singing of frogs in a big puddle in the parking lot! How can they develop that fast???

To help celebrate Spring, we’ve got a really exciting line-up of local live music and dance for this coming weekend and for Mother’s Day, too! And some great deals on beautiful, Harlequin-grown, pesticide-free plants.

[Read More]

Blown Away!

It could have been worse. We are grateful that the severe winds didn’t cause any fires, blow down very many trees, kill or maim anyone (at least not that we’ve heard) or tear off roofs. It must have been a terrible time for anyone that was unhoused.

We lost one small hoophouse that was empty at the time, but the others made it through with little damage. And we were forced to stay closed on Saturday with no electricity, no heat, no water pumps, no internet and no phone. Our huge thanks go to the customers who came out on Sunday and helped us recoup a bit of our Saturday losses. Our phone and internet are still down, but we were blown away by the gracious patience of our customers as we tallied their purchases by hand and if they didn’t have cash or checkbooks, we wrote down their information so we can call them and complete credit card transactions over the phone when we have our service restored. We will continue to provide this service until our internet service is back, and we hope you will come and shop at Harlequin’s with cash or checks. [Read More]

April Garden To-Dos

There’s much to do in the garden in April, from finalizing your garden plan, attending to your tools, to the annual spring clean up and pruning and lawn and vegetable garden prep, and PLANTING, DIVIDING and TRANSPLANTING!

We have your checklist and the information and products you’ll need this month, here.

[Read More]

New In Store This Weekend

Cherokee Purple

THE FIRST TOMATOES!

Anasazi

Black from Tula

Black Krim

Bush Early Girl

Cherokee Purple

Glacier

Green Zebra

Large Red Cherry

Mexico Midget

Moskovitch

Pink Berkeley Tie Dye

Pink Brandywine

San Marzano II

Sun Gold

Taxi

ANNUALS

Poppies:  Papavar glaucum (scarlet), Papavar paeoniflorum (“Purple Peony” and “Violet Blush”), Papavar somniferum (“Heritage”)

Yellow Wonder, courtesy PracticalSelf Reliance.com

FRUIT

Strawberries: Fragaria vesca, Alexandria Alpine Strawberry and Yellow Wonder Alpine Strawberry

HERBS

Chives; Cilantro; Mint ‘Kentucky Colonel”; Greek Oregano; Creeping and Arp Rosemary; Lemon and German Winter Thyme; Stinging Nettle

PERENNIALS

Agastache, Blue Fortune Anise Hyssop

Aquilegia barnebyi, Barneby’s Columbine, native

Aquilegia chrysantha, Yellow Columbine, native

Berlandiera lyrata, Chocolate Flower, native

Coreopsis lanceolata, Sterntaler, native

Delosperma nubigenum, Yellow Hardy Iceplant

Dianthus arpadianus

Digitalis x mertonensis, Strawberry Foxglove

Eriogonum umbellatum, Sulfur Flower, native

Gaillardia aristata BoCo, Yellow-rayed Blanket Flower, native

Gaillardia grandiflora ‘Goblin’, Dwarf Blanket Flower

Gallium odoratium, Sweet William

Hablitzia tamnoides, Caucasian Spinach Vine

Lallemantia canescens, Dragon Head

Monarda fistulosa, Bee Balm, native

Monarda ‘Jacob Cline’

Oenothera berlandieri, ‘Siskyou Pink’

Perennial Poppies – Papavar nudicaule, Icelandic Poppy ‘Champagne Bubbles’, ‘Matador’ (scarlet), ‘Meadow Pastels’; Papavar orientale ‘Beauty of Livermere’ (deep red), ‘Brilliant’ (scarlet), ‘Fruit Punch’, ‘Prince of Orange’, ‘Princess Victoria Louise’ (salmon pink)

Physaria bellii, BoCo, Bell’s Twinpod, native

Ratbida columnifera, Yellow Prairie Coneflower, native

Salvia nemorosa, ‘East Friesland’, ‘Cardonna’

Scabiosa columbaria, ‘Flutter Blue’

Thymus, creeping thyme  ‘Pink Chintz’; praecox ‘Elfin’, serpyllum ‘Magic Carpet’

Veronica ‘Waterperry Blue’

VEGETABLES

Nutribud Broccoli, OP

Radicchio ‘Fiero’

Rhubarb ‘Glaskin’s Perpetual’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Sale on some Great Trees!

Japanese Tree Lilac, courtesy Morton Arboretum

While supplies last (some in very short supply)! All are container-grown so they have complete root systems, ready to adapt to and grow in your garden right away!

Japanese Tree Lilac, 5 gallon @ $60 (was $140)
Compact, water-wise patio/accent tree, very showy large ivory flower clusters, cherry-like bark, cold-hardy to Zone 3

 

Snowdance Tree Lilac, courtesy FirstEditions

Snowdance Tree Lilac, 15 gallon @ $80 (was $140)[Read More]

Pansies and Violas available now!

PANSY VARIETIES:

 

Pansy Ullswater

Ullswater

Claret

Jolly Joker

Silverbride

Beaconsfield

Frizzle Mix

Pansy Jolly Joker courtesy National Garden Association

Ultima Morpho

VIOLAS:

Chantryland

White Perfection

Viola Chantryland courtesy National Garden Association

 

Some Shrubs and Fruits Available Now

Lots of Fruit Trees: the best cherries, plums and apples for the Front Range!

Lots of Berry Bushes:
Gooseberries: Hinomaki Red, Pixwell, Captivator
Currants: Imperial White – great flavor!, Gwen’s Buffalo Currant, and more
Nanking Cherries – Orient, Black-fruited

Fallugia paradoxa -Apache Plume

Lots of great water-wise shrubs, many native!:
Fernbush (Chamaebatieria millifolia) native Plant Select!
Seaberry (Hippophae rhamnoides) – High Vitamin C berries
Western Snowberry – native, white berries, likes shade
Guernsey Emerald Green native creeping juniper – Plant Select
Artemisia Wormwood ‘Leprechaun’ Plant Select!
Rock Spirea (Holodiscus dumosus) xeric native, supports beneficial insects
Mountain Ninebark (Physocarpus montanus )native, part-shade
Lilacs – at least 12 great, fragrant varieties!!!
Viburnums – many varieties
Soongari Rockspray Cotoneaster – Plant Select!
Potentillas – native, many selections
Boxwoods – Hardiest types!
Forsythia – best two varieties, including Meadowlark
Western Bigsage (Artemisia tridentata) fragrant and super-tough native!
Yucca glauca and Y. baccata – both native!
Hardy Manzanita – (Arctostaphylos selections) Choice native broadleaf evergreens
Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa) native super-xeric, long-blooming

Our Community of Growers

As part of HG’s commitment to supporting local ecology and local economy, we have the pleasure of connecting with and (mutually) supporting small growers in our state and our region. Yesterday, I paid a visit to our immensely talented and dedicated off-site custom propagator, Sue J., in Fort Collins. Sue is a self-taught organic grower with decades of experience. She is a nurturer by nature, singlehandedly managing three large hoop houses full of thousands of vegetable, herb and annual flower starts, many of our most interesting and hard-to-propagate perennials, and some woody shrubs. And when she gets home, she raises award-winning alpacas and llamas and tends to a sweet rescue dog who never leaves her side.[Read More]

Mid-March Deja Vu

March is bringing us a characteristic tilt of the see-saw that this month always brings. Tank tops can go back in the drawer for a little while, as this week we will see night-time temperatures dipping into the mid-20s. We are expecting rain (~1.6 inches in Boulder, ~3 inches in Denver!), and heavy, wet snow, too. We’ve been here before; no need to panic. And we need the moisture!

This is when it’s important to make sure your seed furrows are level (so the seeds don’t all wash down to the low end), and when row cover fabric comes to the rescue.[Read More]

Pepper Starts 2024

Bastan Pepper, courtesy Johnny’s Seeds

HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS 2024 PEPPER STARTS

SPICY PEPPERS

Anaheim
Adaptive Early Thai
Aji Cristal
Ancho Poblano ‘Bastan F1’
Big Jim Anaheim
Chimayo
Czech Black OG
Early Jalapeno
Fish
Hot Red Cherry
Hungarian Hot Wax
Jalapeno TAM (milder)
Korean
Lemon Spice Jalapeno
Long Red Narrow Cayenne
Caribbean Red Habanero
NuMex 6-4 (milder Anaheim)
NuMex Sandia
Pasilla Bajio
Mosco (Pueblo) Mirasol
Purple Tiger
Santa Fe Grande
Serrano Tampiqueno
SWEET and MILD PEPPERS

 

Aurora
Biquinho, red
Italian Pepperoncini
Lanterna Piccante
Shishito
Aconcagua
Buran
California Wonder
Cambuci
Cubanelle
Golden Treasure
Gypsy Queens
Habanada
Healthy
Jimmy Nardello’s
King of the North
Carmen F-1
Marconi Red
Mini Belle
Purple Beauty
Sheepnose Pimento
Sweet Chocolate
Sweet Pickle
Sweet Red Cherry
Yankee Bell

Tomato Starts – 2025

HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS 2025 TOMATO STARTS

for descriptions, click here

 

Anasazi
Big Rainbow
Black Ethiopian
Black from Tula
Black Krim
Black Sea Man
Burrell’s Special
California Sungold – NEW!
Carmello
Cherokee Purple
Chianti Rose
Chocolate Cherry
Chocolate Stripes
Coyote Currant
Cour de Bue
Carbon
Cosmonaut Volkov
Green Zebra
Glacier
Gold Medal
Indigo Cherry Drops
Isis Candy cherry
Juane Flamme
Koralik
Maglia Rosa
Matt’s Wild Cherry
Martino’s Roma
Magic Bullet
Market Miracle
Mountain Delight
Native Sun
Orange King
Paul Robeson
Pink Bumblebee
Pink Brandywine (Sudduth)
Pink Berkeley Tie-Die
Pinocchio
Pruden’s Purple
Rutger’s Indeterminate
San Marzano
Sasha’s Altai
Sungold
Super Souix
Tasmanian Chocolate
Taxi
Tidy Treats
Thessaloniki
Tommy Toe
Yellow Pear – Beam’s
Dwarf – Vilma (a 2024 Customer Trial Selection)
Dwarf – Awesome
Dwarf – Hundreds and Thousands (a 2024 Customer Trial Selection)
Siberian
Aurora Indeterminate
Azoychka
Italian Roma
Moskvitch
Northern Light
Siberian
Sweetie

Custom Grass Seed Mixes!

Sorghastrum nutans

Instead of maintaining a Kentucky Bluegrass lawn, why not try an area of Natural Meadow, combining well-adapted grasses, wildflowers and perhaps some shrubs too. Such a Meadow can conserve water and fertilizers and should not require pesticides or herbicides. Like all gardens, the first 2-3 years will require more weeding, then less after plants grow together. It can be beautiful, provide habitat for birds, butterflies and beneficial insects, while taking water into the ground, preventing erosion and capturing carbon. [Read More]

POTATO, ONION & ASPARAGUS STARTS – 2025 Newsletter

Purple Majesty when cooked

POTATOES

  • AMA ROSSA – NEW! – 85 – 95 days. Midseason. Rosy-red fingerling with rich-colored skin and flesh and keeps its color even after cooking. High in antioxidants. Nutty-tasting. Stem or air-fry for pink chips!
  • HARVEST MOON -85-100 days. Round tuber with purple skin and deep yellow flesh. Firm texture after cooking, with a nutty taste. Good for roasting, baking, soups, and chips. Stores excellently.
  • NICOLA – 85 – 105 days. Early. Thin skinned, yellow inside and out.
  • PURPLE MAJESTY  – Uniform, high-yield, deep purple skin and flesh, very high in anthocyanins (high-potency antioxidant) Bred in & for Colorado.
  • SANGRE – 80-90 days. Midseason. Beautiful red skinned variety with shallow eyes and medium-sized oblong tubers. Originally released by Colorado State University in 1982, Sangre ranks high in taste tests with creamy white flesh that is especially delicious boiled or baked. Stores well. 
  • YUKON GOLD- 85 – 100 days. Early Midseason. Smooth, thin, yellow skin and flesh. Buttery flavored, creamy texture, slightly sweet. These popular potatoes are waxy and firm, great for stews, soups, gratins, and mashed or roast potatoes.

Heirloom Tohono O’odham Multiplier Onion plants

ONIONS – 

  • PATTERSON – (Yellow, storage) plants, 104 days, ~30 per half-bundle or ~60 per bundle
  • REDWING – (red, storage) plants, 115 days, ~30 per half-bundle or ~60 per bundle
  • WALLA WALLA – (yellow, sweet) plants, ~30 per half-bundle or ~60 per bundle
  • In pots – Ailsa Craig, Red Long of Tropea, Rosa di Milano, Walla Walla, Red Marble cipollini, Gold Coin cipollini

ALSO, Leeks and Shallots.

ASPARAGUS

JERSEY KNIGHT  (roots, 5 per bundle)

All male hybrid with big spears. Does not make seed, so doesn’t become weedy.  Best selection for dense clay soils.  Very productive and disease resistant.  Hardy to Zone 2.

PURPLE PASSION  (roots, 5 per bundle)

Beautiful deep burgundy-colored spears with high sugar content, delicious, tender, less fibrous, great in raw salads.

Onions on the Way!

We just received word that our onion plants were shipped today and should arrive and be ready for sale by Friday or Saturday! We’ll be offering onion plants in bundles of approximately 60 to 70 plants, and half-bundles of approximately 30-35 plants.

[Read More]

HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS 2025 SPRING NEWSLETTER

Dear Friends and Fellow Gardeners,

Welcome to Spring, and to another gardening opportunity to partner with Mother Nature, grow healthy food, increase the population of native plants, create beauty and learn more about caring for our planet and local habitat. Some people would call this work; we gardeners call it fun in the Colorado sun.

 This year Harlequin’s Gardens is going to perform as usual, but we are not sure about the future. We’ve come to a Fork in the Road. We would like to continue to provide plants, soils and services into the future. And we are almost able to do this. We have gotten to the point where we need some help to continue. We’ve been giving a heck of a performance for 32 years, with a small hard-working crew on a shoe-string budget, but times have changed and expenses are growing faster than profits. 

[Read More]

HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS 2024 SPRING NEWSLETTER

Dear Friends and Fellow Gardeners,

Welcome to Spring, to Harlequin’s Gardens and another opportunity to partner with nature. This season we can all grow healthy food, increase the population of native plants, create beauty and learn more about caring for our planet and local habitat. Some people would call this work; we gardeners call it fun in the Colorado sun.

The theme of this newsletter is the Resilience of the Human Spirit and the survival instinct. We can’t speak for the whole world, but everybody we know is in pain and suffering. This is the Elephant in the room. This is a painful time. Of course there is happiness and even joy, but we can’t deny the dark cloud over humanity. Who can ignore the suffering of so many wars? Our world economy is based on guns and bombs, there are poisons and plastics in our food and water, climate extremes are normal, money in politics makes a mockery of democracy, and slime molds know more about symbiotic relationships with their neighbors than humans.[Read More]

Harlequin’s Gardens 32nd Season Begins Friday March 1!

This morning the window-shades were opened to reveal a perfect winter day with big, soft flakes of snow filling the air, sticking to the trees and covering the ground. Less than two hours later, the snow has stopped falling and the sun keeps peeking out between the clouds. I know that the snow will soon melt off the early species Crocus and Iris blooms I photographed yesterday, some scouting honeybees will be out gathering their nectar and pollen. I will soon see other spring garden ‘pioneers’, like primroses, species tulips, Bearclaw and Purple Hellebores, Winter Aconite, and our local native Townsend’s Easter Daisy (Townsendia hookeri) making their entrance. It’s all good!

Harlequin’s Gardens is back this Friday, Saturday and Sunday to start another year of exceptional plants and seeds, empowering and cutting-edge classes (see this weekend’s classes below, and our full class schedule here), the best soils, amendments, pest solutions and tools, and everything you need to grow your own plants from seed!

Let’s start SEEDS:

Now is the time to seed many spring greens indoors for transplanting in early spring, such as lettuce, pak choi, mustards, broccoli, cauliflower, Swiss chard, kale, kohlrabi, and hardy herbs such as parsley, chives, sage and thyme.
 [Read More]

Save the Date – Opening Day March 1st!

Helleborus niger

February is always an exciting time for me. The snow is melting in my south-facing front yard, revealing the first few spring blooms and rekindling my passion for gardening. In my garden, the Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) and Crocus ‘Firefly’ and our tiny but hardy and tough native treasure Townsendia hookeri are the earliest flowers this year. And at the warmest part of the day, I’ve also seen a few honeybees visiting them. They are the unmistakable, irrepressible signs of spring!

In just a couple of weeks, there will be a lot more flowers blooming , and Harlequin’s Gardens will be open for the 2024 season! We’ll be opening through March in Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays beginning on Friday, March 1st. Classes, soil products, seeds, seed-starting supplies, tools and houseplants await you![Read More]

We Can Reuse or Recycle SOME Plastic Pots

pot recyclingAt Harlequin’s Gardens, we’ve been reusing and recycling black plastic nursery pots since day one. It is very important to us that we minimize our plastic waste. We have always encouraged our customers to bring back to us the nursery pots that came with the plants you purchased from us, and you have responded with enthusiasm, which we appreciate!

But many people have brought us pots that we cannot reuse and cannot recycle, and this has been costly for us. For us to be able to afford this pot drop-off service, we need your help! This year we would like to clarify exactly which pots we can accept and use. Following these requirements is the first way you can really help us out![Read More]

Soil Preparation Products

Photo Credit: Aaron Favila – AP, and The Daily Camera.

Our Soil Products for 2024 include:

Here are descriptions of many of the soil products we’ll have available at our store (sorry, we are not able to make deliveries). All of these are sold pre-packaged, and we bag many of them ourselves in refundable, reusable plastic bags. Our Compost Tea is sold in refundable, reusable 1-gallon jugs, or you can bring your own.

We currently do have straw in (not organic).

 

COMPOSTS

A1 Compost

A1 Eco-Gro: We nearly always have this premier compost in stock. A1 Eco-Gro is a Class I compost made from leaves, grass, chipped branches, and beer wastes. It contains a healthy population of microorganisms and diverse nutrients.  It is very stable and will not burn or steal nitrogen. Fine-textured, low in salts, with some woody particles. Use in vegetable and flower gardens, lawns, trees, shrubs. The pH is 8.3; the
NPK 1-1-1.

EKO Compost: Made locally from forest and recycled wood products composted with egg-farm poultry manure. Use in vegetable and flower gardens, lawns, trees, shrubs. Improves soil’s physical, chemical, and biological health.

EKO Lawn Topdressing: a finer textured sifting from Eko Compost, ideal to topdress lawns following aeration and fertilizing; gets food and water-holding capacity to roots; great on perennial beds, too.

Organic Mushroom Compost: from a local organic mushroom farm. Premium food for soil life and wonderful in vegetable gardens, helps to loosen heavy soils and improve aeration and porosity. Limited quantities.

FERTILIZERS
Harlequin’s Gardens Fertility Mix: Harlequin’s blend of certified organic fertilizer, humate, rock minerals, dry molasses, land: sourced coral calcium and mycorrhizae. Great for veggie gardens and all plants. Increases root mass, top growth, soil life, and productivity naturally. This is not just a fertilizer. The combination of ingredients and mycorrhizae act synergistically to support soil fertility.

Yum Yum Mix: 2-2-2  Vegan/Organic fertilizer for alkaline, nutrient-poor Western soils, feeds plants and soil microbes. Made from alfalfa, cottonseed meal, kelp meal, rock dust, green sand, humate. Great for native plants, Xeriscapes. Available in large and small bags.

Richlawn 5-3-2 organic: made in Platteville, CO from poultry manure and wood wastes. Excellent for shrubs and trees and is recommended for raspberries and other small fruits. Also economical and effective for fertilizing lawns.

Alpha One Fertilizer: locally made 7-2-2. An alfalfa-based product with a high organic matter content, very high humic acid value, low pH for Colorado alkaline soils, and is non-burning. It also contains blood meal, cottonseed meal and bone meal. Excellent for vegetable gardens and lawns. 20# and 40# bags.

Age-Old Liquid & Granular fertilizers: For foliar sprays and soil application. GROW formula – great, smell-free choice for houseplants, seedlings, container gardens; BLOOM formula – supports plants ready to bloom and fruit; FRUIT FINISH – perfect at fruiting phase for berries, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squashes, cukes and zukes.

Neptune’s Harvest Organic Fertilizers: We carry several of these excellent liquid fertilizers derived from the mineral-rich North Atlantic Ocean, including Neptune’s Fish & Seaweed Blend, Neptune’s Seaweed Supplement, Neptune’s Tomato & Veg Formula.

Fish Bonemeal – A natural source of phosphorus which is responsible for root development, fruiting and flower production in plants.

Earthworm Castings – Worm castings are soil or compost that had passed through an earthworm. What comes out contains 5x more nitrogen, 2x more calcium, 7x more phosphorus and potassium and many minerals and beneficial microorganisms all in water-soluble and plant-available forms. Worm “manure” will not burn and is safe for all plants, including houseplants. Worm castings support growth, root development, and disease resistance.

Rose Fertilizer: Down to Earth Rose and Flower Mix is our substitute for Mile Hi Rose Feed, and it looks good: OMRI Certified: Fish Bone Meal, Langbeinite minerals, Blood Meal, Seabird Guano, Rock Phosphate, Humate, Kelp.

Corn Gluten – a truly safe Weed & Feed; keeps weed seeds from growing, fertilizes with 9% Nitrogen. Lasts 6 months, Apply in March/April and again Sept/Oct for good weed suppression. Perfect for lawns.

SOIL-BIOLOGY BOOSTERS
Compost Tea: In our Vortex brewer, we make compost tea with a biodynamic compost, a mineral concentrate, kelp extract, molasses, trace minerals, etc. Compost tea increases the beneficial micro-organisms in your soil, which can bring more nutrients and water to your plants and make them stronger and better able to cope with stress. It can be used full-strength as a mild organic fertilizer, or it can be diluted in water up to 3 times as a soil inoculant. It can also be used to inoculate compost piles to make materials break down faster. Available when temperatures are frost free. Bring your own jugs, or use ours for a $1 deposit (refundable upon return).

Humate
A natural trace mineral, carbon, and humic acid soil conditioner. It is not a fertilizer, but it has a significant effect on fertility by feeding soil microorganisms that make nutrients in the soil available to plants.

Humic Acid
3% humic acid derived from Leonardite. A natural liquid product with the same benefits as Humate – soil conditioning and feeding soil microorganisms that make nutrients in the soil available to plants. It is applied as a soil drench to established beds where granular materials can’t be dug in.

Big Foot Mycorrhizae
Water soluble symbiotic fungus, combining four species of mycorrhizae with biochar, worm castings, seaweed, and rock minerals to provide a strong population of plant allies to bring water and nutrients.

Endo Mycorrhizae
Water soluble symbiotic fungus, inoculate roots to bring water and nutrients. Easy to use and very effective. Good for shrubs, trees, all plants (even cacti!); dissolve in water, wet roots.

Myke Vegetable & Herb
Enhances growth, development, and production; dust the granules on wet roots or sprinkle in seed furrow to improve germination and growth.

POTTING SOILS
Fort Vee: Compost based, peat, rock dust, blood meal, kelp, bone meal, gypsum, vermiculite, biodynamic preps; Proven locally at Kilt Farm for seed germination and transplanting of seedlings and potting up house plants. Bag 20 qt (18 lb.)

Ocean Forest: FoxFarm’s top grade with sphagnum peat, kelp meal, bat guano, fish emulsion, crab and shrimp meal, nutrient rich, performs well for seedlings and gardening in containers of all sizes. Bag 1.5 cf

Coco Loco: FoxFarm potting soil uses Coconut fiber (coir) instead of sphagnum peat, perlite, worm castings, composted forest products, sandy loam, bat guano, kelp meal, granite dust, oyster shell, dolomitic lime. Looks good, performs well for seedlings and gardening in containers of all sizes. Bag 2 cf (41.7#)

CLAY-BUSTERS
Expanded Shale: a shale product that is mined and fired near Boulder to create a light-weight, porous “gravel” that holds both water and air, and creates optimal housing for microorganisms. Aids water penetration and aeration in tight clay soils (a Real ‘clay buster’).

OTHER SOIL PRODUCTS
Raised Bed Soil Mix

Azomite: 70 minerals from volcanic source, to increase health, crop yields, root development; support immune function, resistance to diseases, and overall vitality of plants; prevents deficiency problems; good for fruit trees, berry bushes

SOIL-RELATED CLASSES – Learn from Harlequin’s expert educators on topics including: building soil micro-biome, composting, soil selections for Front Range gardening, and much more. Sign up early to ensure your seat — our classes fill up fast!

 

 

What You Need to Know about Front Range Soil, by Mikl Brawner

Nobody would want to spend their winter weekends pouring over soil catalogues. To humans, soil just isn’t sexy. To plants, on the other hand, soil is very intimate, and as we humans know, intimacy can be wonderful or awful. So even though we don’t have any sexy soil pictures for you, we’d like to seduce you into looking under the covers where your plants roots are sleeping, because this is where the action will be getting warmer in a little over a month.

By now, most of us know that plants get aroused by soil, not dirt. We used to think soil was just physical; stuff to hold the plant up, so we could add a strong chemical fertilizer to make that plant, or grass, grow Fast! But we’re smarter now, because we know that soil is also biological—full of fungi, bacteria, and if it’s healthy, hundreds or even thousands of different organisms—all living and dying in a mutually supportive relationship with the plants. The plants share their carbon nutrients from photo-synthesis, and the soil life shares water, phosphorus and other riches with the plants. This is symbiosis—and symbiosis is sexy, because it supports Life.

So even though there is nothing you can do at the moment, very soon, before it’s warm enough to plant, you can start making your bed sexy. Sexy soil sprouts seeds, grows roots and leaves, builds strength, makes flowers and fruit, and defends against pests.

Why bother digging and amending? Why not just plant natives and other tough plants and skip the work? You can….some plants will do OK without much help. But Colorado soils are not Iowa soils. Colorado soils are characteristically deficient in nitrogen and organic matter, and mixing certain amendments with our tight clay allows oxygen and water to penetrate. Oxygen and water are essential to support healthy soil bacteria and other soil organisms. They encourage growth and support plant health.

So how can we support the soil life? Think how Nature does it: tree leaves fall to the earth, dead stems and leaves fall over and after years of snow and decay, a rich layer forms that feeds the soil. We humans are looking for faster results, so we can add already matured compost, healthy animal manures or organic fertilizers and rock minerals, plus, if the clay is very tight, we can add expanded shale. Too much of anything is not a good thing: add 20%-30% compost to new plantings, half the recommended organic fertilizers, a handful of rock minerals, scattered, and no more than 10%-20% expanded shale.

Let the biology do a lot of the work. It’s not hard to add more later; it’s very hard to correct too much. Keep the soil covered with mulch or living plants. Even native plants appreciate some compost to hold moisture and provide a light feeding when they are young. One more thing: avoid poisonous pesticides, fungicides and herbicides, like the plague. They kill or undermine the health of your allies—the soil life. Toxic pesticides are the opposite of sexy; they are like inviting the Grim Reaper into the bedroom. There are effective, non-toxic alternatives.

What about no-till? Not turning the soil makes sense once you’ve got the soil life in a good environment. Then you don’t want to disturb the symbiotic networks. Then you can feed from the surface; good tilth and worms will take the food down.

Harlequin’s Gardens has been guiding gardeners with soil care for many years. We source our materials mostly from local suppliers, and we’re very picky: we don’t sell feedlot manure or bio-comp with human wastes, or composts that are too hot or too raw. We don’t sell chemical fertilizers because they burn the soil life, disrupt the plant-soil relationship, limit plant nutrition and contribute to global warming. Our potting mixes are expensive because they nourish plants without chemical fertilizers. Sexy soils support the health of the plants and the health of the gardener who grows and eats those plants.

The Path to your Summer Garden Begins Here

With some deeply chilling temperatures on the near horizon, gardeners can gain a little comfort by fast-forwarding to spring in our minds as we plan for our 2024 gardens. The predictable and unpredictable consequences of climate change call upon us to observe our gardens more closely, revise our expectations of our gardens, broaden our vision of what makes a garden, and make our gardens more resilient and less dependent on uncertain resources.

We have been absorbed in seed catalogs; the past couple of nights my bedtime companion has been has the always-fascinating J.L.Hudson Seed Catalog, which is much more interesting in print than it is online. Our seed orders have been arriving and our propagators have been cleaning our precious wild-collected seeds, applying treatments to break dormancy (mostly hot water, physical scarification, and refrigeration), and making new plants from old by division and cuttings.[Read More]

A Spring Bounty of Choice Trees

Bald Cypress, courtesy Marilyn Kircus

Take advantage of our new stock of very choice container-grown trees, just being brought out for sale! (like the Bald Cypress pictured here). We have grown these hardy, Colorado-adapted trees organically at Harlequin’s Gardens from bare-root stock, and they are potted in large containers – from 5 to 15 gallon pots. They are in our own nutrient-rich, special potting mix with mycorrhizae. They will make an impact in your landscape quickly.

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Valentine’s Day Greetings!

In our culture today, Valentine’s Day immediately brings to mind Romantic Love, Flowers, Gift-giving and Chocolate. And though this very old Saint’s Day has now been commercialized to the Nth degree, it’s still one of the happier occasions we celebrate, so why not enjoy it in our own way? Romance, Love, flowers, gifts and chocolate are all very positive and uplifting. And we have some recommendations for all of those categories except Romance (you’re on your own there!).[Read More]

Late Fall Musings

Agave seed stalk

The day before Thanksgiving in the Reshetnik-Brawer home was largely spent cleaning the house, but we also decided it was time to cut down the towering inflorescence of our Century Plant (Agave utahensis x parryi v. couesii). I held the 3”- thick stalk while Mikl cut through it with his folding hand-saw (a great tool!), then we laid it down on a ground-cloth to catch the copious seeds that fell out of the hundreds of pods. To me it felt as if we had just felled a large and noble animal or tree, and there were several quiet minutes of awe and reverence. Now that it was horizontal, we were able to get an accurate measurement of the bloom stalk’s height, 14.5 feet, and I counted 34 branches! We will be planting the hundreds (or thousands?) of seeds to produce new plants for you.

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Our 32nd Gardening Season Begins March 1st!

As I write, the ground and rooftops are blanketed in snow, and the sun is streaming in the windows. Gotta love the Colorado winter! In less than a month, we’ll be open for our 32nd year as a nursery and garden center, and we are quite excited!

I don’t think we’ve ever had an easy year, but ‘easy’ isn’t an option in this business. So many aspects of running a nursery have never been predictable, and we’re always relating with thousands of details and challenges.

BUT we have a great crew and there are many things you can always count on finding when you visit Harlequin’s Gardens, and we hope you will appreciate the value you receive when you shop at our big little nursery.

For 31 years, we have always been committed to non-aggression, health and environmental stewardship in horticulture and all other spheres of Life. And this commitment will always continue!

We’ll never use toxic pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers.

We are the best source for Colorado and regional Native Plants on the Front Range.

We have and will always specialize in Water-Thrifty plants, Native and Colorado-adapted plants and Pollinator-Supporting plants.

We are always broadening our plant offerings, often bringing into cultivation wonderful local wild plants that were previously unavailable in commerce. (*see below for examples)

Our staff, e-newsletters, classes, and hand-outs offer empowering, cutting-edge organic and environmental gardening advice and education gained from our 31 years of research and experience.

Our customer service team is exceptionally knowledgeable, helpful and accessible.

We grow most of our own plants and supplement with plants from other local and regional growers that never use neonicotinoids.

We grow our plants in our own carefully formulated potting soils that grow healthier, stronger, more resilient plants that will establish successfully into your garden.

Our pest management products are always non-toxic, child-safe and pollinator safe.

We compost and make our own powerful Compost Tea.

We aim to be a zero-waste business: we bag compost and mulches in returnable plastic bags that we reuse to reduce plastic in the environment. We also reuse nursery pots, and sell our compost tea in returnable/reusable jugs.

We offer superior, CO-specific resources and advice for supporting bees, butterflies, birds and other pollinators and beneficial insects.

We test and evaluate our soil products (composts, organic fertilizers, mulches and other amendments), and most of them are sourced locally.

We recycle and use recycled materials for our building projects.

Our greenhouses don’t use fossil fuels; our heat and energy come mostly from the Sun, with a little electricity from renewables. And this year we are installing a heat-pump system for our store!

We are located in unincorporated Boulder County, where sales taxes are only about half the rate of those in Front Range cities.

We support local growers, artists, artisans and musicians as well as non-profit environmental efforts.

We connect our customers with events and other educational and activist opportunities related to environmental, agricultural and horticultural issues.

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Wild Plants we are Propagating in 2024.  We have our fingers crossed that good germination and growth on the unique native plants described below will allow us to bring them to you this season.

The plants we offer will contribute to a beautiful, thriving garden that will be a joy to behold, but they can also provide so much more than a pretty picture to look at. The ecosystem services that our plants provide add much more value to your gardens.

Celtis reticulata, courtesy Oregon State University

Celtis reticulata, Netleaf Hackberry
You may be familiar with the larger Celtis occidentalis or Western Hackberry, which makes an excellent long-lived, water-wise deciduous shade tree. Netleaf Hackberry is substantially smaller, fairly slow-growing to 15’ to 25’ with a spreading canopy, interesting sculpted bark, an attractive twisting branch pattern, rough green leaves and reddish brown or purple berries. The leaves support the caterpillars of Mourning Cloak and Hackberry Emperor butterflies and a number of moths, which in turn, along with the sweet berries, attract and feed many birds. In Colorado, Netleaf Hackberry occurs in the wild in the Front Range foothills and on the western edge of the plains. It is rarely available in nurseries. We’ve seen some handsome specimens growing around Lyons. Cold hardy and highly adaptable to many soils, moisture levels and exposures, it can be grown as a small to medium-sized tree that will not require any supplemental watering after initial establishment.

Mertensia lanceolata

Mertensia lanceolata, Prairie Bluebell, Languid Lady
Dropping way down in scale, we are hoping for good germination on this lovely local spring wildflower that inhabits a wide range of Rocky Mountain habitats and elevations, from the plains to alpine habitats, in dry partial shade under deciduous shrubs and trees, on north-facing slopes, near rock outcroppings and in sunny meadows. In mid to late spring (May and June in Boulder) the delicate bell-shaped flowers nod from slender stems, opening from plum-colored buds and maturing to blue. The leaves are blue-green due to a waxy coating, with a prominent center vein. Prairie Bluebells are in the Borage family, prized for its many striking blue-flowered constituents. The plants can produce sizeable colonies, several feet across and can range from 6 ” to 14” tall. Prairie Bluebell goes dormant by early summer, dying back to its substantial roots.

Argemone hispida, courtesy Mik Kintgen

Argemone hispida, Rough Prickly Poppy
This is one of my favorite local wildflowers. It took me awhile to notice that it was different from the Prickly Poppies I had met before (Argemone polyanthemos), being more stout and shrubby, with grey-green foliage and much more dense, numerous and slender golden prickles on all parts, from stem to bud to seed-pod. The fabulous silky white flowers are just as big (4” wide) and just as stunning as the more commonly found Argemones, but the plant is more compact, up to perhaps 15” tall where I’ve seen it growing. They both grow in the same habitat, so Rough Prickly Poppy is also happy growing dry and hot, and blooms at the same time – May to August. Found in Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, South Dakota and Wyoming.

 

Astragalus utahensis, courtesy James L. Reveal and the LadyBird Johnson Wildflower Center

Astragalus utahensis, Utah Milkvetch
Utah milkvetch is in the legume family (Fabaceae). One finds quite a few plants in this family in the arid west. They are probably making life better for themselves and the plants around them by fixing nitrogen from the air and transferring it to their roots and the soil. Native to Utah and several adjacent states, this very pretty spring-blooming milkvetch is particularly abundant in the Wasatch Mountains. Its typical habitats include rocky hillsides, sagebrush openings, and pinyon-juniper areas. A rock garden, crevice garden, or the front of a Xeriscape garden with excellent drainage will suit it well. The plant is lovely even after bloom, with its wavy silvery pinnate leaves.

 

Yours in support of abundant Life,
Eve Reshetnik Brawner & Mikl Brawner

Bulbs for every Front Range Garden!

We still have LOTS of gorgeous spring-flowering bulbs! When these ‘buried treasures’ emerge, they are among the first signs of spring and are welcomed not only for their beauty, but also for providing early pollen and nectar sources for our pollinating insect as they, too, emerge.

Customers have been inquiring about which bulbs can thrive in the particular circumstances of their gardens. Whether you have a rock garden, native garden, xeriscape, fragrance garden, traditional flower border, cutting garden, or meadow, or you are living with deer, squirrels, chipmunks, limited water, baking sun, shade, clay soil or decomposed granite, there are spring flowering bulbs you can grow successfully, and we still have plenty of them! We carefully curate our selection to provide the best of the best for our climate and all our various garden types.

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You Never Know, with Nature!

Well, that was a false alarm!

You heard it from us (and all the weather guessers in the media) – we were going to have our first freeze, possibly a hard freeze, late last week. As my friend Elise put it, after harvesting all of her dahlia blooms, tomatoes, etc., “Huh?”.

In fact, Mikl and I did clear counter space and we did spend all day Thursday harvesting, cutting down and cleaning up much of our vegetable garden, and starting up the dehydrator to dry what seemed like thousands of tomatoes. And we hauled in all the houseplants that spent the summer outside. Our winter squash harvest was remarkable, especially considering that the bed where they were planted had been neglected most of the season, with only 3 or 4 intentional waterings.[Read More]

Protecting your Plants, Pampering Yourself!

It’s time to clear counter space in your kitchen and bring in final harvests of tomatoes, peppers, basil, ground cherry, beans, and squash for whatever processing you like to do. My dehydrator has been churning out dried tomatoes to snack on and use in soups, sauces and stews through the winter. Frost is predicted for Friday and Saturday nights (29-30 deg. F) and can be damaging or fatal to these summer crops. On the other hand, if you’re not ready to say goodbye to them this week, we have the knowledge and tools you’ll need to protect your plants! (see this article for more)

Our annual, month-long Holiday Gift Market, open through October 29th, is the perfect place to warm up and enjoy perusing the work of many local artists and artisans. Some of our offerings are available this month exclusively at Harlequin’s Gardens, and nowhere else! From art for the home to personal adornment, the best books for adults and kids, from gardening gifts to delicious treats for foodies, you’ll find unique and beautiful items.[Read More]

Our 12th Annual Holiday Market is Open!

If you’ve been to Harlequin’s Gardens, you know that what Mikl and I and our wonderful staff have collaborated on these past 31 years is much more than a place to purchase plants. We believe “our primary product is knowledge”, and much of our work has been to develop and support deeply knowledgeable gardeners who value sustainability. We grow many of our own plants, but truly, thanks to you, we’ve also grown a community.

Our annual, month-long Holiday Gift Market, open through October 29th, is our yearly gift to you. For the past 12 years we have been making space for a community of artists and performers to share their talents, and it’s our great pleasure to introduce the gardening community to these members of Boulder County and Colorado’s artistic community. Please be our guests this month and come take a look at the abundance of beauty available – both from the natural world and crafted by human hands.

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2024 Bulbs Are In!

We go the extra mile to bring you special bulbs that other nurseries just don’t offer. Many of them are delightful smaller beauties at home in the front of the border, under deciduous trees and shrubs, and in the rockery. They are selling quickly, so be sure to come in to be sure of the best selection. Here is a list, and descriptions, of the fall and spring-blooming treasures for your home garden!

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Our 2023 Holiday Market Opens Sept. 30th!

From your previous visits in the last eleven years, many of you know that our Holiday Gift Market is the most rewarding, enjoyable place to shop for your holiday gifts, relaxed and far from the madding crowd! When the Covid pandemic began, we realized that the only way we could keep our customers (and staff) safe and happy while shopping our Holiday Gift Market was to move it up to October! 

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The Beauty of Winter Gardens

As the year is drawing toward a close and much of the garden and natural landscape is dormant, we can still appreciate the beauty and interest of plants: the silhouetted structure of our leafless trees and shrubs, the textures and colors of their bark, the berries and seedpods ornamenting their branches, and likewise the colors and textures of dry grasses, cattails and sedges. We can also admire the color and form of our evergreen trees and shrubs, and realize how many of our favorite perennial flowering plants and groundcovers provide evergreen (or red, or silver, or purple) foliage through the winter!

The Winter Solstice season is a time for celebrating the return of the light, both literally and figuratively, and as our daylight hours increase in the outer world, we will also try to keep our inner light burning for love, justice, and compassion for all life on earth. It’s a time for generosity, opening hearts, kindness, sharing, and spreading good news. Here are a couple of our suggestions for valuable gifts you can share:
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Saving Tomato Seeds

SAVING YOUR TOMATO SEEDS

If you’re thinking about starting your own tomato plants from seed, you’ll be glad to know that it’s easy to save the seeds from heirlooms and other ‘open-pollinated’ tomatoes.  One reason for this is that tomatoes are self-pollinating.  This means that each flower is ‘perfect’, containing both male and female parts, and the arrangement of those parts is such that the female part (the stigma) is rarely exposed to the outside world before having been thoroughly ‘impregnated’ by the surrounding pollen-bearing anthers. Bees and other insects don’t really figure into the pollination of tomatoes. There are some older varieties derived from wild tomato that may be more vulnerable to cross-pollination, but don’t worry about that now.  Do not bother to save seeds from hybrid varieties – only about 25% of them will resemble the plant from which you saved seeds.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

Clear cups, small jars or glasses

Small fine strainer

Paper towels

Adhesive tape

Permanent marking pen

Non-chlorinated water (filtered, spring, etc.)

  • Choose the best, fully ripe tomato(es) from the most vigorous, disease-free, productive plants.  Just to be on the safe side, choose fruits from the center of the plant where they are farthest away from other varieties. Do not save seeds from tomatoes you think might be disease-infected.
  • Label a clear glass with a piece of tape with the variety name and the date.
  • Cut a tomato horizontally across the middle.  This exposes the seed cavities.
  • Gently squeeze out the jelly-like substance that contains the seeds into the glass.
  • Add an inch or two of non-chlorinated water and stir.
  • Optional: Cover loosely with plastic wrap or waxed paper if you wish (if you are sensitive to mold spores, you may wish to include this step).
  • Place on a warm (60–75 degrees F) shelf or counter where you won’t forget about it.
  • Optional: stir once a day.
  • Check after 3 or 4 days.  A thin layer of whitish film (fungus) will have formed on the surface. It eats through the gelatinous coat surrounding each seed that inhibits germination.  The fungus also produces antibodies that help control seed-borne diseases like bacterial spot and canker.
  • Add warm water to the glass.  Let the contents settle and begin carefully pouring off water along with pieces of pulp and any floating seeds (any seeds that float are immature and will not germinate).  Repeat until the water being poured out is almost clear, with clean seeds resting at the bottom of the glass.
  • Pour the seeds and water into a small, fine strainer (the spaces in the mesh must be smaller than your seeds).
  • Tap the strainer to eliminate excess water, and invert the seeds onto a piece of folded paper towel.  Try to spread the seeds into a single layer, but don’t fuss over it.
  • Immediately label the paper towel with the name of the tomato variety.
  • Allow the seeds to dry thoroughly- usually a day, sometimes more or less. Break up any clumps of seeds stuck to one another.
  • Label a paper envelope with the variety name and the year, seal and store in a cool, dark, dry location.  Some seed-savers like to keep seed envelopes in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
  • Tomato seeds should remain viable for at least 3 or 4 years when properly stored.  Dryness is the most important factor.

Winter Watering Alert!

Winter Watering Alert!

The weather’s been wonderfully mild, but a bit DRY!  All this sun and wind, with just a little rain or snow, is stressful to our plants, so don’t forget to give your plants some water.

This is especially true for new plantings, evergreens, and roses and most any plant that was planted in September or October. These plants are especially vulnerable and are more likely to suffer or die from dehydration than from cold.

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Leave those Leaves Alone!

With this week’s unseasonably warm weather, there’s more time this fall to be out in the garden than usual.

DON’T BE TEMPTED TO CLEAN EVERTHING UP!

It’s important to leave many of those leaves and plants alone to support our insect, bird, animal and soils! It might be the most sustainable thing you can do this season.

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