“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is NOW.” While this ancient Chinese proverb still rings true, fruit trees can begin to bear at a pretty young age, bringing satisfaction much sooner than a tree planted for shade or major presence in the landscape. We carry a wide selection of fruit trees proven to thrive and produce here in Colorado and taste great, and the apples, pears, cherries and plums on the list in the link below are in stock right now so that you can plant your own for years of enjoyment. (We don’t have peaches out at the moment – ask when you come in).
OLD-Blog
Special Woody Plants
Jamesia americana – Waxflower
Mikl has assembled a collection of some of our most interesting, unusual and hard-to-find woody plants, many of which are just ready for sale now. These include some excellent native trees, shrubs and ground-covers, as well as particularly interesting and worthy non-natives that thrive in Colorado conditions. We’d like to share some descriptive profiles with you here.
Beautiful, Bountiful Biennials
Digitalis purpurea – photo courtesy First Nature
Does everyone know what a biennial plant is? It’s a plant that spends its first year of life building a substantial root system and a basal rosette of foliage. In its second year, it will have the resources to support a season of massive blooming and seeding. After having done its job, it dies away, leaving the future of its kind to the new generation of seedlings it has created.[Read More]
The Spirit of Motherhood
The nursery industry is well aware that the majority of shoppers for plants are women. And it’s not just a cliché that women are the leaders in nurturing. Most of us are here because mothers took care of us when we were helpless. It is the spirit of motherhood, in people of all genders, that is turning lawns into gardens and gardens into habitat. When we take plants from pots and put them in to soil, they are helpless until they grow their roots into the earth. Our care and nurturing mothers them until they are more independent. Then our relationship becomes a partnership, and the plants give back to us, too.[Read More]
New This Week!
We are constantly bringing out new plants from our propagators and receiving deliveries of native, fruiting, perennial, woody and xeriscape specialty plants from our favorite local growers.
This week, we’re excited to bring you new tomato varieties, herbs and perennials.
Plant Select Turns 26
By Mikl Brawner
Not Just Another Pretty Face
We gardeners see a lot of branded plants in branded pots pushed with a lot of money to make a lot of money. That’s not the story with Colorado’s Plant Select program. Plant Select began as, and continues to be a plant promotion program genuinely aimed at the success of Rocky Mt. gardeners. It’s goals include saving water, supporting pollinators and encouraging a western garden aesthetic.
Legislature Forces HOA’s to Save Water on Landscaping
Around 60% of Coloradans live under a homeowner association. If you’re one of them, you know how difficult it is to get HOA approval for water-saving landscaping choices. Senate Bill 178 would allow homeowners to remove grass lawns, forcing HOAs to accept the alternative landscaping.
Benefits of the Beautiful Dandelion
Thinking this cheery yellow-flowered plant is a weed? Think again.
First of all, dandelions provide much needed early-season nutrition for the bees. If that wasn’t enough of a reason to let them into your garden, every part of this plant is good for you. Since ancient times dandelion has been used as a spring tonic. (That’s right, we’re suggesting eating the weeds!).
Blooming Without a Care
Argemone polyanthemos
by Mikl Brawner
DitchWeeds, Wildflowers, Native Forbs
Call them what you will: when Nature chooses, She knows what She’s doing. And She doesn’t need a human audience. Nature is happy playing to the bees, wasps, butterflies, moths and beetles. We humans can learn a thing or two just by noticing and appreciating Nature’s perfect performance. And that’s just what we gardeners do.
[Read More]
Own-Root Roses
Did your roses take a hit from the winter cold and strong winds we just experienced? Perhaps they look as though they didn’t make it, showing brown, shriveled canes and no new growth above the ground. Or maybe there are no signs of life on the canes, but there is new growth just coming up from the ground. Either way, if your roses are growing on their own roots, you’re in luck. If they were grafted onto a rootstock, the prospects are not so good.[Read More]
Earth Day Greetings!
It may sound trite or boastful, but truly – every day is Earth Day for us.
We are not just here to sell plants. We have a deep love and respect for plants and their roles in everything from making life on Earth possible for us humans and so many other life-forms, down to the minute details of their wondrous adaptations, behaviors and forms. We want to share all this with you,
Trees for a Changing Climate and a Resilient Urban Forest
Serviceberry
by Mikl Brawner
If you look at old photos of Colorado Front Range cities, you won’t see many trees. And if you look up native trees of Colorado, you will find a lot of mountain-growing conifers and just a few deciduous trees that grow natively along streams. And yet the quality of life for us humans depends on trees.
FEATURED EGGPLANT OFFERINGS – 2025 Spring Newsletter
BLACK BEAUTY – New Again! 75-80 days, Heirloom OP
perfect fruits earlier than other varieties. delicious grilled, baked, or fried. Broad, lustrous, purplish-black, egg-shaped 4” to 6” diameter (up to 2 lb) fruits are borne well off the ground on 18 to 24” plants; the skin is tender, so no need to peel
LISTADA de GANDIA 80-90 days, Spanish Heirloom
Stunning, sweet, mild, thin-skinned, never-bitter eggplants on heavy-yielding plants to 14” tall. The beautiful purple and white striped 8” oval fruits have firm texture for breading and frying for classic Italian and Spanish dishes.
ORIENT EXPRESS 58 days, F-1 hybrid
A very dependable, very early and very adaptable variety, with tender, mild-flavored, never bitter, quick-cooking flesh. High-yielding plants produce armloads of attractive, slender, glossy fruits 8-10” long x 1 ½ – 2 ½” diameter
FENGYUAN 65-75 days, heirloom Asian (Taiwan), OP
Slender and very long, over 12”, with beautiful thin purple skin (no peeling!) and creamy mild white flesh that’s never bitter. Easy to grow and prolific. Wonderful for grilling or stir-fries.
TSAKONIKI 65 days, Heirloom (Leonidio, Greece), OP
7-10” long slender fruits are purple striped with white, with delicate sweet flavor, never bitter. Great for savory dishes, and locals make a dessert with it!
for a complete list of 2025 Eggplant starts, click here
EGGPLANT OFFERINGS – 2023 Spring Newsletter
EGGPLANTS FOR 2023
KURUME LONG – New! 60 days, Open-pollinated
This popular, early and productive Japanese heirloom variety is a favorite for its cylindrical 9 to 10”- long, shiny black fruits with black calyx, excellent texture and mild, delicate flavor. The attractive, high-yielding plants are very vigorous. Can do well in containers.
New this Week!
A Wide selection of Roses, Peppers, Tomatoes, Pots and Planters!
This week, we have a great selection of Colorado-adapted, healthy, plants.
Choose from pepper and tomato plants, herbs, flowering annuals, native and non-native perennials, shrubs, trees, fruiting bushes and fruit trees. Plus the pots and planters you’ll need this season.[Read More]
Sharing a Call to Action for Local Pesticide Control
Mason Bee
Commentary needed on Senate Bill 23-192 – the Sunset Pesticide Applicators Act
Sometimes you can make a difference. Colorado’s People and Pollinators Action Network (PPAN) is organizing a letter campaign to legislators advocating for greater local control of pesticides.[Read More]
Seed Summer Fruits and Veggies Now!
Today (May 9) is the average last frost date in our area, and Mother’s Day is the traditional Colorado date considered ‘safe’ for planting.
Of course, we have lived through enough late-May freezes and snowstorms to be a bit cautious! We offer vital supplies to have on hand to protect your frost-sensitive plants. Ask about our row-cover fabrics when you come to the nursery.[Read More]
Plant Recovery After a Cold, Snowy Winter
We’ve just endured one of the coldest and snowiest winters in the last 16 years.
On December 22nd Boulder saw low temperatures of minus 24 degrees Fahrenheit, followed by minus 10 on January 30th , and again in late February the temperature fell to minus 11. These cold temperatures seem to be the explanation for damage to plants that we are seeing.[Read More]
“Carrots Love Tomatoes, Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening” by Louise Riotte
We have recently received a veritable avalanche of excellent well-written, regionally appropriate books about a wide range of gardening approaches, soils and plants, and more are on the way!
Greener Denver 2023
Voting for the Planet, and People
With the election a week away, we wanted to bring a visionary moral community effort to your attention. Over 30 of our local environmental groups are calling on Denver municipal candidates to work for the planet, and people.
This coalition has created “The Greener Denver Platform” for a healthy, thriving and climate-resilient future.
Pop-Up Markets for Your Bulbs and Gifts!
And now for the surprise! Just when you thought the gardening season was over, and that Harlequin’s Gardens has gone into winter hibernation until March 2024, we have a surprise for you! We will be open for 2 Saturday Pop-Up Markets, on November 11th and 18th from 10am to 4 pm!
Our earlier fall weather was so mild and beautiful that many of you weren’t ready to think about planting bulbs for spring flowers, let alone holiday gift giving. So these pop-ups will include lots of bulbs on sale (see below), and some of the CURATED ARTISANAL GIFTS we offered at our Holiday Gift Market, now 25% to 50% off.
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.
Self-Sowing Hardy Annuals
Some customers wonder why we are selling starts of self-sowing hardy annuals like Larkspur, Rocky Mt. Beeplant, California Poppy, Peony-flowered Poppy, Sweet Alyssum and Desert Bluebell. Shouldn’t they be grown from seed sown directly in the garden? The answer is Yes, they certainly can be, and if you find a source for the seeds and sow them at the optimal time, usually in the fall, you can get great results. But some gardeners report having little or no success with direct sowing: their timing is off, the seeds are watered in and then dry up and are no longer viable, critters eat the seeds, etc. [Read More]
Get Involved! 2023 Farm Bill
Every 5 years or so Congress has the opportunity to transform our food system by revising a piece of legislation known as the Farm Bill, which covers everything from supporting farmers to ensuring food security for all. Politicians and local and national advocacy organizations are working to determine how nearly a billion dollars a year will be spent. You can help!
TOMATO OFFERINGS – 2023 Spring Newsletter
A Few New & ‘New Again’ TOMATOES: Offering 73 varieties!
BURRELL’S SPECIAL – New Again! 70-75 days, Hybrid, Determinate
A very productive and ‘picture perfect’ large red salad/slicer tomato developed by Burrell’s seed company of Rocky Ford, CO. The flattened globe fruits average 8 oz, 3” x 2.5”, and have excellent sweet, balanced flavor, plump, meaty texture and small cores, good heat tolerance, and demonstrated ability to set fruit in hot weather. Vines grow to 4’.
CASCADE VILLAGE BLUE – New Again! 75 days, Open-Pollinated, Indeterminate
This lovely indigo saladette type tomato holds well on and off the vine, is beautiful, and tastes great, too. Dark purple-skinned, 3 oz globes ripen to red on the bottom, with a red star shape that forms under the calyx, common to indigo tomatoes. Flesh is red, foliage has a dark purple tinge.
Dr. WYCHE’s YELLOW – New Again! 80 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate
Dr. Wyche’s has been away too long! One of the great heirloom tomatoes featured in Dr. Carolyn Male’s book ‘100 Heirloom Tomatoes’. The yellow fruits are large (up to 1 lb), slightly flattened globes, with very richly flavored flesh , fruity and complex, meaty and blemish-free. When completely ripe, they are golden-orange.
FLAMING BURST – New! 70 days, Open-pollinated, Indeterminate
These crack-resistant, 1oz, 1.25 x 1.75”, golden orange fruits look like a cross between a pear tomato and a cherry tomato, in clusters on a steadily productive plant. Meaty but not dense; juicy and sweet but tangy, not insipid, with the flavor and nuance that so many yellow pears tomatoes lack. The high-yielding plants grow to a manageable 4′ tall.
JERSEY DEVIL– New! 85 days, Open-pollinated, Indeterminate
Jersey Devil is a brilliant red, very prolific heirloom paste-type variety shaped like a plump banana pepper. These sweet and richly flavored, 4 to 6” tomatoes are solid and very meaty, great for making into sauces and salsas, and even eating fresh, and have very few seeds. Vines grow 3’ to 5’ tall, , fruits can be colossal! They yield very heavily.
LARGE RED CHERRY – New! 75-80 days, Open-pollinated, Indeterminate
This famous 19th century cross between a smaller currant-type wild tomato and a domesticated garden tomato bears clusters of sweet, juicy, bright red 1″ to 1.25” diameter round fruits over a long season on tall, vigorous vines. Ideal for salads, stuffing, and snacking.
MOUNTAIN DELIGHT – New! 70 days, Hybrid, Determinate
One of the Mountain series developed by NC State University and similar to Mountain Fresh and Mountain Spring, but plants are more compact with higher yields. Bright red flattened globes weigh 10 oz. and are firm and flavorful, great for salads, slicing and sandwiches. Healthy determinate vines grow to 3 to 5’ tall and are resistant to many diseases.
ORANGE KING – New Again! 65 days. Open-pollinated, Semi-Determinate
One of the earliest full-size tomatoes to ripen and one of the best producers of tennis-ball-size, very meaty, bright orange globes that can weigh up to ¾ lb. Blemish-free fruit grow on stocky 3’ bushes that are easy to cage. An excellent short-season slicing variety, it has great low-acid, sweet, fruity flavor. This Orange King was bred by Tim Peters
PINK BUMBLE BEE – New! 65-70 days, Open-pollinated, Indeterminate
Recently bred by Artisan Seeds to perform under tough conditions, these gorgeous, streaked cherry
tomatoes hang in trusses of pinks, yellows and oranges. Vigorous, tall vines yield loads of crack-resistant fruit over a very long season; bright, sweet flavor; tolerates cool nights and hot days.
SUNRAY – New! 75 days, Open-Pollinated, Indeterminate The beautiful golden orange, blemish-free, 6 to 9oz fruits have a meaty texture and rich, sweet and tangy flavor, said to rival the best reds and perfect for salads, sandwiches, slicing or canning. Vigorous, leafy, high-yielding vines have strong resistance to Fusarium wilt. They are known to be very drought-tolerant and thrive in hot, dry climates.
Returning Varieties: ‘Anasazi’, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Big Rainbow, Black from Tula, Black Krim, Black Prince, Black Sea Man, Cherokee Purple, Chianti Rose, Dona, Gold Medal, Italian Heirloom, Moskvitch, Pink Brandywine (Sudduth), Pruden’s Purple, Striped German, Burrell’s Special, chocolate Cherry, Isis Candy, Juliet, Large Red Cherry, Lemon Drop, Matt’s Wild Cherry, Mexico Midget, SunGold, Supersweet 100, Tommy Toe, Gold Nugget, Red Robin, Stupice, Tasmanian Chocolate, Tidy Treats, Tumbling Tom Yellow, Cuor di Bue, Martino’s Roma, Native Sun, Jaune Flamme, Principe Borghese, San Marzano Redorta, Blush, Garden Peach, Glacier, Green Zebra, Indigo Apple, Floradade, Better Boy, Bella Rosa, Bush Early Girl, Carmello, Chocolate Stripes, Cosmonaut Volkov, Orange King, Sasha’s Altai, Azoychka, Black Truffle, Paul Robeson, Pink Berkeley Tie Dye, Taxi, Thessaloniki, Super Sioux (Lakota).
New Year’s Greeting!
Two quotations greet me every morning, posted on our bathroom mirror: “Tell me. What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” (poet Mary Oliver) and “I wake up each morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. This makes it very hard to plan the day.” (author/editor E. B. White). The first inspires me to define my priorities, while the second, which perfectly describes my daily dilemma, allows me a little slack and sense of humor in the midst of my personal chaos and the chaos of life on Earth in this time. Perhaps you can take some inspiration and comfort from them, too.
Thanks, Volunteers!
Gary Meis teaching
Last Saturday a group of dedicated plantspeople came in from the cold to learn and volunteer with Harlequin’s Gardens’ expert propagator Gary Meis. We’re passing a few of his native plant seeding and propagation tips along to you.
Warming Herbal Tea Recipe
Herbal Tea
Herbal Teas are some of the best home-grown medicines! This time of year infusions of herbs from Harlequin’s Gardens plants you’ve grown can keep you well, and warm.
Wonderful Winter Squash Recipe
Buttercup, one of the sweetest squash with dry, golden flesh.
This past season Harlequin’s offered several delicious varieties of pumpkin and winter squash, from arguably the finest tasting pie pumpkin, Winter Luxury, to Buttercup, Butternut and Kabocha.. With cold weather on the way, this week is the perfect time to try a nourishing recipe with your harvests (just in time for Thanksgiving!).
Here’s a recipe from Boulder’s Mitten Lowe and Journey to Wellness for Apple Cider-Glazed Butternut Squash. It’s sure to keep you warm from the inside out. [Read More]
POTATO, ONION and ASPARAGUS – 2024 Newsletter
POTATOES
German Butterball, Nicola, Purple Majesty, Harvest Moon, Sangre (all certified seed potatoes from the San Luis Valley).
Potatoes should be in soon! Call before you come to be sure we have them!
ONIONS – In Store Now!
In bundles – Patterson, Redwing, Walla Walla. In store now!
In pots – Ailsa Craig, Red Long of Tropea, Red Marble and Gold Coin cipollini, Rossa di Milano, Walla Walla. In store now!
LEEKS: King Richard, Blue Solaise.
SHALLOTS: Crème Brulee, Zebrune.
ASPARAGUS – in store now!
Jersey Knight – All-male hybrid with big spears, doesn’t produce seeds so doesn’t become weedy. Best selection for dense clay soils. Very productive & disease resistant. Cold-hardy to Zone 2 (5 crowns per bag)
Purple Passion – Beautiful deep burgundy spears with high sugar content and antioxidants. Delicious, tender, less fibrous, great raw, turns green when cooked (5 crowns per bag).
for more descriptions, click here and scroll down to Asparagus, Onions and Potatoes!
Q: Can I plant now?
Spinach Start
Q: Can I plant now?
A: It depends!
Yay! Warm days remind us that the threat of frost will soon be gone! If you’re planting hardy perennials, shrubs, vines, grasses or trees, you’re good to go now (as long as your soil isn’t too wet to work). Our stock of seeds and starts for cool-season greens like arugula, spinach, chard, kale and lettuce are in and ready to plant. And you can get a head start on tomatoes!
GARDEN VEGGIES & HERBS – 2023 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: Tatsoi, Pak Choi, Mustards, Mizuna, Senposai, Shiso and more!
BROCCOLI: Fiesta, Nutribud, Aspabroc, Sorrento Broccoli Raab, Piracicaba
CAULIFLOWER: De Purple, Snow Crown
BRUSSEL SPROUTS: Speedia
CABBAGE: Red Acre, Red Express, All Seasons
CELERY: Ventura
CELERIAC: Brilliant
CUCUMBERS: Lemon, Marketmore 76, Armenian, Nat’l Pickling, Silver Slicer, Spacemaster 80, Shintokiwa, and more!
Lacinato Kale
KALE: True Siberian, Red Russian, Dinosaur/Lacinato, Dazzling Blue, White Russian, Baltisk Red, Dwarf Blue Curled, & 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, Giant Nobel, Lavewa, & more!
SWISS CHARD: Bright Lights, Seafoam, Fordhook Giant, Perpetual Spinach, Ruby Red Rhubarb, Rainbow
MELON: Minnesota Midget, Tuscany, Noir des Carmes
PUMPKIN: Casper, Cherokee Bush, Cinderella, Jarrahdale, Winter Luxury
SUMMER SQUASH: Black Beauty, Costata Romanesca, Dirani, Cocozelle, Jackpot, White Bush Lebanese, Tromboncino, Jaune et Verte Scallop, Yellow Summer
WATERMELON: Early Moonbeam, Golden Midget, Sweet Dakota Rose, Sugar Baby
WINTER SQUASH: Kabocha, Stella Blue, Spaghetti, Uncle David’s Buttercup, Tuffy Acorn, Table Queen Acorn, Honeyboat Delicata, Sweet Dumpling, Butter Baby Butternut and more!
PLUS: Amaranth, Bulbing Fennel, Collards, Endive, Escarole, Ground Cherry, Kohlrabi, Okra, Tomatillo, Radicchio, Watercress & more!
And LOTS of HERBS, both 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.
Go to www.HarlequinsGardens.com/Plants/edibles/Vegetables for excellent descriptions of the hundreds of varieties we offer!
We think we are so smart, in a clever way, but these plants have been breeding microbes for centuries which has resulted in wise evolutionary traits that they have developed.
Walter Goldstein, Mandaamin Institute
PERENNIALS – 2025 Spring Newsletter
Harlequin’s Huge Selection of pollinator-supporting Native Perennials-including:
Castilleja integra – Indian Paintbrush – Brilliant scarlet-orange early summer hummingbird magnet, challenging
Allium cernuum – Nodding Onion – 1’+ tall graceful, nodding scapes of light to deep pink flowers are bee-loved
Heterotheca pumila – Alpine Goldenaster – a rare Rocky Mt. subalpine/alpine wee mound dotted with golden daisies for the butterflies and bees
Hymenoxys argentea, H. scaposa – Perky Sue – Lemon yellow daisies dance above tight linear foliage clumps, xeric
Native Yarrow- clusters of white flowers for pollinators, strong spreading for natural lawn; herb-medicine, supports many native beneficials and pollinators
Lithospermum multiflorum – very pretty, small golden yellow trumpets on 18” shrublet for part shade; north or east exposure. Foothills native no other nursery carries
Scarlet Gilia
Scarlet Gilia- Ipomopsis aggregata- red trumpets on 2’-3’ stems call in the hummingbirds; very show in the garden
Native Campanula rotundifolia- sweet blue bells on 12”-16” stems for pollinators; tough in dry part shade
Sulfur Flower–Kannah Creek, Eriogonum umbellatum, E. jamesii: yellow pom-pom flowers are important to butterflies, best native ground cover
Asclepias incarnata & Asclepias tuberosa – Butterfly Weed, pretty flowers, 1’-2’ high, essential Monarch butterfly food
Native Bee-Balm –Monarda fistulosa: Showy purple blooms bring bees, hummers, butterflies; deer-resistant
Penstemon secundiflorus (Sidebells Penstemon)
Many Penstemons including:
P. virens: 2”x 8”, short spikes of blue flowers; shiny, dark evergreen leaves
Penstemon secundiflorus: violet-pink flowers, silvery foliage, long lived local wildflower and dozens of other species!
Many Columbines including: Rocky Mt., Denver Gold, Western Red, Barneby’s, and more!
Purple Prairie Clover – long lived xeric native loved by many bee species, bright purple-pink, nitrogen-fixing.
Gaillardia aristata- BlanketFlower – beautiful 2″ yellow daisies with notched petals, red centers, can bloom all summer, drought-tolerant. We have the local genotype
Liatris punctata-Gayfeather – butterfly essential late summer/fall, 1′ tall purple spikes, xeric
Oenothera caespitosa
Oenotheras-Evening Primroses – O. caespitosa (Tufted Evening Primrose) – gorgeous big fragrant white blossoms age pink
Chocolate Flower – 12″ x 24″ wide, yellow daisies with chocolate fragrance, very xeric, blooms all summer
Sphaeralcea munroana: Hardy, 18” vivid orange blooms all spring, bee-loved, low-water, silver leaves, rare
Erysimum wheeleri/Wheeler’s Wallflower: Tall, long-blooming biennial, vivid burnt-orange flowers, HG exclusive!
Engelmannia peristenia/Engelman Daisy: Plant Select, neat golden daisies all summer, 18”h low-water beauty
Townsendia hookeri & kin: Native ‘Easter Daisies” grow dry, begin bloom super-early in neat little clumps
Echinacea angustifolia/Narrow-leaf Coneflower: premier immune herb, large pink or white summer blooms on tall stems bring butterflies, finches
Agave Neomexicana ‘Big Blue’-bold, often blue broad blades with sharp spine at the end, evergreen, showy
Native Pussytoes, Aster, Skyrocket Ipomopsis, Blazing Star, Navajo Tea, Prairie Sundrops (Calylophus serrulatus) and many more!
PLUS many great non-Natives including:
Many Agastaches –Blue Fortune, A. rupestris, A. foeniculum, Coronado and ‘Ava’
Sage: culinary, Purple, Berggarten, Blue Hill, May Night, Caradonna, Furman’s Red, Mojave, S. azurea, S. argentea
Dianthus – Tuscan Honeymoon-grassy foliage, 2’-3’ stalks of pink flowers late summer; D. gratianopolitanus – very tough groundcover. very fragrant pink flowers, durable; D. Blue Hills – the bluest foliage, fragrant flowers, 12” diameter; D. Petraeus noeanus – Jasmine Dianthus, powerfully fragrant
Geranium ‘Rozanne’
Hardy Geraniums – Biokovo, Splendens, St. Ola, Crystal Rose, Cambridge, Ballerina, G. macrorrhizum, G.sanguineum
Echinacea purpurea, Magnus, White Swan, E. tennesseensis, E. pallida, E. paradoxa, E. angustifolia
Rosemary – Arp, Madeline Hill, Tuscan Blue, Prostrata
Harlequin’s Silver Germander (2024 Plant Select!) T. rotundifolium, T. chamaedrys
Many Lavenders – Royal Velvet, Grosso, Twickle Purple, Munstead, Hidcote, Thumbalina Leigh, Vera, Wee One
Ornamental Oregano – Kent’s Beauty, Amethyst Falls, etc, cascading groundcovers, long blooming, bee-loved.
Plus: Scabiosa Fama, Sedum nevii, Corsican Violet, Limonium gmelinii, Lallemantia canescens, Firefly Coralbells, various Iris, many sedums, several creeping Veronicas, Liatris, Plumbago, Amsonia and even Daphnes
Rock Garden and Crevice Plants:
Campanulas, Townsendias, Delospermas, , Physaria, Daphnes, Asphodeline, Aethionema, Hosta Venusta, Dwarf Iris, Erigerons, Erodiums and more
Papaver ‘Lauren’s Grape’
Tough Annuals:
Snapdragon, Marigolds, Lauren’s Grape Poppy, Petunias, Datura, Pansies, Calif. Poppy, Nicotiana, Salvias, Honeywort and many more!
2025 Membership and Gift Certificates – Perfect Gifts
Still looking for the Perfect Gifts for Gardeners?
Gift Certificates and 2025 Memberships are sure to please this holiday season! We want to express our thanks and gratitude to all 2024 members, and to invite you to become a 2025 Member today.[Read More]
SOIL LIFE PRODUCTS – 2025 Newsletter
VERY SPECIAL PRODUCTS TO BENEFIT YOUR SOIL LIFE & YOUR PLANT LIFE
SOIL BIOLOGY
Big Foot Mycorrhizae – combines 4 species of mycorrhizae with biochar, worm castings, seaweed, and rock minerals to provide a strong population of plant allies to bring water and nutrients. NEW
Endo Mycorrhizae – water soluble symbiotic fungus, inoculate roots to bring water and nutrients. Easy to use and very effective. Good for shrubs and trees, veggies too; dissolve in water, wet roots
Myke Vegetable and Herb–enhances growth, development & production; wet roots and dust on the powder or sprinkle in seed row to improve germination
Hold off on Spring Cleanup and Build a Strong Backyard Ecosystem
Praying Mantis Egg Case
It’s the time of year when we’re itching to begin planting for the season and preparing for this year’s growth. But hold onto those shears! We know that regeneration is occurring in our soil, with microbes and overwintering insects. Delaying Spring cleanup for another few weeks will ensure a healthy, vibrant ecosystem that best supports your plants. Here are tips for you to best help this process take place, while still having an aesthetically pleasing garden. [Read More]
Final Week of our 30th Season!
We are coming to the end of Harlequin’s 30th year in business and in service to the community. We are so grateful that you have supported us all these years. You have found us in our hidden location, told your friends about us, planted our native flora, xeriscape and pollinator-supporting selections and organic veggie starts, and supported your soil life with our help. This partnership over 30 years has made a difference in our local ecology and in people’s individual lives. Our dedication to organic gardening has been multiplied by thousands of you. [Read More]
Fall Sale 2022 Final Week!
In tandem with the close of October, our 2022 Fall Sale will end this Sunday at 5pm. Before then, be sure to take advantage of our Fall Sale Discounts, which can help you achieve your end-of-season gardening goals with plants and soil products that are 30% off! (Sale exceptions listed below.)
TREES – 2025 Spring Newsletter
The TREES we sell are smaller than ball & burlap trees that are dug in the field, leaving at least 75% of their roots in the ground. Ours are grown in a container so they have a complete root system and begin growing immediately and are not stressed. Selected for resilience and success in Colorado and global warming and difficult conditions.
Russian Hawthorn
Very tough and xeric, grows 15’ high and wide, white flowers and red berries, loves Colorado
Rocky Mt. Maple
Native to our foothills, likes to grow in the protection of other trees, red fall color, 10’-15’
Gambel Oak and Wavyleaf Oak
Both natives that grow 10’-15’, with little water and poor soil, support birds
Hackberry
Good shade tree to replace an ash, a fast-growing hardwood, the most drought tolerant shade tree
White Mulberry
The hardiest mulberry, 25-30’ tall and wide, very xeric, white fruit is tasty and does not stain
Chokecherry. Credit: CO Springs Utilities Xeriscaping
Golden Rain Tree
25′ xeric tree with golden flowers in July, lantern-like pods, seeds abundantly
Chokecherry
Native, suckering tree to 15′-25′ with white flowers, edible fruit; great for birds and butterflies
Sucker Punch Chokecherry
Leaves start green then turn red all season, non-suckering, white flowers, berries
Silver Buffaloberry (Shepherdia)
10′ native tree with edible red fruit, silver leaves, very xeric, few thorns
Mayday Tree (Prunus padus)
20′-30′ with clusters of white flowers, then bird fruit, fast screen
Catalpa speciosa
Catalpa
40′-50′ with vertical habit, orchid-like flowers, huge round leaves, 12″ beans, xeric and special
Arizona Cypress
20′-30′ evergreen, blue foliage is fragrant, not scratchy, quite fast growing, bird favorite
Plus, Honeylocust, Flowering Crab Apples, Silver Maple, Bur Oak, Thornless Cockspur Hawthorn, Aspen, Ptelea (Wafer Ash), Kentucky Coffee Tree, Ohio Buckeye, Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry, Hot Wings Maple, Native Birch, and many more.
Fall Sale in Full Swing!
This is such a nice time of the year to putter in the garden! It’s also a good opportunity to look ahead and amend your planting beds and lawn for Spring 2023. Our Fall Sale Discounts can help you achieve your end-of-season gardening goals with plants and soil products that are 30% off! (Sale exceptions listed below.)
Big Changes in Colorado Curbside Compost Collection
Spring is here and the time is right for dancing in the garden – to stay warm!
You can also work up a mild sweat by beginning your spring clean-up. If you have not yet sheared back your cool-season grasses, like Alkali Sacaton, Appalachian Sedge, June Grass, Korean Feather Grass, Karl Foerster’s Feather Reed grass and other Calamagrostis varieties, now is the time. And if you have any Clematis vines that are categorized in Pruning Group 3, February and March are the best times for cutting them back to 1 set of growth nodes above the ground.
June is Colorado Pollinator Month!
We’re celebrating all month, and we’d love to encourage you to support pollinators in your gardens.
Pollinator Month is a special time for Harlequin’s Gardens – a time when we celebrate the hard work of bees (honeybees, solitary bees, bumblebees) wasps, ants, flies and bee flies, butterflies and moths, beetles, some bats and birds, and some mammals. They’re all around us, connecting the dots between flowers and food.
Come check out our special pollinator display, which is our whole facility! The descriptive signage on most of our plants is marked with bee, hummingbird, and butterfly icons, and you might notice that almost everything is important to bees, of which we have over 500 species here in Boulder County alone. Even our native bunch grasses can provide nesting sites for bumblebees in the dried leaves at the bottom. [Read More]
Second Chance Shrubs
Photo credit: Plant Select®
Our shrubs are all given great care here at the nursery, but occasionally we find some that have a little damage or are sulking because they really want to get out of the pot and into the ground. To help them all find good homes where they will grow and prosper, we are bringing out these ‘seconds’ at substantially discounted prices. We will continue to bring out more as they sell.
Right now, we are offering: [Read More]
Fall Sale Continues!
Our 2022 Big Fall Sale continues, with 30% off most plants!
Sept. 20 thru end of the season take 30% off perennials, shrubs, roses, and trees, and 30% off soil products in big bags, and Compost Tea. (No discount on fruit trees, veggies, bulbs, 2023 seeds, or Holiday Market Books).
In our experience, fall is the most successful time to establish most plants, especially when mycorrhizae are applied to the roots during planting (and we’re well stocked with several types of mycorrhizae!). We have a large and diverse selection of perennials, particularly in larger quart and gallon sizes, that are ready for planting. (Photo: Grass Calamagrostis brachytricha)
Daylilies Shine in Mid-Summer
Daylilies are old favorites for good reasons. They are:
Low maintenance
Cold hardy (to USDA Zone 3)
Moderately drought-tolerant
Very attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds
Adaptable to a variety of soil conditions
Disease-free and pest-free
Graceful, eye-catching, and long-blooming
Available in a very wide range of colors and sizes
Rabbit-resistant
Fast-growing
Good for erosion control
Edible and tasty
And we still have some wonderful varieties in stock! And they are in bloom! [Read More]
Fall Sale Updates & More!
Our Big Fall Sale continues with many fresh, new plants added. We are continually propagating and potting up plants, and some of them are just ready now, just in time to go on sale at 25% off!
Our 2022 Deep Discount Area opens today & our Big Fall Sale continues, with 25% off for everyone! Included in this week’s sale are:
Sept. 6 thru 11 Enjoy:
- 25% off perennials, grasses, vines, shrubs, and trees
- 20% off Roses. Note: the discount on roses will not increase
- 20% off Compost Tea.
No discounts on fruit trees, veggie starts, and bulbs.
Watering in the Heat
In this period of high heat, we need to take special care of ourselves and our plants. Just as it makes sense to drink more water in the heat, it makes sense to water plants more often than usual. We water twice as much in July as we do in other months. BUT REMEMBER that plant roots need air, too. And if the soil is continually wet, plant roots won’t be able to use the water, and may rot. The best approach is still to water deeply, but not too frequently.
Versatile Hardy Geraniums
Hardy Geraniums are some of the most versatile an adaptable perennials for our area! Available in many colors and habits, they can be useful in sun and shade, moist and dry, as individual specimens, companion plants and ground covers.
These are not to be confused with Pelargoniums, the popular house plant, container and bedding plant Zonal “Geraniums” and Ivy “Geraniums,” which are not cold-hardy outdoors in Colorado. The name “geranium” is derived from a Greek word meaning little crane, hence the common name “cranesbill” which refers to the appearance of the seed heads. [Read More]
WATER-WISE SHRUBS & VINES – 2025 Newsletter
Clematis ‘Ville de Lyon’
We have a large selection of drought-tolerant and water-wise Shrubs AND Vines.
These Native shrubs will need no watering after their first year (except in drought):
Yucca: glauca-local, stiff evergreen, sharp blades; Y. baccata-arching evergreen, dramatic blades, striking in winter
Rabbitbrush: tall blue & tall green 4’-6’; dwarf-2’-3’; yellow flowers late summer for pollinators, shear after flowering
Apache Plume: single, white flowers with pinkish seed plumes, 4’-6’ arching habit; spreading slowly, easy
Sumacs: Rocky Mt. 3’-6’’ more upright; Three Leaf 4’-5’spreading; both have red berries, red fall color
Sage: Artemisia Big Sage 6’-9’; Sand Sage 3’-5’; Artemisia cana 2’-4’; all with silver aromatic leaves
Mt. Mahogany: Curlleaf 12’-18’ evergreen; True Leaf 6’-9’ deciduous; Little Leaf 5’ evergreen; all for sun
Fernbush: 5’x5’ clusters of white flowers for pollinators and beneficial insects, can bloom twice
Lead Plant: 3’-4’ open form, spikes of purple flowers for pollinators, nitrogen fixing
Snowberry: 4’-5’ dense, spreading; tiny early flowers, showy white berries in fall; OK in very dry shade, part shade
Rock Spirea-Holodiscus: 3’-6’ white flowers in panicles dry to pink; reddish fall color
New Mexican Privet (Forestiera): 9’-12’ multistem tree, good screen, females have blue berries for the birds
Buffaloberry: 8’-12’ tree, silver leaves, tiny flowers for pollinators, females can have red edible berries
Chilopsis linearis-Desert Willow: 10-15’ tall, multi-trunked, orchid-like pink-purple flowers, xeric, beautiful
Quercus gambelii-Gambel Oak: 15-25’ often multi-trunked small tree, tolerates alkaline and dry soils
Quercus undulata-Wavy-leaf Oak: 15-25’ small tree, natural hybrid with variable leaf size and color, xeric
These Native shrubs are also water-wise. Water once a week to establish, and later once a week to once a month, depending on exposure, soil and community:
Serviceberry- Amelanchier alnifolia: 6’-12’, white flowers for pollinators, edible fruit for birds and people, red fall color
Boulder Raspberry: 4’-5’ arching shrub, white rose-like flowers, likes growing next to a big rock, fruit for birds
Western Sandcherry: 4’-6’, white fragrant flowers for pollinators, berries for birds, soft red fall color
Pawnee Buttes selection has the same flowers and fruit, but is only 1’-2’ high and 6’ wide and Boulder Creeping is more prostrate
Cheyenne Mockorange: 6’, white, very sweetly fragrant flowers; very hardy and tough; sun/ part shade
Native Currants-Gwen’s Buffalo & Crandall Clove: very fragrant yellow flowers for pollinators; dependable delicious larger berries for people and birds, attractive red/orange fall color 4’x4’; for your edible landscape; sun/pt. shade
Native Elderberry: clusters of white flowers, clusters of red berries for the birds 5’-10’; part shade
Creeping Mahonia: 6”-16”, evergreen, yellow flowers for pollinators, blue berries for birds; part shade
Mountain Ninebark-Physocarpus monogynus: 3’-4’ compact shrub, clusters of small flowers, orange-red fall color
Jamesii americana-Waxflower: 4’-6’ shrub; fragrant, waxy flowers white to blush pink, part-shade, some watering
Non-native but Colorado adapted and drought-tolerant shrubs. Water once a week the first year, and once a week or once a month from then on depending on location, soil and drought conditions:
Lilac, Cotoneaster (most), Nanking Cherry, Prunus tenella, Sumac, Smokebush, Blue Mist Spirea, Genista lydia, Philadelphus-Mikl’s Pick, Silver Butterfly Bush, Harison’s Yellow Rose, Siberian Pea Shrub
Vines:
Honeysuckle, Trumpet Vine, Wisteria, Clematis, Euonymus, Ivy, Ampelopsis and MORE
No one can stop us from voting with our dollars. Green America
Safe Pest Management for Bees, Kids, and the Planet
The Good News is that out of about 900,000 insect species currently living on our planet, only 1% to 3% are pests. We do not need systemic neonicotinoids (neonics) or any toxic pesticides to grow plants well. The solution is to employ human attention, biodiversity, nutrient-dense soils, application of nontoxic management, and tolerance.
The Bad News is that most people and most nurseries don’t know the good news. They believe the chemical companies when they tell us that we need to fear and attack insects and fungi as enemies. [Read More]