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]

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]

2024 Roses are In!

Fairmount Proserpine, courtesy High Country Roses

This is the week we begin to bring you the Roses! From healthy over-wintered Harlequin’s roses in gallon pots, to beauties in ‘quart’ pots like the ‘Fairmount’ Proserpine pictured here – we have a selection like no other nursery –  with 99% of our roses being own-root and able to take the Colorado weather.

Here’s the ‘big list’ of what we’ll have for you this season – many of them will be available for the May Day Celebration!

Rosa eglanteria (rubiginosa)

Rosa foet. Bicolor (Austrian Copper)

Scarlet meidiland

Sunbeam Veranda

The Gift

Victorian Memory

Westerland

White Dawn, Climbing

White Meidiland

Winner’s Circle

Gourmet Popcorn

Harrison’s ellow

Henry Kelsey

Iceberg (climbing)

Jeanne Lajoie

JoAn’s Pink Perpetual

Lady in Red

Lavender Jewel

Lemon Fizz Kolorscape

Mandarin Sunblaze

Millie Walters

Mountain Mignonette

Petite Peach

Polka

Red Ribbons

Carefree WonderCelestial Night

Champlain

Cinco de Mayo

Complicata

Cream eranda

Denvers Dream

Desiree Parmentier

Dortmund

Ebb Tide

Emily Carr

Fairmount Proserpine

Fire Meidiland

Firecracker Kolorscape

Flamingo Kolorscape

Fred Loads

Golden Opportunity

Adelaide Hoodless

AUSblush

AUSbord

AUScat

AUScot

AUSlot

AUSmary

AUSmound – Lilian Austin

AUSpeet

Autumn Sunblaze

Awakening

Ridal Sunblaze

Brilliant Veranda

Burgundy Iceberg

Canyon Road

Carefree Delight

Carefree Spirit

 

New This Week – in store May 2nd

It’s time to plant!

This week, we have a great selection of Colorado-adapted and cold-hardy Native Cacti and Perennials, Annuals, Roses, Grapes, Raspberries, Clematis and plenty of Fruiting Trees and Shrubs. And we’re at the height of our Tomato selection, building up our splendid stock of Peppers, and still well-stocked with other delicious vegetable starts, herbs, Water-Wise Perennials, and so much more!

Many of these plants are already out for sale, and more will be available beginning Thursday.

New Perennials 

Beautiful, hard-to-find specimens!

NATIVE PERENNIALS

Berlandiera lyrata (Chocolate Flower)

Berlandiera lyrata (Chocolate Flower)

Linum lewisii (Native Blue Flax)

Melampodium leucanthum (Blackfoot Daisy)

Oenothera caespitosa (Tufted Evening Primrose)

Penstemon ambiguus (Sand Penstemon)

Penstemon barbatus (Scarlet Bugler)

Penstemon caespitosus (Dwarf Beardtongue)

Penstemon clutei (Sunset Penstemon)

Penstemon eatonii (Firecracker Penstemon)

Penstemon grandiflorus (Shell Leaf Penstemon)

Penstemon jamesii (James’ Penstemon)

Penstemon linarioides (Creeping Penstemon)

Penstemon palmeri (Fragrant Penstemon)

Penstemon pinifolius (pineleaf Penstemon)

Penstemon pseudospectabilis (Desert Beardtongue)

Penstemon strictus (Rocky Mt. Penstemon)

Penstemon superbus (Superb Penstemon)

Penstemon virens (Foothills or Blue Mist Penstemon)

Penstemon virgatus (Wand Bloom Penstemon)

Pulsatilla patens (Native Pasqueflower)

Dalea purpurea (Purple Prairie Clover)

Dalea (Petalostemon) purpurea (Purple Prairie Clover)

Verbena bipinnatifida (Dakota Verbena)

Verbena wrightii (Purple Verbena)

 SUCCULENTS

Aloinopsis hybrids (Hardy Living Stone) (non-native)

Ruschia pulvinaris (Creeping Shrubby Iceplant)  (non-native)

Titanopsis calcarea (Concrete Living Stone) (non-native)

NATIVE HARDY CACTI

Coryphantha scheeri (NM Pineapple Cactus)

Echinocereus coccineus (Strawberry Hedgehog)

Echinocereus engelmannii (Engelmann’s Cactus)

Echinocereus fendleri (Sitting Cactus)

Echinocereus lloydii (Lloyd’s Cactus)

Claret Cup Cactus

Echinocereus reichenbachii (Purple Candle)

Echinocereus triglochidiatus (Claret Cup Cactus)

Echinocereus viridiflorus (Green Pitaya)

Escobaria sneedii (Sneed’s Pincushion)

Escobaria vivipara (Ball Cactus)

Maihuenia poeppigii (Green Mat Cactus)

Opuntia polyacantha (Prickly Pear)

Clematis

Clematis x ‘Huldine’

Guernsey Cream

Gipsy Queen

HF Young

Huldine

Jackmanii

Clematis hexapetala ‘Mongolian Snowflakes’ (bush form)

Clematis fruticosa ‘Mongolian Gold (bush form)

Clematis fruticosa ‘Mongolian Gold’

Mrs. N Thompson

Niobe

Nelly Moser

Omoshiro

Polish Spirit

Princess Diana

Clematis ‘Ville de Lyon’

The President

Clematis viticella ‘Polish Spirit’

Rouge Cardinal

Ville de Lyon

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Water-Wise Perennials and Biennials for Sun

XERISCAPE   PERENNIALS & BIENNIALS  for  SUN

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

 

Note: plants listed in bold are native to our region

Acantholimon (hohenackeri, glumaceum, etc.)

Achillea ageratifolia

Achillea filipendula ‘Moonshine’

Achillea lanulosa

Achillea millefolium ‘Cerise Queen’

Achillea millefolium ‘Paprika’

Achillea serbica

Aethionema grandiflora

Agastache aurantiaca ‘Coronado’

Agastache ‘Blue Fortune’

Agastache cana

 Agastache foeniculum

Agastache neomexicana

Agastache rupestris

Agastache urticifolia

Agastache x ‘Ava’

Agave parryi selections

Alcea rosea

Alcea rugosa

Allium altaicum

Allium cernuum

Allium flavum

Allium geyeri

Allium ‘Millenium’

Allium senescens

Allium senescens ‘Glaucum’

Allium tuberosum

Alyssum oxycarpum

Anacyclus depressus

Anchusa azurea

Antennaria ‘McClintock’

Antennaria parviflora

Antennaria rosea

Argemone hispida

Argemone polyanthemos

Artemisia frigida

Artemisia ludoviciana

Artemisia ludoviciana‘Powis Castle’

Artemisia ‘Silver Frost’

Artemisia ludoviciana ‘Valerie Finnis’

Artemisia stelleriana ‘Silver Brocade’

Artemisia ’Leprechaun’

Asclepias tuberosa

Asphodeline demascena

Asphodelus albus

Aster ericoides

Aster porteri

Aster (Symphiotrichon) laevis

Aster (Symphiotrichon) sericeus

Astragalus sps.

Aurinia saxatilis

Baptisia australis

Baptisia minor

Berlandiera lyrata

Betonica foliosa

Cacti, various hardy

Callirhoe involucrata

Calylophus hartwegii

Calylophus serrulatus

Calylophus serrulatus ‘Prairie Lode’

Catananche caerulea

Centranthus ruber

Cerastium candidissimum

Cerastium tomentosum

Clematis scottii

Coreopsis lanceolata

Coreopsis lanceoplata ‘Sterntaler’ 

Coreopsis verticillata ‘Moonbeam’

Coreopsis verticillata ‘Zagreb’

Crambe cordifolia

Crambe maritima

Dalea (Petalostemon) purpureum                      

Delosperma ‘John Proffitt’(‘Table Mountain’)

Delosperma ‘Kelaidis’ (Mesa Verde)

Delosperma cooperi

Delopserma dyeri

Delosperma ‘Firespinner’

Delosperma ‘Granita Orange’

Delosperma ‘Granita Raspberry’

Delosperma ‘Lavender Ice’

Delosperma ‘Red Mountain Flame’

Delosperma nubigenum

Dianthus barbatus

Dianthus ‘Blue Hill’

Dianthus deltoides varieties

Dianthus gratianapolitanus

Dianthus gratianapolitanus varieties

Dianthus nardiformus

Dianthus petraeus noeanus

Dianthus ‘Tuscan Honeymoon’

Dianthus ‘Tiny Rubies’

Dictamnus albus purpureus

Dracocephalum ruyschianum

Ephedra minuta

Erigeron compositus

Erigeron linearis

Erigeron speciosus

Erigeron caespitosa

Eriogonum jamesii

Eriogonum ovalifolium

Eriogonum umbellatum

Eriogonum umb. v ‘Kannah Creek’

Eriogonum umb. v majus

Eriogonum umb. v porteri

Erodium chrysanthum

Erodium manescavii

Erodium petraeum hybrids

Euphorbia polychroma

Foeniculum vulgare

Foeniculum vulgare ‘Bronze’

Gaillardia aristata

Gaillardia aristata ‘Meriwether’

Gaillardia x grandiflora ‘Goblin’

Gaillardia x grandiflora ‘Burgundy’

Gaura lindheimeri

Gaura lindheimeri ‘Summer Breeze’

Geranium sanguineum

Glaucium acutidentatum

Globularia cordifolia

Goniolimon tataricum

Gutierrezia sarothrae

Gypsophila paniculata

Gypsophila repens

Helianthemum nummularium varieties

Herniaria glabra

Heterotheca pumila

Heterotheca ‘Gold Hill’

Hymenoxys (tetraneuris)acaulis

Hymenoxys (Tetraneuris)argenteus

Hymenoxys (Tetraneuris)scaposa

Iberis sempervirens

Iberis sempervirens ‘Little Gem’

Ipomopsis (Gilia) aggregate

Ipomopsis rubra

Iris (tall, medium and miniature) Bearded

Iris pallida ‘Variegata’

Lavandula ‘Provence’

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’

Lavandula angustifolia ‘Munstead Strain’

Liatris punctata

Limonium latifolium

Limonium gmellinii

Linum flavum compactum

Linum lewisii

Linum narbonense

Linum perenne

Lithospermum multiflorum

Lychnis chalcedonica

Lychnis coronaria

Malva alcea fastigiata

Malva sylvestris mauritania

Marrubium globosum

Marrubium rotundifolium

Melampodium leucanthum

Mentzelia decapetala

Mentzelia nuda

Mirabilis multiflora

Nepeta x  faassenii

Nepeta x f. ‘Six Hills Giant’

Nepeta x f. ‘Walker’s Low’

Nepeta ‘Little Trudy’

Nolina microcarpa

Oenothera howardii

Oenothera berlandieri ‘Siskyou’

Oenothera caespitosa

Oenothera caespitosa ‘Marginata’

Oenothera fremontii

Oenothera fremontii ‘Shimmer’

Oenothera macrocarpa

Oenothera m. incana ‘Comanche Campfire’

Oenothera fremontii

Oenothera macro. incana ‘Silver  Blade’

Oenothera pallida

Oxytropis lambertii

 Oxytropis sericea

Oxytropis splendens

Papaver orientale varieties

Papaver pilosum

Papaver triniifolium (biennial)

Penstemon ambiguus

Penstemon arenicola

Penstemon auriberbis

Penstemon barbatus

Penstemon brandegei

Penstemon cardinalis

Penstemon caespitosus

Penstemon clutei

Penstemon crandallii

Penstemon cyananthus

Penstemon eatonii

Penstemon grandifloras

Penstemon hallii

Penstemon linarioides

Penstemon linarioides coloradoensis

Penstemon mensarum

Penstemon x mexicale hybrids

Penstemon palmeri

Penstemon pinifolius and selections

Penstemon pinifolius compactus

Penstemon pseudospectabilis

Penstemon richardsonii

Penstemon rostriflorus

Penstemon secundiflorus

Penstemon strictus

Penstemon strictus ‘Bandera’

Penstemon superbus

Penstemon teucroides

Penstemon virens

Penstemon virgatus

Penstemon xylus (tusharensis)

Perovskia atriplicifolia

Petalostemon (Dalea) purpurea

Phlomis russeliana

Physaria bellii

Physostegia virginiana ‘Summer Snow’

Platycodon grandiflorus

Potentilla neumanniana ‘nana’

Ratibida columnifera

Ratibida column. pulchella

Ratibida pinnata

Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Arp’

Rosmarinus off. ‘Madeline Hill’

Rosularia sp.

Rudbeckia hirta

Rudbeckia triloba

Rudbeckia maxima

Rudbeckia missouriensis

Rudbeckia fulgida’Goldsturm’

Ruellia humilis

Ruta graveolens

Salvia argentea

Salvia azurea grandiflora (S. pitcheri)

Salvia nemorosa ‘Blue Queen’

Salvia nemorosa ‘May Night’

Salvia nemorosa ‘Rose Queen’

Salvia officinalis

Salvia officinalis ‘Purpureus’

Salvia officinalis ‘nana’

Salvia sclarea

Salvia transylvanica

Santolina chamaecyparissus’

Saponaria lempergii ‘Max Frei’

Saponaria ocymoides

Satureja montana

Satureja montana ssp illyrica

Scabiosa caucasica

Scabiosa lucida

Scutellaria resinosa

Scrophularia macrantha

Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’

Sedum ‘Matrona’

Sedum ‘Lidakense’

Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’

Sedum ‘Vera Jameson’

Sedum album

Sedum hybridum

Sedum lanceolatum

Sedum sexangulare

Sedum spurium varieties

Sedum tatarowinii

Sempervivum sps.

Sphaeralcea fendleri

Sphaeralcea coccinea

Sphaeralcea munroana

Stachys byzantine ‘Helene Von Stein’

Stachys byzantine ‘Silver Carpet’

Stanleya pinnata

Talinum calycinum

Tanacetum densum ‘Amani’

Tanacetum niveum

Teucrium chamaedys

Teucrium cossonii

Teucrium ‘Harlequin’s Silver’

Teucrium rotundifolium

Thelesperma filifolia

Thermopsis lupinoides

Thymus ‘Back Wall’

Thymus ‘Clear Gold’

Thymus ‘Elfin’

Thymus ‘Minus’

Thymus ‘Reiter’

Thymus ‘Pink Chintz’

Thymus ‘Ohme Garden’

Thymus baeticus

Thymus citriodorus ‘Argentea’

Thymus pseudolanguinosus

Thymus ‘Magic Carpet’

Thymus nieceffii

Thymus praecox ‘Albiflorus’

Thymus praecox ‘Coccineus’

Thymus praecox ‘Pink Chintz’

Thymus praecox “Minus’

Thymus praecox pseudolanguinosus

Thymus serphyllum varieties

Townsendia hookeri

Tradescantia occidentalis

Verbascum bombyciferum

Verbascum olympica

Verbascum wiedemannianum

Verbena bipinnatifida

Verbena wrightii

Veronica allionii

Veronica ‘Crystal Rivers’

Veronica cuneifolia

Veronica liwanensis

Veronica macrostachya

Veronica oltensis

Veronica pectinata

Veronica prostrata

Veronica tauricola

Viola cornuta

Zauschneria garrettii ‘Orange Carpet’

Zauschneria californica ‘Etteri’

Zinnia grandiflora 

Note:  Plants listed in bold type are native to our region.

 

 

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

 

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]

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.

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]

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]

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.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

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.

[Read More]

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!

[Read More]

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:
[Read More]

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.

Cold Weather Alert!

Winter Watering Reminder!

The weather’s looking to be mild for the holidays, but a bit DRY!  All this sun and wind, with just a little 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]

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.

[Read More]

Homemade Elderberry Syrup

This fall, two of our Black Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) bushes performed especially well:  ‘Mikl’s’ and ‘Marge’. Black Elder is considered the most beneficial species for herbal use.

We harvested a bounty, and are happy to share our favorite way to use them.

A healthy herbal remedy used for centuries, we love making Elderberry Syrup from berries harvested from the gorgeous elderberry shrubs and trees we can grow right here in Colorado!

This easy-to-make syrup recipe comes from Boulder wellness coach and herbalist Mitten Lowe.[Read More]

Mosquitos

Are mosquitoes bugging you?

Mosquitoes are a problem this year. “Mosquito Man” Bob Hancock at Metro State University of Denver stated recently “We are not only breeding crazy numbers of mosquitoes here in Colorado with our rainy year, but we are keeping the ones that we’re breeding alive because it’s not getting as hot as it usually does.” Mosquitoes can be vectors for various diseases including West Nile Disease. Be proactive!

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Fall Cold Weather Care and Protection

As Colorado gardeners, we’ve come to expect snow in October (last year it was October 10). It looks like this weekend might give us our first real freeze and chance for snow (the earliest recorded area snowfall was in 1961 when Denver received over 4″ of snow on Labor Day).

This translates into a lot of flower, fruit, and vegetable crops that are still productive that you might want to protect, harvest, and preserve. [Read More]

Patio Trees

Purple Smokebush

MIKL’s ‘MACRO BONSAI’ PATIO TREES FOR YOURSELF!

Every so often, one of the trees or shrubs we’ve grown or received from a grower displays interesting twists, bends, curves or dwarfing that suggest the character of Bonsai specimens, but much bigger. Mikl has been collecting and cultivating these ‘Macro Bonsai’ for quite a few years. We have some available for sale right now.

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Special Products you May Have Missed

There is so much to look at when you visit Harlequin’s Gardens, it isn’t easy to take it all in!

Today we’re highlighting Special Products that may have escaped your notice, but which will greatly assist your gardening efforts.

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Help Fall Plantings Beat the Heat

Fall is among the best times to plant perennials. While we may begin to wilt from late summer heat, many plants rise to the occasion and burst into bloom!  As days begin to grow shorter, perennials spend the next few months developing root systems or taproots that delve well below the hot, dry surface soil. Pollinators depend on finding pollen and nectar sources through the entire summer, so it’s important to include late-summer and autumn bloomers in your garden. 

Here are a few suggestions for successful planting.

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Some Good News on the Climate

Bill McKibben, environmentalist, educator and founder of 350.org recently wrote, “If the last year has been about a phase change in our planet’s climate, the next year has to be about a phase change in our planet’s politics.”

This past week we did get significant good news about climate action, and we want to share it with you.

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A Hint of Fall Specials

Summer is waning. Nights are cooler and we’re even closing some windows again. Lots of plants are producing seeds. The most comfortable planting season is here, and so are thousands of plants. And to sweeten the season even more, here come our Fall Sales! Next week you will receive our Fall Sale E-Newsletter, with complete information about our special Member’s Sale at the end of August, and our progressive Fall Sale for everyone! In the meantime, we have some pop-up sales appropriate to the season – see below for the details.

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Season Extending Products

As Colorado gardeners, we’ve come to expect snow in October. But on September 9, 2020 we saw a temperature swing of more than 60 degrees, going from record-breaking heat to one of the earliest recorded snow falls in the state.

This translates into a lot of flower, fruit, and vegetable crops cut short, and a lot of unanticipated work protecting vulnerable plants, harvesting, and preserving. There are measures you can take now to be prepared to protect your gardens from cold weather and snow when they arrive, suddenly or not. The following tools, techniques, and ‘props’ can make the difference between life and untimely death of your plants during inclement weather.

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Versatile Vines for Colorado Gardens

Sweet Autumn Clematis

Vines are very valuable for their versatility, variety and vigor, especially in the vertical plane. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Many of us live in urban environments full of walls and fences, and closely packed homes with narrow side-yards. Those of us in townhomes, condos or apartments have only tiny patio gardens or balconies offering little opportunity for greening our outdoor spaces. Or, we live in new developments built on open farmland without mature trees and shrubs for shade or screening. In all of these situations, vines can quickly provide short-term or long-term solutions to provide privacy or shade, maximize our connection to the earth, block unpleasant views, cover ugly surfaces, or add a vertical dimension to the garden. And some vines can also work as groundcovers in tough situations, like under evergreen trees.

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More About Vines

We’ve got a wonderful selection of vines right now! Last week we gave you an overview of vines and how to use them, based on their mechanisms for climbing. This week, let’s get into the details of some individual varieties.

 

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Summer Garden Beet Salad Recipe

from Mitten Lowe at Journey to Wellness

I love beets and beet greens for how grounding and nutritious they are – providing folate, dietary fiber, manganese, potassium, iron, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and more! This wonderful garden beet salad is a perfect way to utilize all parts of the beet plus it’s versatile and so incredibly satisfying.

 

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Ready Now

Geranium x cantabrigiense

Remember Spring of 2023? Cool, rainy and cloudy? We had many thousands of plants coming along from seed, cuttings and plugs. And under these challenging conditions, some of them took a very long time to reach the point when they became ready for sale. But they’re ready now! And some of our best groundcover plants for dry shade or part sun, Plumbago and hardy Geraniums (Cranesbills) are among them!

 

Here’s a list of some of the great plants, including many native plants (noted with an asterisk), we now have in stock.

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Organic Weed Management: Now

Non-toxic weed management, please!

by Mikl Brawner

The most effective time to remove weeds organically is NOW, when it’s HOT.

Harlequin’s Gardens is carrying two non-toxic* herbicides that WORK. There are non-toxic herbicides on the market that are a waste of money; we’ve tested them. The two we know that work are 20% Vinegar and Avenger Weed Killer.

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Japanese Beetles are Back

Japanese Beetle is one of the most damaging insect pests in the Eastern and Midwestern US, but
until fairly recently, Coloradans were spared that challenge. It entered the US in 1916, but took until 2003 before a population was established in Colorado.

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GARDEN VEGGIES & HERBS – 2024 Newsletter

GARDEN VEGGIES & HERBS

We’re bringing you a fantastic selection this year!

ARTICHOKE: Imperial Star

ARUGULA: Wild, Astro (spring), Ice Bred (fall)

ASIAN GREENS: Tat Soi, Joi Choi, Pak Choi, Red Giant and Miz America Mustards, Shiso and more!

BROCCOLI: Fiesta, Nutribud, Solstice, Broccoli Raab, Piracicaba

BRUSSEL SPROUTS: Speedia 

CABBAGE: Golden Acre, Red Acre

CAULIFLOWER: De Purple, Snow Crown

CELERIAC: Brilliant

COLLARDS: Georgia Southern and 4 more!

CUCUMBERS: 10 varieties including Lemon, Marketmore 76, Armenian, Nat’l Pickling, Silver Slicer, and more!

Lacinato Kale

KALE: Rainbow Dinosaur/Lacinato,  Red Russian, White Russian  Blue Curled Dwarf & 4 more!

LETTUCE: Several varieties of each type – Leaf, Butterhead, Romaine, Oakleaf,  Batavian, Dwarf, Mixed, Mesclun

RHUBARB: Glaskins Perpetual, Victoria, Canada Red

SPINACH: Caucasian Climbing Perennial (Hablitzia tamnoides), Bloomsdale, Sun Angel, & more!

SWISS CHARD: Seafoam, Fordhook Giant, Perpetual Spinach, 5-Color Silverbeet, and more

MELON: Minnesota Midget, Tuscany, Noir des Carmes

PUMPKIN: Casper, Cherokee Bush, Cinderella, Jarrahdale, Winter Luxury

SUMMER SQUASH: Black Beauty, Yellow Zephyr, Dirani, Tromboncino, Jaune et Verte Scallop, Summer Crookneck +

WATERMELON: 6 varieties including Early Moonbeam, Sugar Baby, Blacktail Mountain, Moon and Stars

WINTER SQUASH: 15 includes Kabocha, Spaghetti, Uncle David’s Buttercup, Acorn, Honeyboat Delicata, Silver Bell +

PLUS: Amaranth, Bulbing Fennel, Collards, Endive, Escarole, Ground Cherry, Kohlrabi, Okra, Tomatillo, Radicchio, Watercress & more!

HERBS, Culinary & Medicinal – Many varieties of THYME, LAVENDER, BASIL, MINT, ROSEMARY, SAGE, OREGANO, CHIVES, plus Parsley, French Tarragon, Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Lemon Balm, Lemon Thyme, Lime Balm, Marjoram,, Lemon Grass, Vietnamese Coriander, Pineapple Sage, Lemon Verbena, Borage, Savory, Lovage, Cutting Celery, Catnip, Calendula, Aloe, Greek Mountain Tea, Comfrey, Echinacea , Feverfew, Lobelia, Valerian, Motherwort, Mullein, Sweet Leaf, Lomatium, Hyssop, Anise Hyssop, Plantain, Clary Sage, Skullcap, Arnica, Sheep Sorrel, Self-Heal, Rue, Mugwort, Wormwood, and more.

 

The Inflation Reduction Act invests $20 billion to help the nation’s farmers respond to climate change…to plant perennial and cover crops and diversify crop rotations…that store carbon in the soil and build resilience against flood and drought.                                     

Union of Concerned Scientists

 

A Bit about Cucurbits

What’s a cucurbit? It’s any plant that’s in the Cucurbitaceae plant family. You eat them frequently and very likely grow them. This is the plant family that includes zucchini, summer and winter squash, pumpkin, cucumber, watermelon, cantaloupe and other sweet melons, and gourd.

 

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Time to Sow for Fall Harvests

The next few weeks are the perfect time to sow arugula, beets, small carrots, lettuce, kale, radish, and more!

You’re looking to sow veggies that will be harvestable before our first big frosts – often in early October.

We’re proud to bring you seeds from Botanical Interests. They say, “Nurturing seeds in the garden slows us down to reconnect to nature and earth, develops bonds in a community, and creates family traditions and memories. We’re so happy to be a part of that!” And we are, too!

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Mixed Herb Chimichurri Recipe

My favorite way to use fresh, home-grown Cilantro and my favorite way to get a concentrated hit of nutrition-packed greens is to make my own version of Chimichurri.

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The Event of the Century is Here!

Well, it’s almost here …… we couldn’t wait any longer to tell you about it! Some of you may have guessed that we’re talking about the blooming of Eve and  Mikl’s Agave parryi, aka Century Plant, which was planted 27 years ago. Last summer, Eve started whispering to it, suggesting that it might be time to think about blooming.

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