“The less biodiverse any system is, the greater the potential for its collapse.” Janisse Ray, from The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food.
We’ve been reading headlines stating that 93% of seed varieties available in the early 20th century had disappeared from commerce by 1980. The biggest factor in this drastic decline in diversity is consolidation of the industry. The big multi-national corporations have systematically bought up smaller companies and in so doing have ended production of vast numbers of time-tested open-pollinated and older hybrid varieties and prioritized the production of new patented proprietary hybrids. [Read More]
Basil is one of the great culinary pleasures of summer, and it’s definitely NOT TOO LATE to plant Basil and enjoy a good crop! Basil plants are beautiful, grow equally well in the ground or in pots, thrive in hot weather, provide a continuous, bounteous crop, and Basil’s many different flavors are essential to a variety of distinctive cuisines. It can be used fresh, dried, or frozen in oil or as pesto. Though basil leaves lose most of the aromatic oils when dried, we have still found that basil dried from your garden is so much more flavorful than commercial dried basil.
We’re excited that the City of Boulder is gathering feedback from the community about how we use our yards, preferences for landscaping and interest in a citywide effort to create pollinator habitat patches and pathways. Pollinator pathways connect safe, pesticide-free native plant patches of habitat for bees, birds, butterflies, and other wildlife to provide food and nesting sites. Native pollinators are vital to our ecosystems and pathways support pollinator populations, as well as safe passage for movement across the city.
Yes, you can still plant many vegetables and annual flowers, now at greatly reduced prices! If you are lucky enough to have a greenhouse, you can grow most peppers, eggplants and tomatoes year-round. In the open garden, look for vegetable varieties that mature the fastest – cucumbers and summer squash, tomatoes, and peppers at 75 days or less. And Kale can still be planted in locations with afternoon shade.
Our best selection of plants for the 2021 season is here now! Our selection of plants for shade and part shade has never been better, including Hosta (many kinds!), Ferns (5 kinds!), Bergenia, Hellebore, Foxglove, Geranium (many), Coral Bells (many), Monkshood, Persicaria, Pulmonaria, Golden Wood Poppy and Clematis (lots!), and some new selections, like Solomon’s Seal (2 kinds)!
We were just getting comfy and confident in the progressing spring weather, when Mother Nature reminds us that She is in control!
In mid-August, Mikl and Eve had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful, newly created and planted 
Very tough and xeric, grows 15’ high and wide, white flowers and red berries, loves Colorado conditions!
25′ xeric tree with golden flowers in July, orange lantern-like pods, orange fall color, seeds abundantly.
WESTERN CATALPA
This includes Amorpha, Manzanitas, Mt. Mahoganies, Big Sage, Fringed Sage, Sand Sage, Lilacs, Butterfly Bushes, Pea Shrubs, Gambel Oak, Viburnums, Spireas, Potentillas, Sand Cherry, Rabbitbrush, Fernbush, Mountain Ninebark, Cliff Rose, Lewis Mockorange, Mikl’s Pick Mockorange, Boulder Raspberry, Boxwoods, Cotoneasters, Honeysuckles, New Mexican Privet, Flowering Quince, Ephedra, Euonymus, Sumacs, Currants, Yuccas, and many more!
MANY LAVENDERS
One of our specialties is 
Do you have plants that you like, but that need to be moved to a different location in your garden? Or has your clump of Shasta Daisy, Daylily, Hardy Geranium, etc. become too wide and now needs to be divided? By dividing your mature perennials, you get free plants to expand your garden, to give to neighbors, or pot up and donate to a fund-raising event like KGNU FM Community Radio’s Spring Plant Sale! The next couple of weeks bring the very best opportunity to accomplish these moves without stressing your plants too much. Search the web for instructions from a trusted source for dividing the specific plant you’re working with.
Q: Can I plant now?
COOL SEASON VEGGIES
EGGPLANTS
Even though we are about to receive our biggest snowstorm of this winter thus far, you can still make great progress on your garden by starting seeds indoors or even outside if your garden is prepared and you’re quick and can sow them tomorrow morning! You can also plant our hardy perennials, vines, shrubs and trees that have overwintered outdoors ahead of the storm. And our 
Attractive Evergreens for Colorado Gardens
This fall-blooming crocus emerges as a cheery surprise in October or November with bright violet-purple open cupped petals and brilliant orange stigmas, the source of the precious spice, saffron. The blooms are accompanied by short blades of dark green, grass-like foliage which elongates after the flowers have finished and may re-appear in spring.
Crocus Specie Mixed
The superb blue Autumn Crocus, blooms in early to mid-autumn, arriving to brighten the garden at a time when many other plants have finished blooming. Autumn Crocus has large, sky-blue to purple flowers with golden-orange stigmas and anthers. They stand 4” tall and emerge without the narrow grassy foliage that will follow bloom. They will naturalize, and over the years, the clumps increase in size and duration of bloom.
Giant Mixed Crocus Blend
Pendant, bell-shaped white flowers with green-tipped petals are a classic harbinger of spring. They look wonderful planted in groups and may bloom as early as February. Commonly called snowdrop, this bulbous perennial is native to Europe and southwestern Asia.
All these highly fragrant Dutch Hyacinth varieties are perfect for spring gardens and for forcing indoors in pots or hyacinth glasses. They are long-lived in the garden if fertilized after blooming, and after the first year they will produce more flower spikes that are less densely packed and more natural-looking. Hyacinths are quite easy to grow in a sunny or partly shaded spot.
All these highly fragrant Dutch Hyacinth varieties are perfect for spring gardens and for forcing indoors in pots or hyacinth glasses. They are long-lived in the garden if fertilized after blooming, and after the first year they will produce more flower spikes that are less densely packed and more natural-looking. Hyacinths are quite easy to grow in a sunny or partly shaded spot.
An irresistible little iris that grows no more than 5-6″ tall. Its dazzling, royal blue petals have showy white and yellow markings and the flowers are sweetly fragrant! Perfect for rock gardens or along a walkway where the soil is well-drained and relatively dry. Blooms in late winter along with the crocuses.
Native to rocky hillsides from SW and Central Asia (Syria to Afghanistan), this lovely wildflower in the Amaryllis family bears umbels of starry violet-blue flowers with darker midveins above grass-like foliage for 3 to 4 weeks in late May and early June.
While ‘Altruist’ Narcissus has the classic daffodil look, the colors are anything but ordinary! This striking award-winner has a 3″ coppery golden-orange perianth that pales as it matures, the perfect background for the shallow, bowl-shaped crimson-orange cup. Altruist is long-lived and floriferous, and its unusual and gorgeous coloring make it a stand-out in the garden and as a cut flower. Pest-proof!
An old favorite for naturalizing, and another Cyclamineus daffodil. Bright and cheerful in the garden, with reflexed vivid yellow petals and orange-red trumpet. ‘Jetfire’ is early blooming, and increases rapidly to form showy colonies. Very long-blooming, tough and adaptable. Also good for forcing indoors.
On our hikes, it seems we’re often exclaiming, “What a beautiful plant combination!”. Mother Nature’s inherent beauty and functional placement provide an amazing guide and inspiration for what we can create in our home garden or ecosystem. Mother Nature also helps guide us on how we can best support our pollinators.
