Our best selection of plants for the 2022 season is here now! Even though record numbers of customers have poured in this month and left with record numbers of great plants and products, we STILL have tons and keep bringing out more!
We thought you might like to know more about some of the great but less familiar plants we have in stock right now, so we’ve put together some Plant Portraits for you here. [Read More]
We were just getting comfy and confident in the progressing spring weather, when Mother Nature reminds us that She is in control!
According to the NOAA extended forecast for Boulder, CO, there is a Hazardous Weather Outlook for northeast and north central Colorado later this week. Our weather is expected to shift beginning Thursday night into Friday when a cooler and wetter pattern moves in. Night temperatures Thursday are forecast to drop to about 40˚F, and day temperatures will hover in the low 50s. Friday and Saturday could bring even lower temperatures, with highs of only 45 and lows of 33, possibly accompanied by strong winds, rain, snow and/or H_ _L! It appears that this weather pattern could continue through Sunday / Monday. Temperatures in your garden will depend on your elevation and exposure, and could drop below freezing.
What this means for your plant care, especially tender vegetables, and annuals, is that it’s time to prepare to bundle them up later in the week before the cold snap arrives. Here’s how you can best do so. [Read More]
We’re close to Boulder Valley’s “average last frost” date, and except for being windy and dry, it sure feels like Spring! Lots of gardeners are asking whether it’s safe to prune now, especially roses and shrubs. The answer is YES! But…..
Pay attention to the characteristics of the particular shrubs and roses you’re thinking of pruning. If the shrubs in question won’t be in bloom until summer or fall (for example: Blue Mist Spirea, Rose of Sharon, Russian Sage, Rabbit Brush, Seven Sons, Butterfly Bush, ‘Mongolian Gold’ Bush Clematis), now is a great time to prune them for compact form, removal of winter-kill and dead tips. These shrubs bloom on new (this year’s) wood, so you won’t be diminishing their bloom potential by pruning now. [Read More]
Black Krim Tomato
It’s that time of year! And last weekend many of you were here to gather your summer vegetable starts. Are you looking for a specific variety of Peppers and/or Tomatoes? Here are the varieties of pepper and tomato that are arriving later this week, around Thursday or Friday (May 12/13). [Read More]
Our youngest gardener Baby Bonnie, with her Mother and Grandmother
This Sunday, May 8th we celebrate Mother’s Day! There are several different claims to the inception of the Mothers’ Day or Mother’s Day holiday in the US, inspired by ideas of helping less fortunate mothers, reducing infant and maternal mortality, voicing opposition to wars, and honoring motherhood. All of these share the common core idea of honoring Nurturers.
So even if you’ve never functioned as the mother of human children, you can still be a Plant Mom. When we prepare our soil, plant our seeds, keep them moist until they germinate, and give them the care they need until they are grown-up enough to fend for themselves (or require less attention), we are Mothering them. By planting for pollinators and native life-forms of all kinds, we are nurturing our ecosystem and helping to bring it back to balance and health.
This week, we invite you to visit us and choose some new plants to nurture and mother. And honor the Mothers in your life with the plants, garden items, books, classes or healthy products they’d love. We have a beautiful line of glazed pots for patios, entryways and balconies. Our organic pepper, tomato, and herb starts are pouring in, as are many new perennials and shrubs, roses, vines, grasses, and annuals, all neonic-free. We also have plenty of fruit trees and berry bushes, and seeds for delicious summer crops like beans, basil, cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin, and melon, and glorious pollinator-supporting flowers like Lace Flower, Poppy, Zinnia, Sunflower, Nasturtium, Gloriosa Daisy, Cosmos, Morning Glory, and many, many more!
BANGLES BLEND
60 days green, 80 days color, Open-pollinated
For eating fresh by the handful, stuffed for hors d’oeuvres or pickled. The large seed cavity of each sweet, crunchy, squat 1.5”-wide pepper is perfect for stuffing. Upright 18-24″ plants are excellent for decorative containers. Each plant produces a single color of pepper, purple, gold, or red.
Give yourself a break by putting away your lawn mower for the month of May with the additional benefit of feeding our early bees!
Lawns are generally a sterile environment for pollinators, but we can turn them into a temporary food source to give bees a leg up in the crucial spring season. By allowing plants typically identified as “weeds” (think dandelions, violets, clover) to flower they can provide food and fuel for our early pollinators that are emerging from hibernation. In turn, these bees go on to pollinate our fruit trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. [Read More]
We have a limited number of choice Peonies in 2-gallon pots, ready to make a long-lived presence in your garden! These varieties are different from the ones we will have in stock in a couple of weeks, which will be in 1-gallon pots.
Peonies are classic garden plants that add a lot of charm and beauty to the garden, increasing in size and beauty for many decades. Their gorgeous, fragrant blooms and lush foliage have made them popular for many years. When a peony is finished blooming, the attractive foliage mound makes a great seasonal ‘shrub’. And, of course, the sensuous flowers make stunning bouquets. Cut them when the buds have swelled and are beginning to open slightly. [Read More]
What a glorious spring! Having been blessed with generous snow and rain, the land is bursting with energy, greener than green, and flowering in kaleidoscopic exuberance! Migratory birds have been arriving or passing though our region this month, offering sightings of avian treasures like Lazuli Buntings and Western Tanagers, not to mention the hummingbirds. We do live in a wondrous world!
60 days green, 80 days color, Open-pollinated
For eating fresh by the handful, stuffed for hors d’oeuvres or pickled. The large seed cavity of each sweet, crunchy, squat 1.5”-wide pepper is perfect for stuffing. Upright 18-24″ plants are excellent for decorative containers. Each plant produces a single color of pepper, purple, gold or red.
This Friday, April 22 we will celebrate Earth Day, originally planned 52 years ago to bring a billion people into the streets to let our leaders know for sure that the health and resilience of our planet and our environment is of the Utmost Importance. Since then, a lot has changed on our planet. Fortunately, many of us have awakened to a new paradigm that respects, honors and stewards the planet and its intricately connected living systems. New generations are growing up with the inspiration to live more simply so that others may simply live, and to make the regeneration of Earth’s balance their life’s work. [Read More]
The bad news is that last week’s small delivery of tomato starts froze when the wind blew open the back door of our greenhouse in the middle of the night.
The good news is that the next 38 flats will be ready for sale on Friday! (and there will be many more becoming available through April and May). This week’s tomato starts include: [Read More]
Though commonly associated with culinary traditions of the Southeastern US, collards originated in Europe, along with kale, cabbage etc., and are easy to grow in cooler climates, too.
Grow collards in full sun (for fastest growth), or part shade. Give them plenty of space, 18” apart. Collards appreciate moist, fertile soil with plenty of organic matter (compost) and applications of compost tea. [Read More]
We are here for you! You’re in the high desert/steppe now, with short growing seasons, sudden temperature changes, unpredictable precipitation, low humidity, drying winds, alkaline soils that are low in organic matter and nitrogen, hot summers and cold winters. Despite these challenges, gardens can thrive here, and be productive, rewarding and beautiful!
Our gardens can support us by providing beauty, nutrient-dense food and plant medicine, and shelter from temperature and weather extremes. At the same time, our gardens can give us an opportunity for nurturing that goes beyond our own garden plants, supporting our entire local ecosystem, including our essential insects, birds, native plants and other wildlife. [Read More]
It’s nesting time for many of our little birds, and they are out there house hunting! Providing housing opportunities for them will bring benefits to your garden as birds eat large numbers of insects like mosquitos, scale, various larvae, etc., and give you the pleasure of watching them raise their broods.
We have two styles of birdhouses for cavity-nesting birds like chickadees, wrens, nuthatches, and downy woodpeckers. These are locally made, designed to Audubon Society specifications, and are easy to clean at season’s end. Keep some of the small stems, twigs, dead blades of grass, combings from your shaggy dog, etc. from your spring garden clean-up in a corner of your yard for nesting material. Be sure to locate your bird houses where roaming cats can’t reach them. [Read More]
So they can support us!
Last Friday Denver Botanic Gardens hosted a day-long conference on Tree Diversity. This timely subject arises because of the importance of trees to the livability of our cities and suburbs and the degree to which the effects of Climate Change have already begun to affect our urban forest. Trees help cool everything from our gardens and patios and parking lots to our cities and our planet. With stresses like sudden, dramatic temperature changes, drought, and severe windstorms, plus the devastation wrought by the Emerald Ash Borer to our millions of Ash trees, it’s time to re-evaluate the limited palette of trees we’ve been planting for many decades, and investigate new, more resilient possibilities. [Read More]
Opening Day will be here in just a few minutes (or it seems to our busy-bee staff!) and our doors will re-open this Thursday, March 3rd at 9 AM. We hope to see you then! Our hours for the month of March are Thursday through Sunday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Then beginning Tuesday, April 1st, our hours expand to six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday. [Read More]
This morning’s broadcast of This Week In Water on community radio station KGNU announced that results of a 5-year study conducted by the U. of Washington found that using regenerative farming practices such as not tilling the soil, growing cover crops, and having plant diversity affect the nutritional content of vegetables.
We know Mother Nature is teasing us with these delightful warm weather days, and they give us hope for the warm spring days ahead! However, snow and cold temperatures are again forecast to arrive this weekend, a pattern that will continue through March, and into April.
If you’re eager to get your garden started here are tools that you can gather now, which will help your plants succeed during the turbulent early spring transition period. [Read More]
It all starts with the Soil, and we have some very special products to benefit your Soil Life and Your Plant Life!
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.[Read More]
Spring is Not here. But it is coming.Under the snow the plants are beginning to wake up. As the days get longer and lighter, buds grow, getting ready to be leaves and flowers. Inside our greenhouses, heated mostly by the Colorado sun, seeds are sprouting or getting ready to sprout, and last year’s plants are really growing. In here it Is Spring.
We’ll be opening Harlequin’s Gardens on Thursday, March 3 – just over a week away!
Will we have plants to sell? Well, yes, and no, not yet. [Read More]
Harlequin’s Gardens in 2000 as painted by Eve Reshetnik Brawner
This year, 2022, Harlequin’s Gardens is celebrating 30 years in business! Thanks to you and the many folks who have bought our plants and products and taken our classes, and thanks to a great staff, we have succeeded in becoming a valuable resource for Boulder County and beyond.
We’ve been focusing on growing and providing plants that are well-adapted to Colorado conditions and will thrive without applications of chemicals or excessive amounts of water and fertilizers. [Read More]
Like miniature iris emerging from the warming soil, March launches Harlequin’s Gardens early spring season, and our doors will re-open on Thursday, March 3rd. Our hours for the month of March are Thursday through Sunday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Then beginning Tuesday, April 1st, our hours expand to six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday.
Beginning in March we will offer onion, potato, and asparagus starts. We will be stocked with seeds, seed starting kits, and potting soil. Our soil products (composts, mulches, fertilizers, etc.) will be available. And, as temperatures warm, we will stock our over-wintered perennials, shrubs, and trees, and best of all, our spring organic vegetable starts! In the meantime, you can always purchase a Gift Certificate or join our Membership from our website any time of day.
Stay tuned for our 2022 class listings, and as your spring-flowering bulbs emerge, refer to our Bulbs Page for timing and description details.
We’re getting excited for the 2022 gardening season and hope you are too!
Your landscape is not just something to look at. It is an opportunity to support your values by:
“The less biodiverse any system is, the greater the potential for its collapse.” Janisse Ray, from The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food.
We’ve been reading headlines stating that 93% of seed varieties available in the early 20th century had disappeared from commerce by 1980. The biggest factor in this drastic decline in diversity is consolidation of the industry. The big multi-national corporations have systematically bought up smaller companies and in so doing have ended production of vast numbers of time-tested open-pollinated and older hybrid varieties and prioritized the production of new patented proprietary hybrids. [Read More]
(Durango Before and After Fire. Photo Credit: Colorado State Forest Service.)
We are so grateful that nearly all the folks in the Marshall Fire burn area were able to evacuate quickly and safely. The horror of all the lost homes and their contents, the pets trapped, and the gardens obliterated is outweighed by the survival of all but two residents.
Historically February is one of Colorado’s snowiest months, and finally we’re beginning to see evidence of that this year! Additionally, the forecast indicates more to come. It remains to be seen how some of our marginally hardy garden plants have suffered from the below zero temperatures.
Many of us may have the tops of ornamental grasses and various perennials peeking out of the blanket of the snow, which provides habitat for overwintering beneficial insects and it helps to keep the plant roots and crowns warmer. But very soon it will be time to cut back Cool-Season ornamental grasses before their active growth begins, which will allow light to penetrate the entire clump. See Eve’s instructions, below. [Read More]
Our hearts go out to the many people who suffered devastating losses in the Marshall wildfire. It may be possible to rebuild homes, but their contents may be irreplaceable and the sudden disruption to lives will present great challenges. Communities will also need to be rebuilt, and we are hoping the larger community will continue to step up to offer long-term support to all those in need. It takes a village! [Read More]
Fungus Gnat. Credit CSU Extension Service
Houseplants, especially ones that we keep outdoors in the warm season and bring back inside when frosts threaten, are likely to harbor Fungus Gnats. These tiny black flying insects (about the size of a fruit fly) can be very annoying but are mostly harmless. Adults lay 75 to 200 eggs that hatch in a week in the top 1” of soil, and when the larvae hatch, they survive mostly on soil fungi, but also feed on tender root hairs. This life cycle lasts about five weeks, although the adults only live about five days. One plant infested with fungus gnats will easily and rapidly spread the insects to nearby plants. [Read More]
The weather’s wonderful, but DRY! All this sun and wind, and no 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. [Read More]
This year the Winter Solstice will fall on Tuesday, December 21st. This astronomical event is the time of the year when the Earth’s north pole is tilted farthest from the sun, so that night is the longest and daylight is the shortest (in the northern hemisphere). This day has long been celebrated because it signals the lengthening of the days until Summer Solstice on June 21. Even though there is a lot of winter left, there will be more day light. It is the promise of Spring to come. [Read More]
‘Tis the season of mailboxes stuffed with seed and nursery catalogs, and we know all too well the temptations therein! Our gardens may be dormant, but our plant lust is not, and haven’t we all been sucked in by glossy photos of sexy new must-have plants, even though we haven’t a clue where we’ll put them? We recommend that you try to resist, at least long enough to evaluate your existing garden.
Winter is actually a great time to turn a critical eye to your garden and see what works and what doesn’t. What is the main purpose of your home landscape, and how can it be enhanced? [Read More]
We are all enjoying and appreciating the exceptional fall colors this year. The yellows are especially rich, and the reds are especially vivid. What is going on when the green leaves turn colors and why are the colors so spectacular this year?
We know that the green color of the leaves comes from the pigment chlorophyll that makes it possible for plants to capture energy from sunlight and use it to make the sugars that feed the whole planet. When the long days of summer get shorter and shorter, highlighted by the fall equinox this year on September 22, the plants get less and less sunlight and less and less energy to make chlorophyll. When leaves contain less chlorophyll, other pigments become more dominant. [Read More]
Mason Bee populations plummeted throughout Boulder County due to harsh spring weather, so it’s especially important to coddle them this winter! Mason bees normally nest in holes in tree trunks, which offer stable temperature, moisture, and protection from predators. To provide extra assistance, bring your Mason and other native bee tubes/cocoons into a sheltered place with ambient (outdoor) temperatures, but with less fluctuation, like a garage or refrigerator. Cocooned bees are now adult and safe to handle in their cocoons. If you used liners or reeds, take them out of the guard tubes and shelters and store them in the fridge. Ideally, unwrap the liners/reeds and just overwinter the mason bee cocoons. Place them in a Humidi-bee chamber (in stock), and keep the lower pad moist. [Read More]
It’s been a rough year over in Holland, where the business of flowers and bulbs is a huge component of the economy. Unprecedented heat followed by heavy rains and flooding, combined with labor shortages due to COVID, made the bulb harvest and export very difficult.
But our shipments of flower bulbs finally arrived and are out for sale! A few stragglers are in transit to us right now. We have a splendid assortment, including lots of exciting new offerings and plenty of classics. [Read More]
We’ve restocked our Holiday Market shelves with many new and popular items including
Semi-precious stone earrings from Kate Head, Pebble Art Jewelry
Amber Lights Candles in a stunning array of creative designs
Indigo Blues natural hand-dyed napkins, shawls, and clothing
Eve Weaves handwoven scarves, so beautiful and soft
Eve’s Gluten-free Pecan Shortbread Cookies; a fresh batch has just arrived!
We are appreciative of the community support at our Holiday Market opening weekend! With the perfect autumnal weather, more people than ever were able to enjoy our local musicians, Sandra Wong & Jon Sousa’s world music, and Margot Krimmel’s traditional and original harp pieces.
This week we roll-out new artisan arrivals, with some photos below. [Read More]
I turned 75 this year so I get to give some perspective on the state of the world. Here is some of the good news that is not being reported these days. I should begin by acknowledging that, oh, yes, there are lots of things that are getting worse, but many things are getting better, too.
In 1976 when I was starting to manage a little apple orchard organically, the general consensus and what I was told, was that “there are two crops you cannot grow organically: apples and cotton”. Lesson: don’t believe everything the experts tell you about what we can’t do. [Read More]
In these strange and challenging times, the pandemic having altered just about every facet of our lives, we are sticking with the decision we made last year and presenting our Holiday Gift Market in October. It’s the only way we can keep our customers (and staff) safe and happy while shopping our market. From your previous visits in the last nine years, many of you know that our Holiday Market is the most rewarding, enjoyable place to shop for your holiday gifts, relaxed and far from the madding crowd! And now you can shop early and enjoy a commercial-free holiday season. Customers tell us they find the very best gifts at our holiday market, and feel particularly good about supporting small, mostly local artists and producers. [Read More]
The Front Range is a hotbed of innovation and passion for quality food with real flavor and real nutritional value. Whether it’s the micro-brews, coffee, chocolate, heirloom vegetables, pasture-raised meats, or ancient grains, or the gluten-free, paleo, keto, or vegan diet, Front Range Coloradans have shown great support and enthusiasm for slow, locally-grown, organic, fair-trade and creative, locally hand-crafted foods.
You can pick up a mouth-full or a basket-full of some of our favorite locally crafted specialty foods this month at our Holiday Gift Market all of them will easily keep through the holidays and beyond. [Read More]
Have you noticed that your daffodils and narcissus have been struggling and lost their vigor? Here are several possible reasons why and ways to address reviving them.
FERTILIZER ISSUES
As with perennials, many flowering bulbs do best with fertilizing when planted, as their leaves emerge, and as they bloom, with a slow-release organic fertilizer such as Root Rally, from Age Old. [Read More]
September has been designated Pollinator Appreciation Month, and Harlequin’s Gardens will be participating in the Bee Boulder Festival this Saturday from 10:00am to 2:00pm in Central Park, 1236 Canyon Blvd, Boulder.
The focus of this family event is on appreciation of pollinators and education about who they are, what amazing things they do, what they need, and how we can help and protect them. Bring the kids for activities that combine education, fun and prizes! [Read More]
Species Crocus are the earliest Crocus to flower, at least two weeks before their Large Flowering siblings, and are the best for early spring lawn tapestries: hold off mowing the lawn until the foliage has died back. Drifts are also lovely in garden borders and rock gardens. Plant 4” deep and 3- 4” apart, about nine bulbs per square foot for a dense planting. (Crocus are also good for forcing indoors over the winter. Pot them up in mid-October and pre-cool them at a consistent, dark 38 to 45 degrees F for eight to ten weeks with moderate watering. Bring them into the house ~ they will bloom about four weeks later.)
Narcissus (Daffodil) Culture
Narcissus are easily grown in average, medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Best in organically rich, sandy to loams that drain well. Plant bulbs 4-6″ deep and 3-6” apart in fall. After the flowers have bloomed, the top portion of each flower stem may be removed, as practicable, to prevent seed formation, but foliage should not be cut back until it begins to yellow.
All daffodil flowers face the sunniest direction they can locate, so if planted along a wall or with shadow at their backs, they will always face outward. With daffodils, it is a good idea to ponder which way they are going to face before selecting their position, as a grouping that faces toward sunlight through a picket fence and away from the yard might seem to have been planted backwards, their heads bowed away from the garden’s viewer.
Best known for their wonderful scent, Jonquillas are floriferous, late blooming, and extremely durable, with slightly shorter, smaller blooms that look like miniature versions of many of the larger daffodil favorites. Typically, at least three flowers are borne on each stalk. Jonquilla Daffodils like hot, baking summer sun and naturalize well, creating beautiful sweeps of color.
Time to store this year’s bounty! The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest is a dependable classic source of instructions and recipes for drying, pickling, canning, and freezing the fruits of your labors. And after the garden has been put to bed for the winter, there will be time for reading! The most useful, practical, and enlightening books on gardening, nature and natural healing are on our shelves now, with more of the following titles arriving any day now! Don’t forget that one of the benefits of being a Harlequin’s Gardens Member is a 25% discount on all books, all season long! [Read More]
In mid-August, Mikl and Eve had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful, newly created and planted Rocky Mountain Botanic Gardens in central Lyons, CO. Envisioned and designed by herbalist, botanist, and educator Garima Fairfax (a beloved former Harlequin’s staffer!) and brought to fruition with a team of dedicated volunteers and grant money, the non-profit botanic garden is a delightful and educational display of native annuals, perennials, shrubs, vines, and trees. It is easily accessed along popular walking and cycling trails. [Read More]
We’ve been in high-gear this season, propagating more plants and stocking more soil products than ever so we wouldn’t be vulnerable to supply-chain disruptions caused by the pandemic and extreme weather events. So now we have a wonderful selection, and most of them are on sale!
In our experience, fall is the most successful time establish most plants, especially when mycorrhizae are applied to the roots during planting (and we’re well stocked with soluble mycorrhizae, too!).
We have increased the discount on our 2021 seeds to 60% off! [Read More]
We’re excited that the City of Boulder is gathering feedback from the community about how we use our yards, preferences for landscaping and interest in a citywide effort to create pollinator habitat patches and pathways. Pollinator pathways connect safe, pesticide-free native plant patches of habitat for bees, birds, butterflies, and other wildlife to provide food and nesting sites. Native pollinators are vital to our ecosystems and pathways support pollinator populations, as well as safe passage for movement across the city.
Basil is one of the great culinary pleasures of summer, and it’s definitely NOT TOO LATE to plant Basil and enjoy a good crop! Basil plants are beautiful, grow equally well in the ground or in pots, thrive in hot weather, provide a continuous, bounteous crop, and Basil’s many different flavors are essential to a variety of distinctive cuisines. It can be used fresh, dried, or frozen in oil or as pesto. Though basil leaves lose most of the aromatic oils when dried, we have still found that basil dried from your garden is so much more flavorful than commercial dried basil.
ALL of our Basil plants are organically grown! [Read More]
Sow Fall Crops and be ready for the 2022 growing season! We’re bringing in fresh seeds, packed for 2022, from our local Botanical Interests Seed Company, and should have them on display sometime this Thursday. Most of these seeds are certified organic.
Now is a great time to plant seeds for fall crops such as spinach, lettuce, mesclun, kale, swiss chard, arugula, mustard greens, and watermelon radish. Sow seeds this fall for mache, which will provide tasty salad greens in late winter, before the more conventional spring greens are ready. Fall sowing is also ideal for hardy, drought-tolerant annual flowers like borage, California poppies, cornflower, larkspur, love-in-a-mist, breadseed poppies, and Shirley poppies.[Read More]
We’ve just made it much easier to purchase a Harlequin’s Gardens Gift Certificate online!
Our Gift Certificates can be purchased online year-round, and at any time of the day. You can select from 15 thematic designs, customize the amount that you would like to give, and add your own personal message.
You can then choose to send it via email immediately or on a future date, or to print it out and hand-deliver or mail it yourself. Following receipt, your recipient will be able to research their balance at any time. [Read More]
