Garden Tours

1. What percentage of the plants in the pictures do you think came from Harlequin’s Gardens? 

95%

2. Did you create this garden (you and your family) or did you have professional help? Describe briefly

I looked through many websites, consulted master gardeners, read garden magazines and books and created this garden.

3. What is the age of this garden? What town or area? What elevation?

This Louisville garden’s 10-ish years old.

4. What irrigation method(s) do you use and how often do you water and for how long?

We have sprinklers, drip, and mini sprinklers. Our system goes on every other day, twice a day, for 8 minutes.

5. What is your soil like? Did you amend it? With what?

Our soil was originally clay-heavy, and we have amended it yearly with compost.

6. How big is your garden and how often do you work in your garden?

In spring and summer, we are out in the garden daily. Our garden is a typical suburban plot of less than 1/4 acre.

7. What has, or currently does, inspire you to garden and use sustainable practices?

I love making birds, bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects happy.

8. How do you deal with “weeds”? What is your approach to insect pests and disease?

We’ve crowded out weeds with dense ground covers, like lamb’s ears. I also pull weeds constantly throughout the growing season. I try to tackle pests and disease sooner rather than later, so I’m fairly vigilant assessing plants and issues in my garden. I research and apply organic and eco-conscious treatment options quickly.

9. Share a brief story about something you learned from your garden or plants, or inspiration received from gardening?

I’m a self-taught gardener and have learned through trial and error. I understand that everyone has their own process when it comes to landscape design, but I enjoy researching and cross-referencing plant information in videos, books, magazines, etc. That process is enjoyable and fills me with hope.

10. What is your experience growing plants from Harlequin’s Gardens.

My experience growing Harlequin’s Gardens plants has always been positive. The nursery rears such strong seedlings and adult plants. Everything has a tremendous chance at success.

 

1. What percentage of the plants in the pictures do you think came from Harlequin’s Gardens? 

About a third, but I am still adding. I buy (dig) my irises locally at Longs Gardens.

2. Did you create this garden (you and your family) or did you have professional help? Describe briefly

We did it ourselves. The spirea and poppies were in place when we moved in, but we cut out a small spruce.  We built up the area with rocks for erosion control; pumped up the soil; and did the rest of the planting. We maintain it 100% ourselves.

3. What is the age of this garden? What town or area? What elevation?

Six years down to one year–I have been planting it in sections. We are in eastern Boulder County.

4. What irrigation method(s) do you use and how often do you water and for how long?

Hand watering as needed. I wish I had a drip system!

5. What is your soil like? Did you amend it? With what?

Soil is dry but not much clay. We amended with store-bought soils, compost, and manure and we continue to add compost and mulch. I wish I had done more at the beginning to improve the soil (new gardeners, don’t make this mistake).

6. How big is your garden and how often do you work in your garden?

10 feet wide by 30 feet across. I am in it at least an hour a day in the spring, less in the summer.

7. What has, or currently does, inspire you to garden and use sustainable practices?

I want bees, birds, and other living creatures to thrive in the garden and the rest of the yard.

8. How do you deal with “weeds”? What is your approach to insect pests and disease?

I love to pull weeds! I spray roses with a homemade mixture of diluted Dr. Bronner peppermint soap if bugs are getting at them, but I have more confidence in my regular feedings of Mile High Rose Food (from Harlequin’s) to give the roses resistance to disease and bugs.

9. Share a brief story about something you learned from your garden or plants, or inspiration received from gardening?

The garden constantly provides metaphors for life in general. Just this week I was noticing the “sprawl and order” in the garden–how some plants are naturally upstanding while others have no boundaries. You can see where I am going with this . . .

10. What is your experience growing plants from Harlequin’s Gardens.

I typically buy plants at Harlequins in the smallest sizes and they always come in strong and healthy. And I would never go anywhere else for roses (my roses are in a different part of the garden not shown in the photos, but I favor hardy native shrub roses).

 

1. What percentage of the plants in the pictures do you think came from Harlequin’s Gardens? 

95%

2. Did you create this garden (you and your family) or did you have professional help? Describe briefly

Self

3. What is the age of this garden? What town or area? What elevation?

25 years old

4. What irrigation method(s) do you use and how often do you water and for how long?

Tried drip but hoses cracked in winter. Now watering by hand with water buckets , may use sprinkler as it gets hotter, though I try to avoid it. I like to water by hand because I can see how different parts of the garden and individual plants are doing

5. What is your soil like? Did you amend it? With what?

Clay, lots of soil amendments: compost, various types of manure, Soil Pep, sometimes liquid compost, slate pellets, Harlequin’s Soil Fertility Mix fertilizer, alfalfa, Mile Hi Rose food

6. How big is your garden and how often do you work in your garden?

30×30? Every day in spring, at least two hours a day, often more. In summer I sit back and enjoy, mostly

7. What has, or currently does, inspire you to garden and use sustainable practices?

Love the bees, butterflies and birds; love eating directly from the garden knowing there are no chemicals in the soil or on the plants and fruits. Everything looks and feels healthy

8. How do you deal with “weeds”? What is your approach to insect pests and disease?

Pull weeds. Put Japanese beetles in soapy water. Don’t get much disease. I remind myself that things will come back next year

9. Share a brief story about something you learned from your garden or plants, or inspiration received from gardening?

I receive inspiration every day walking out the door into the garden. Spring time, the rebirth of life is still a miracle to me. Seeing the roses and grapes and perennials return each spring gives me hope that We will survive, that our mother earth Is more resilient than we know. The beauty of the garden brings a sense of joy. I can spend hours looking at the changes, tending to each plant.

10. What is your experience growing plants from Harlequin’s Gardens.

Harkequins has made me a more knowledgeable gardener, and makes me feel that my garden is connected to a local habitat and a community of people who care about our earth. I learn each time I go to Harlequins , looking at the demonstration gardens, reading the informative plant and amendment signs, or talking to the knowledgeable staff. Mikl, especially, is very generous in sharing his wealth of knowledge

11. Is there anything else you’d like to share with us and/or our community?

Thank you for your contribution to our community and our land and gardens. Loved Mikl’s pruning class!

-Dana

1. What percentage of the plants in the pictures do you think came from Harlequin’s Gardens? 

All except the maple and serviceberry trees and the mugo pines

2. Did you create this garden (you and your family) or did you have professional help? Describe briefly

We depend on the advice from Mikl and the staff at Harlequin’s Gardens. My husband and I have done all the soil amending, planting, and maintenance ourselves. It continues to mature and evolve.

3. What is the age of this garden? What town or area? What elevation?

We’ve been adding to and working on it for 12 years in North Boulder.

4. What irrigation method(s) do you use and how often do you water and for how long?

2/3 drip irrigation and the rest is watered by hand as needed

5. What is your soil like? Did you amend it? With what?

CLAY
Yes. expanded shale, Eco-compost, organic fertilizers and plant food

6. How big is your garden and how often do you work in your garden?

small with mostly west and north facings-

7. What has, or currently does, inspire you to garden and use sustainable practices?

We work to provide a mini-habitat that is pollinator and bird friendly and one that also supports the organisms living in the soil.

8. How do you deal with “weeds”? What is your approach to insect pests and disease?

We pull the weeds and try to keep the plants healthy so they are resistant to disease.

1. What percentage of the plants in the pictures do you think came from Harlequin’s Gardens? 

About 30 to 40%

2. Did you create this garden (you and your family) or did you have professional help? Describe briefly

I created it.

3. What is the age of this garden? What town or area? What elevation?

3 years old- North West Longmont The elevation  is 4984.

4. What irrigation method(s) do you use and how often do you water and for how long?

Nature and hand water. I have watered twice this summer, once in July & once in August. That is not counting the new plants.  I go out & water some areas more than others when I hand water. Some need very little & some need to be watered longer. The rain, when we get it, has been helpful this year. I plant those with like watering needs together.

5. What is your soil like? Did you amend it? With what?

The soil here started out as heavy clay. Into that, I amended it with good top soil,  with compost, & mixed in squeegy. It drains well, & since it is a rock garden, has lots of rock.

6. How big is your garden and how often do you work in your garden?

It covers my entire front yard. Not counting the small strip on the other side of the drive way. I go out now & weed once a week in the spring. As the summer goes on, maybe every 2-3 weeks now. It is mostly bind weed I battle. I go out & walk through the garden almost everyday. I weed bits here & there. The focused weeding happens less. I like that part. I also cut back & trim when I weed.

7. What has, or currently does, inspire you to garden and use sustainable practices?

I have been a lover of Xeric gardens for a long time. I lived in the Desert Southwest at points early on. I love cliffs & rocky views. I got inspired after a visit to the Western Slope. It has continued to morph as time has gone on. I visualize my designs as I go at night.
I have never liked grass, & I resent spending money on the water. It is a waste of my time to mow & feed a parasite. I grew up in Kansas on a farm, & never knew anything but grass.

8. How do you deal with “weeds”? What is your approach to insect pests and disease?

I dig them & use a pre emergent for seeds. As time goes by I need to use less & less. I don’t use it around where I feed the birds. I will kill certain insects if I find them, while I just leave others alone. If I find disease I need to deal with, I just cut it off. I have lots of bees, butterflies & birds. I encourage healthy competition.

9. Share a brief story about something you learned from your garden or plants, or inspiration received from gardening?

I have always been a gardener. Even helping my Grandmother as a child in her garden. It has always been in my DNA. When I became a Master Gardener, it just developed as I went. It took me almost ten years to figure out what I wanted my garden to be. My friend & fellow Master Gardener helped me build this one. It is almost totally complete. Started in July 2016. Like I said earlier, I have always loved digging in the dirt. It has saved my sanity. My Father built a lot with stone & I always loved the way soil & stone work together.
The trip to the Western Slope stuck with me.

10. What is your experience growing plants from Harlequin’s Gardens.

What I like about Harlequin’s, is that I know the plants will grow here. They are not Eastern plants. I source plants form different places. I like unique plants that have a certain use or look, & I Love plants that have texture. I am such a texture freak. I love cold hardy cactus & succulents. I experiment with different plants–some  work & some don’t. The plants I have from Harlequin’s are plants the have both use & texture.
I have also had to be aware of cost, so I look for ways to achieve the goal, but maybe are not the perfect choice. I use sustainable & reuse hardscape. I have gotten lots of info & ideas from Harlequin’s.

11. Is there anything else you’d like to share with us and/or our community?

I think to have true joy from a garden, for me it is the feeling of the dirt & the love you feel when you look at what you have created. It brings me such peace. That is my goal.

1.What percentage of the plants in the pictures do you think came from Harlequin’s Gardens? 

most.

2. Did you create this garden (you and your family) or did you have professional help? Describe briefly

We had a landscaping company do the hard-scape for which they did a fantastic Job. Then had them and a  nursery plant most of large trees, shrubs and some perennials. I did most of the ground covers.

3. What is the age of this garden? What town or area? What elevation?

This garden is 3 years old.
It located in north Boulder.
it’s about 5,500 ft.

4. What irrigation method(s) do you use and how often do you water and for how long?

We have under ground soaker system. We water trees once a week for 1.5 hours. Perennials 30min. 3 times a week.

5. What is your soil like? Did you amend it? With what?

It was sterile top soil the landscaper bought in. I added many truck loads of compost from a local company over 2 falls and 2 springs.

6. How big is your garden and how often do you work in your garden?

This garden is about 4000 sq. ft. I worked a lot the first 2 years because the garden was new. I did the soil amendment, planting, weeding….etc. But, this year I only worked a few hours a week, There isn’t much weeding, But, there is a bit of deadheading.

7. What has, or currently does, inspire you to garden and use sustainable practices?

I love nature! Plants, animals…all things of nature.

8. How do you deal with “weeds”? What is your approach to insect pests and disease?

I hand pick weeds.

This year I had  a Japanese beetles problem. I hand picked them everyday.

9. Share a brief story about something you learned from your garden or plants, or inspiration received from gardening?

For the first 2 years I didn’t really pay much attention to or enjoy the beauty of the garden. It caused me a lot of stress because I didn’t hire perfessional gardeners and I didn’t know much about plants or planting. At that time I just want to finish the project. However this spring (June,2019), my husband and I were so surprised to see our beautiful garden after being away for 2 months.

Now, walking around my garden everyday is happiness for me.

10. What is your experience growing plants from Harlequin’s Gardens.

I find their plants to be healthy, unique and hardy.

11. Is there anything else you’d like to share with us and/or our community?

If you enjoy animals, plant a lot of flowering plants and humming bird mints.

Happy gardening!Tracy

(1) What percentage of the plants in the pictures do you think came from Harlequin’s Gardens? (Mandatory Question)

Most!

(2) Did you create this garden (you and your family) or did you have professional help? Describe briefly

I had help 7 years ago removing my grass (from a laborer who was doing demolition on my kitchen).  I hired Laura R.  Laura is a trained permaculturalist  and she helped with garden design, with the limited hardscape and with sheet mulching to build soil.  I now employ the women of Suncat Gardening for their help doing seasonal pruning and garden clean-ups.   The garden has evolved over the years.

(3) What is the age of this garden? What town or area? What elevation?

My garden is in N. Boulder, elevation 4,859 ft.

The garden was begun in the summer of 2011 with the grass removal, was sheet mulched in November 2011 and was initially planted in spring 2012. It’s 7.5 years old.

(4) What irrigation method(s) do you use and how often do you water and for how long?

We do a combination of watering.  We have drip and low flow sprinklers for some areas, we hand water vegetables in season and have been lucky this year to have had Mother Nature’s help in irrigating.

(5) What is your soil like? Did you amend it? With what?

My soil has been built over time from sheet mulching.  Every autumn it gets top dressed with leaves and compost and  it’s amended annually with manure, compost and fed with Harlequin’s fertility mix.

(6) How big is your garden and how often do you work in your garden?

I have a relatively small garden that is filled to bursting with perennials and a few edibles (an Italian prune plum, herbs, blackberry vines and greens) .  My front yard spaces are no more than 300 sq. feet combined.  I have an additional 300 sq. feet or so in the backyard. During the spring and summer I spend at least 2-4 hours in the garden weekly.  The fun thing about my jungle like yard is that I can neglect it for a couple weeks and no harm is done.  I love to meander and pick bouquets of flowers.  The more flowers I pick the more blooms I get.

(7) What is your general approach to gardening? What has, or currently, inspires you to garden and use sustainable practices?

I garden for so many reasons.  My garden is my refuge when I need to think and recharge and it’s also my classroom.  I see my own health and well being reflected in my garden and for this reason I will only use organic, nature derived pest control remedies and fertilizers. As I have tried to create healthy gut microflora for my body so do I work with the application of compost, compost tea and mycorrhizae to build microorganisms in my soil.

(8) How do you deal with “weeds”? What is your approach to insect pests and disease?

I hand pull weeds and have tried various compost tea approaches to change the soil nutrition to discourage various weeds.  I’ve also found that my dense planting and healthy “desired plants” choke out unwanted plants.  Insect pests are discouraged through planting and fertilizing strategies (for instance, using solar caps to put out my tomato starts in early April allowed my plants to become healthy and robust before the immersion of flea beetles).   I’ve also employed diatomaceous earth, hand picking off pests and various soap sprays.  Mulching my roses routinely with shredded banana peels and planting companion plants to encourage predatory beneficial insects has almost completely eliminated aphids. My ladybug friends are numerous and helpful.

(9) Share a brief story about something you learned from your garden or plants, or inspiration received from gardening?.

I feel that magic happens daily in my flower garden.  Last summer I came home from a long day to discover a couple of hand painted rocks had been left in my path that read “spread joy” and “be kind”, gifts from the, now nearly teenage children, who grew up bringing their friends to tour the gardens and search for fairies.  My favorite 5 year old regularly visits, hands on his hips, with the strong request “what can I eat?!”.  He loves fresh garden peas and nasturtiums and blackberries that he often grabs while they’re still unripe and declares “look, a raspberry!” but is equally content with fistfuls of kale that he grabs for the long journey home (just across the street).

(10) What is your experience growing plants from Harlequin’s Gardens.

Harlequin’s plants are locally grown, healthy without the application of neonitotinoids,  well adapted to our climate and overwhelmingly successful.  I find shopping at Harlequin’s to be addictive; I’m forever discovering new specimens that I MUST have and my garden is proof of the adage that you can never have too many plants!

1. What percentage of the plants in the pictures do you think came from Harlequin’s Gardens?

Almost all.

2. Did you create this garden (you and your family) or did you have professional help? Describe briefly:

We designed the garden ourselves. It evolved over many years. It was more plant-driven design than designed on paper. Water was a limiting factor that disciplined our selection, and we grouped plants by water needs and what looked good together. Strolling through the garden (sometimes with a plant in hand) and looking often inspired design.

3. What is the age of this garden? What town or area? What elevation?

The garden, which we call a Rock Meadow, was started in 1985. It is still evolving. We are located near Boulder, in a rural area, 5300′

4. What irrigation method(s) do you use and how often do you water and for how long?

We water by sprinkler on a a hose, usually for 30 minutes at a location, 5-6 times a year, generally once a month and twice in July. We water when the garden needs water. New plants get hand watered to establish.

5. What is your soil like? Did you amend it? With what?

Our soil is gravelly with some clay; some areas have more clay. Some areas were amended with just compost, some with pea gravel, sand and compost. Newer areas have some expanded shale. We have added some rock minerals, some light fertilizers and some compost topdressing, especially in the fall. Occasionally we use compost tea.

6. How big is your garden and how often do you work in your garden?

I’d estimate the Rock Meadow is about 900 square feet. Because I’m busy, I get help with weeding and watering, and some planting. It is hard to guess how much time I spend but maybe 2-8 hours a week.

7. What has, or currently does, inspire you to garden and use sustainable practices?

I like natives and drought tolerant plants, mostly from western US and from Steppe regions of Turkey, Afghanistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, etc. Those plants that are adapted to our conditions thrive and those that don’t I let them go. The garden has kinda naturalized over the years.

8. How do you deal with “weeds”? What is your approach to insect pests and disease?

I weed with good hand tools (occasionally with a spade.) I get after grasses early in March, Bindweed in April, May and allow no seed, Ground Ivy whenever I see it. I thin flowering biennials, I don’t let weeds get too big before removing them. I think some weeds are ok, like edible purslane. Wet years I’m less tolerant of weeds. I garden organically and almost never spray anything for insects. I have lots of benefical insects in the garden.

9. Share a brief story about something you learned from your garden or plants, or inspiration received from gardening?

After 11 years, my Agave parryi started pushing up a bloom stalk. It grew so fast and so dramatic people started coming to visit it. Finally, it reached 11 feet tall with a 3′ candelabra-like bloom of orange-yellow cup shaped flowers that attracted both people and a Bullock’s Oriole.

10. What is your experience growing plants from Harlequin’s Gardens?

The plants that I get from Harlequin’s, though perhaps smaller and maybe not in flower, are the most dependable to establish. Once they are in the ground, they grow well and are more drought tolerant and tough.

11. Is there anything else you’d like to share with us and/or our community?

I look forward to visiting other gardens on this virtual garden tour. Also, I hope Harlequin’s can continue to survive, because I enjoy the naturalness of the setting and the helpful and friendly staff.