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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- 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

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

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

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

Tough Annuals:

Snapdragon, Marigolds, Lauren’s Grape Poppy, Petunias, Datura, Pansies, Calif. Poppy, Nicotiana, Salvias, Honeywort and many more!

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

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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]

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

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

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.

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

With great sadness, we share the news that the pioneering plantsman David Salman passed away on the fifth of June. David was a dedicated, passionate, and articulate educator and proponent of sustainable gardening, a plant explorer with a gift for selecting and introducing exceptional plants for western landscapes, and the founder of Santa Fe Greenhouses, High Country Gardens, and Waterwise Gardening.  

Out of his serious concern for the planet, David had recently begun working on what he considered his ‘next act’ – helping to reverse climate change by enabling people to plant large numbers of trees, and especially shrubs. He wanted to identify the woody plants best adapted to conditions in the West and Southwest, and had solicited recommendations from Harlequin’s Gardens and others, with the aim of propagating and distributing on a large scale the most appropriate and successful plants for combatting climate change. David Salman’s legacy includes over 60 waterwise plant introductions. His contributions to gardening and gardeners in the West were transformational. He will be sorely missed.

The following tributes and obituaries for David are available: Nursery Management, AP News, and HaMakom.  (Photo Credit: High Country Gardens.) 

We are known far and wide for our selection of sustainable roses and for our expertise in helping people choose the best varieties for their gardens and landscapes. We sell roses on their own roots not grafted, which makes them more cold hardy, longer lived, with more flowers.

Below is a list of Roses we often have available.

 

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This Sunday, May 8^th we celebrate Mother’s Day! There are several different claims to the inception of the Mothers’ Day or Mother’s Day holiday in the US, inspired by ideas of helping less fortunate mothers, reducing infant and maternal mortality, voicing opposition to wars, and honoring motherhood. All of these share the common core idea of honoring Nurturers. 

So even if you’ve never functioned as the mother of human children, you can still be a Plant Mom. When we prepare our soil, plant our seeds, keep them moist until they germinate, and give them the care they need until they are grown-up enough to fend for themselves (or require less attention), we are Mothering them. By planting for pollinators and native life-forms of all kinds, we are nurturing our ecosystem and helping to bring it back to balance and health.

This week, we invite you to visit us and choose some new plants to nurture and mother. And honor the Mothers in your life with the plants, garden items, books, classes or healthy products they’d love. We have a beautiful line of glazed pots for patios, entryways and balconies. Our organic pepper, tomato, and herb starts are pouring in, as are many new perennials and shrubs, roses, vines, grasses, and annuals, all neonic-free. We also have plenty of fruit trees and berry bushes, and seeds for delicious summer crops like beans, basil, cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin, and melon, and glorious pollinator-supporting flowers like Lace Flower, Poppy, Zinnia, Sunflower, Nasturtium, Gloriosa Daisy, Cosmos, Morning Glory, and many, many more!

Opening Day will be here in just a few minutes (or it seems to our busy-bee staff!) and our doors will re-open this Thursday, March 3^rd at 9 AM.  We hope to see you then!  Our hours for the month of March are Thursday through Sunday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Then beginning Tuesday, April 1^st, our hours expand to six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday. [Read More]