Harlequins Gardens

Boulder's specialist in well-adapted plants

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Open (almost) Year-Round!

At this time of year, many of you probably share with me the bittersweet feeling of closure drawing near. It’s been another immensely rewarding growing season at Harlequin’s, and we are so grateful to have had the opportunity to introduce hundreds of new Colorado gardeners to appropriate and successful materials and methods, as well as helping so many longtime, like-minded sustainable gardeners. For 32 years we have been providing pollinator-safe Colorado-appropriate plants, products, information and advice based on our ongoing research and long experience, and we look forward to carrying this service well into the future. Thank you all for your support! But we’ve extended our season and we’re not done yet!

This week we are still open Tuesday through Sunday, 9am to 5pm and we still have beautiful plants (30% off), fantastic spring-blooming bulbs to plant now (20% off), seeds (many 60% off), composts and mulches, fertilizers and pest repellents, houseplants and much more.

We’ll be closed briefly for inventory, from Oct. 31st through Nov. 6th.

We will RE-OPEN November 7th and remain open from 10am to 5pm through December 22nd, every Thursday through Sunday.

 Our 13th Annual Holiday Market opens Thursday Nov. 21st and runs through December 22nd.

 After the winter holidays, we’ll RE-OPEN AGAIN from On January 2nd, 2025 for 3 days a  week (Thursday through Saturday) from 10am to 4pm until we start over on Saturday March 1st!

Don’t be a stranger! Come and see what we have to offer year-round.

 

Books We Love

This week’s warm weather aside, December is the time we cozy up indoors to dream about next season’s garden, and to decide what new techniques to try and which plants to grow. Winter is for gardening books, and we have quite a few in stock that we’d like to suggest for you. Whether you have a book club or just a comfortable chair to curl up into, these titles are sure to fire your imagination.

[Read More]

Strategies for a Dry Fall

FALL GARDEN CARE

In the ‘Old Normal’, by now, we would expect to have had some light frosts and maybe some killing frost in the Denver-Boulder area. And some rain, and even snow. And lots of leaves would have fallen from the trees and shrubs. Most of us with irrigation systems would have had them blown out and turned off.  But this long extension of summer heat and drought is definitely not the Normal we used to rely on. As gardeners, we have to adapt. Here are some suggestions for fall garden maintenance under these new conditions.

PLANTING
Perennials, Trees & Shrubs: This fall we have a great opportunity to continue planting! We’ve had some of our best successes with transplanting hardy roses, shrubs, trees and perennials in October. There is enough time for new plants to establish before the soil freezes. Do mulch your new plantings (see mulching section below), and water thoroughly and frequently while daytime temperatures remain above 40 degrees and the soil has not yet frozen. We still have a lot of really great plants in great condition, and nearly all of them are on sale! See our Fall Sale details below.[Read More]

Bulbs for Every Garden, by Eve Reshetnik-Brawner

Every garden should include some spring-blooming bulbs. And some fall-blooming bulbs as well. “But” you say – “my entire garden is devoted to native plants to support native pollinators and other native critters; and hyacinths, crocus, tulips and daffodils are not even native to the North American continent”.

While growing an all-native garden is a great idea, and supporting our local ecosystems is an important endeavor, there are good reasons for including some non-native plants, especially plants that extend the flowering season at either end. They will attract and support honeybees, bumblebees, mason bees, and other pollinating insects at times of the year when flowers are relatively scarce.

If deer roam in your yard, we offer a lovely assortment of highly deer-resistant (toxic to deer) spring-flowering Narcissus (daffodils) that span from early to late spring, in many sizes and color combos, some of them quite fragrant. [Read More]

Seedy, by Eve Reshetnik-Brawner

I have a passion for seeds, for the elegant and endlessly diverse designs of their natural packaging, their fascinating distribution and germination strategies, and for the astonishing emergence of exuberant life from even the most minute speck of a seed. I once grew a Eucalyptus gunnii tree from seed the size of a dust mote. It grew, outdoors (in Eugene, Oregon) for several years, reaching 16’ tall until an unusually heavy snowstorm broke all the branches off. And in its native Tasmania it could have reached 135 feet! In addition to collecting seeds from plants in the wild and in my pollinator garden at home, I collect seeds at this time of year from my vegetable garden to enable Harlequin’s Gardens to offer unique and commercially unavailable varieties of tomatoes (“Anasazi”) and peppers (Lanterna Piccante), wild perennial arugula, and perennial Caucasian Spinach vine.

When planning for garden seed-saving, remember these basic guidelines:[Read More]

What’s Blooming Now In Eve’s Garden

Unruly. Out of control. Overgrown. That’s my garden this year. But it’s still beautiful in its own wild way, and it’s hosting more beneficial insects and pollinators than ever. One of the things I love about both the natural landscape and my own garden is the constant evolution, the sequence of growth and bloom and seed formation, the ever-changing scene.

Some elements in nature and in the garden are quite ephemeral; if you look away, you might miss them altogether. But it’s so exciting to be present, to be looking when, for example, the Angel’s Trumpet (Datura meteloides or wrightii) flowers unfurl, and to breath their intoxicating fragrance in the night. Some

Colchicum cilicicum

appear on the scene with no prior notice, like the Colchicum flowers that just appeared this morning, as if by spontaneous generation, bursting through the Plumbago, or in spots that were bare yesterday!

By the way, Waterlily Colchicums, Autumn Crocus and fall-blooming Saffron Crocus bulbs are here, and ready to plant now![Read More]

Recipe – Nourishing Warming Bowl with Garden Veggies

With cold on the way, the sun going down before 5pm when we turn back the clock this weekend, and Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’s time for nourishing food to support our immune system and to support the body against Seasonal Affective Disorder, often triggered by changing seasons and decrease in sunlight. This recipe is a great way to use the last of the fall vegetables that you might have rescued before tonight’s freeze, from our friend and nutritional coach Mitten Lowe.[Read More]

Perfect Fall Recipe from the Apple Gleaners at GrowLocal

In the late 1800s Colorado was one of the top apple-growing states in the country.  Many of these ancient apple trees still exist, and together with trees planted this century, are producing more fruit than homeowners alone can harvest.

Enter GrowLocal Colorado, and their ever-growing effort to keep fruit in the food system. Largely volunteer-run, this year they harvested and distributed 11,652 pounds of fruit from across the Front Range!  

We connected with GrowLocal Colorado’s Co-Director Barbara Masoner to see what she likes to make from Colorado-grown apples. She graciously shared her recipe for Pistachio and Apple Cake (below).

Read more about GrowLocal’s 2024 gleaning here.

If you have a fruit tree and would like to get on the list for next year’s gleaning, or would like more information on GrowLocal, click here.

Fruit & Pistachio Holiday Agave Cake

2 Granny Smith apples (chopped fine)
1 T Lemon juice
2 c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 t cinnamon
4 large eggs
1 c veg oil
1 c Agave Nectar
3/4 c dried cranberries
3/4 c pistachios (coarsely chopped)

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease 11-cup Bundt Pan.

Toss apples, lemon juice in one bowl.
In another bowl, combine dry ingredients:  flour, soda, powder, salt & cinnamon.
In mixer, beat eggs with oil and Agave until well blended and smooth.  Slowly beat in dry ingredients. Stire in apples, cranberries & nuts.
Bake 45-50 min, or until cake springs back when lightly touched.
Allow cake to cool in pan for 15 minutes before transferring to cake plate.
Serve with Agave Cream Cheese Cinnamon Glaze.

Agave Cream Cheese Cinnamon Glaze

1 (8-oz. pkg.) cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup Agave Nectar

In medium bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla and cinnamon. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Add agave nectar, blending until fully incorporated. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until ready to use, up to 1 week.
Drizzle glaze over top of cake just before serving.

Some Late-Season Surprises

Sometimes we are running so fast that we forget to slow down and see what’s ready to come out for sale. This week we are happily surprised to see that we have fresh stock of lots of premium native shrubs that we grew in convenient, affordable 2-gallon pots. We’re making them available at regular price (not discounted for our fall sale) – read more below.

And these perennials ARE on sale – a new infusion of hardy, water-wise, native Penstemons has been brought out, including P. clutei, P. glaber v. alpinus, P. palmeri, P. virgatus, P. grandiflorus, and P. angustifolius. I have planted many Penstemons in October and November in past years, with great success.[Read More]

Fall is for Seeding Meadows!

One of the beautiful alternatives to a standard, water-thirsty, solid green, mowed Kentucky Bluegrass lawn is a naturalistic meadow composed of low-water clumping grasses and wildflowers.

This approach offers plant diversity, an ever-changing, dynamic sequence of colors and textures throughout the seasons, and provides sustenance and habitat for beneficial insects, pollinators, birds and other small critters. If this sounds good to you, now is the time to plan and prepare, and buy grass seed mixes on sale for 15% off! We also have lots of wildflower seeds to add to the grasses – mixes for specific pollinators and situations, as well as individual species.[Read More]

Time to Dig the Dahlias!

We cut, dig and store our dahlia tubers just after the first frost.  Our friends at Arrowhead Dahlias have easy instructions.

Dahlia tubers will not survive if they freeze, so they must be dug in cold climates like ours.

You can divide in spring or fall – it takes practice and patience, but it is well worth the trouble.[Read More]

11 Steps to Designing a Garden Bed

Designing a garden or planting bed can be a daunting project without the knowledge of where to start. These steps can help you develop a successful planting design for your garden the first time around. And if you’ve taken these steps, we can give you optimal assistance when you come to Harlequin’s for your plants, soils and products. Please note that larger spaces, new builds or landscapes that need full renovations will need more preliminary work to determine placement of areas for people moving through the yard, retaining or screening views, hardscape design (patios & walkways) and other important planning steps.[Read More]

Special Selection of Native Shrubs – Available Now!

Native Currant

Normally, we would hold onto these beautiful, hard-to-find native shrubs through the winter, and offer them for sale in spring. But we looked around at our Native Shrubs sales area, and the few plants still there looked a little lonesome. So we decided to bring out our fresh, new crop of native shrubs to join them! Most are in easy-to-plant “2-gallon” pots.  Not discounted.

Curlleaf Mt. Mahogany
Fernbush
Apache Plume
Lewis Mockorange
Gwen’s Buffalo Currant

[Read More]

Good Golly, Great Bulbs of Garlic! (and Shallots)

We’ve got both Hard-neck and Soft-neck varieties! Get your garlic ‘seed’ bulbs NOW for planting from mid-October to mid-November!

SOFT-NECK Varieties:
If you’d like to be eating your own home-grown organic garlic for 9 months (or more!) after harvesting, you should be growing some of our excellent Soft-Neck varieties. All of them are very flavorful without being excessively hot, they are cold-hardy and easy to grow here, and produce large, easy-to-peel outer cloves. [Read More]

What to Plant Now for Fall Garden Color!

The end of summer doesn’t mean the end to color in the garden, on the contrary, you can plan and plant now for a vibrant wave of color, and habitat for our insects and birds, that continues all the way to hard frost!  From native and water-wise perennials and shrubs, to trees (including fruit trees) and grasses, the selection is vast.

Our Fall sale is a great opportunity to extend color and interest well into autumn.

[Read More]

What to do with all the Cherries? Make a Pie!

We’re seeing cherries everywhere we go this summer! There were so many on the trees in the Harlequin’s Wholesale area that our Retail Manager Beth just had to make a pie for our co-workers.

We love the pie she made, and we’re sharing the recipe with you.

[Read More]

Watering in July

We generally agree that the term “Xeriscape” (water–conserving landscape) applies to plantings watered deeply one a week. However, in July it’s safer to water twice a week. At Harlequin’s Gardens, some of our shrubs and trees are only watered once a month, and twice in July. One of our gardens of mostly native shrubs and trees is never watered. 

What does that mean, “water deeply“? It means that when you irrigate by hand or sprinkler or drip, the soil should be moist to a depth of at least 4″. Moisture meters and the old ‘screwdriver test‘ are not as accurate as digging a small hole 4 to 6” deep and feeling the soil. If it is dry at 4″ just after watering, you will need to water longer. 

You can water less frequently if:

1-You have added compost to your soil 

2-You have added expanded shale (10-20% by volume) to your soil 

3-You have inoculated your plant roots (especially at planting time) with beneficial mycorrhizal fungi 4- you have covered your soil with mulch, or if your plants cover and shade the soil. 

Do not:

1-Water lightly every day (except if temperatures exceed 95 degrees); it encourages shallow rooting and evaporates rapidly. 

2-Water deeply more than twice a week, creating saturated soil that excludes air (plants and beneficial soil life need air as much as they need water). 

3-Plant too close together, creating competition for water. It’s better to mulch the gaps between plants while you wait for them to fill in. 

4-Mix plants with high and low water needs in the same planting bed. 

When you plant in July:

1-Prepare the soil well, incorporating 30% compost (a 1-2” layer spread on top and then dug in to a depth of 6“) 

2-Inoculate the roots of the new plants with mycorrhizae, which will vastly improve transplanting success of most species 

3-Treat your new ‘babies‘ as if you’d just brought them home from the hospital, i.e. water them frequently, shield them from hot sun with shade cloth or another source of shade until you see new growth. Then you will know that their roots have reached into the surrounding soil. 

4-Place a ‘flag‘ next to every new plant so you can quickly see which plants need the most attention. 5- If your soil is very dense clay (a 10“-deep hole holds water for 30 minutes or longer, add expanded shale (10-20% by volume) along with compost. 

6-If you’re leaving town, even for just a few days, give your special watering jobs to someone you would trust with your life. 

Fire-Wise Landscaping

Fire-wise landscaping should focus on creating a ‘defensible space’ around your home. In “Firewise Plant Materials,” a fact-sheet for the CO Cooperative Extension, F. C. Dennis defines this: “Defensible space is the area between a structure and an oncoming wildfire where nearby vegetation has been modified to reduce a wildfire’s intensity,” and therefore, reduces risk to property.

These modifications could be accomplished by: increasing moisture content, choosing the most fire-resistant plants, spacing plants in smaller, disconnected groups, and proper maintenance and clean-up.

Some specific suggestions:[Read More]

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]

Get Big Results in Small Spaces with 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.

[Read More]

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.

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