Crocus x luteus ‘Golden Yellow’, courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden
Crocus x luteus ‘Golden Yellow’
The 4” – 6” tall fragrant flowers of ‘Golden Yellow’ Giant Crocus are a rich buttercup hue. The corms are incredibly floriferous, producing 4 to 12 flowers per corm the first-year, in April. Plant in a sunny or partly sunny area, 4” apart. This excellent heirloom variety has been a garden favorite since 1600. The corms multiply rapidly and naturalize beautifully. Cold-hardy to Zone 4.
Crocus Specie – Snow Crocus ‘Aqua’
This charming new crocus can begin blooming as early as February here in sunny Colorado. With a shade of blue-violet blooms quite different from typical ‘purple’crocus, ‘Aqua’ is a heavy bloomer and exceptional naturalizer, and it attracts early pollinators to the area. Low growing (4-6″ tall), it is versatile enough to add color and style to front borders, containers, rock gardens, between deciduous trees and shrubs. Plant in full to part sun, 3-4” deep and 3-4” apart. Cold-hardy to Zone 3
Crocus Specie Mixed
A lovely mix of ‘snow crocus’, spring’s earliest jewels, so cheery and so welcomed by gardeners and honeybees! Colors range from pure white to rich purple, with bright yellows, lavenders, bicolors and stripes included. Depending on their location, they can begin to bloom as early as the beginning of February! Tuck them into rock gardens and under deciduous shrubs and trees, edge a shrub or perennial border, plant large drifts, or force them in pots for indoor pleasure! Mostly native to the Balkans and Turkey, these diminutive gems are hardy to Zone 3. Plant in full to part sun, 4” deep and 3-4” apart in well-drained soil.
Crocus sieberi ‘Tricolor’ (‘Tricolor’ botanical Crocus)
One of the most striking and earliest crocuses to flower, Tricolor’s graceful, 4”-tall blooms have a big garden impact. The fragrant flowers have rich purple petals and golden throats beautifully edged with a prominent pure white band. The golden anthers and orange stigma are prominent in the center. Born in March or early April on sturdy stems, the blooms open with the narrow, dark green leaves. Plant 4″ deep and 3″ to 4″ apart in a sunny or lightly shaded location.
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.
Autumn Crocus provides a stunning surprise rising out of a mass of perennial groundcover such as Plumbago, Evergreen Candytuft, ‘Harlequin’s Silver’ Teucrium, or any of the Geranium x cantabrigiense selections!
Average soil and moisture, full to part sun, most soils except heavy clay, cold hardy to Zone 4.
PLANT THESE AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE to enjoy flowers this fall! For drifts, plant 10 bulbs per square foot.
Photo and description coming soon!
Giant Mixed Crocus Blend
Bulb. Z3. 4-6” tall. Blooms early spring. Compost-improved soil.
A random mix of large-flowering purple, white, pale blue and yellow crocuses that make a lovely mosaic of color in early spring gardens. Grows well in containers. Deer and rabbit resistant. Gorgeous mix under deciduous trees and in mass plantings in lawns and perennial beds. Also good for indoor forcing. Rapidly naturalizes in your garden.
Golden Yellow Crocus
Bulb. Z3. ½-1” tall. Blooms late winter / early spring. Compost-improved soil.
Deep golden yellow color of this crocus brightens up your early spring garden atop slender, olive-green striped leaves. Almost always the first flower in the garden each year. Naturalizes easily. Bees appreciate this in your garden for early season fodder! Mass plant in perennial borders or in lawns for showy displays. Plant with snowdrops and other early-blooming bulbs.
Fritillaria ‘Sunset’
Fritillaria imperialis ‘Sunset’
A show-stopper in the early to mid-spring garden, ‘Sunset’ Crown Imperial’s large, bright orange florets are suspended below a topknot crown of bronze-burgundy spiky foliage. The statuesque flowers shoot skyward on 40” to 48” burgundy stems for additional dramatic impact. Great in full or part sun in most soils that drain well. Fritillaria bulbs dry out very quickly so plant them soon after getting them home, 12” apart and 10” deep. The bulb has a depression on the top, so to avoid water accumulating and rotting the bulb, plant it at an angle to prevent water collecting and rotting the bulb. After bloom, don’t trim back the foliage until it has withered away entirely in summer. Crown Imperials are tough and drought-tolerant plants and can persist for many years. Hardy to -30 degrees Fahrenheit.
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.
Snowdrops will naturalize where happy. thrives in rich garden loam in part shade, making it perfect under deciduous trees and shrubs.
Zone 3, 3” tall.
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.
Iris reticulata ‘Alida’
A recent introduction, ‘Alida’ is a lovely, 4-6”- tall dwarf Iris with exceptionally large mid-blue flowers, beautifully adorned with intricate butter-yellow and white markings on the falls. Blooming in March, or early April, the bulbs quickly produce offsets that multiply into large clumps of blue. The slender, grass-like, gray-green leaves rise to the same level as the blossom, but elongates after flowering is finished. Delightful in rock gardens, pots, borders, and xeriscapes. Plant 4″ deep and 4″ to 5″ apart. Be sure to bend down and smell their fragrance! Hardy to Zone 5.
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.
5-6” tall clumps can grow to 12” across. Deer-resistant. Plant 4” deep and 4-5” apart. Hardy to Zone 4.
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.
Perfect for the well-drained xeriscape garden, this delightful bulb will thrive in a dry, sunny spot where it receives some spring moisture, followed by hot, dry conditions in summer, and will self-sow and naturalize where it’s happy.
Some added bonuses are its resistance to browsing by deer and rabbits and its great performance as a cut flower. Hardy to Zone 5. 10” – 16” tall. Deer-proof! Plant 5” deep, 4” apart.
Mother and Daughter Daffodils
Bulb. Z4. 6-8” or 12-14” tall. Blooms early spring. Compost-improved soil.
This blend includes large, white “mother” daffodils with yellow cups and pure yellow miniature “daughter” daffodils. This joyful mix is a sight for winter-weary eyes bringing sunshine and joy into the early spring garden. Plant 6-7 bulbs together per square foot for best effect. Grows well in containers. Deer and rabbit resistant. Intermix with garden herbs such as thyme and winter savory.
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!
14-18” tall, Hardy to Zone 3, blooms mid-spring (April-May).
Narcissus Golden Echo
Golden Echo Jonquilla Daffodil
Bulb. Z3. 8-12” tall. Blooms mid-spring. Compost-improved soil.
A vigorous miniature daffodil supporting several flowers with extra-long, bright and buttery cups in the center of creamy white petals. Nicely fragrant. Deer and rabbit resistant. Attracts native bees. Sturdy daffodil perfect for the front of a flower bed or in a container. Flowers are extra long-lasting and lovely as a cut flower. Plant with basket-of-gold or grape hyacinths.
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.
Plant 3 times height of bulb, 4-6″ apart. Zone 3, 8-10” tall, Deer and rodent-proof!
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.
In the new Harvest 2020 issue of Colorado Gardener (with a striking mushroom cover photo!), Mikl writes in ‘Blooming Without a Care’ about a selection of wonderful lesser-known dryland native wildflowers that can also be very successful garden plants in our semi-arid climate. [Read More]
Credit, Irish Eyes Garden Seed
One of the best hard-neck garlics for flavor and keeping, this robust and extra-hardy heirloom variety in the Porcelain group offers large, impressive 2.5 to 3” bulbs with 4-6 easy-to-peel jumbo cloves for easy kitchen use. Beautiful well-formed bulbs are wrapped in thick white luxuriant parchment-like skins with inner layers splashed red-purple, almost too beautiful to eat. Cloves are usually striped with purple.
Flavor is rich, garlicky, and medium hot. Grows well in any climate. Stores at least 6 months, up to 8 to 9 months when stored properly (in a cool dark place).
Photo Credit, Irish Eyes Garden Seed
Large 3″ + bulbs produce 8-20 cloves of good size. Mild, but lasting flavor, with a hint of hot! Dense cloves store extremely well. Flavor can get stronger in storage. This vigorous soft-necked variety won a Rodale taste test of 20 garlic strains – named “Very Best of the Soft-Necks”. Inchelium Red is also exceptionally healthy, easy to peel, and easy to grow!
It’s time to buy your ‘seed’ garlic, which you should store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated place until planting time, from mid-October to mid-November. Seed garlic bulbs are specifically chosen for planting because they are the healthiest bulbs with the largest cloves, and they are intact. By planting the largest cloves, you’ll be rewarded with a harvest of big, juicy bulbs.
Garlic has been cultivated since very ancient times. The varieties that developed in different areas express the terroir of their locale, greatly influencing the local cuisines.[Read More]
We often recognize grasses for their ornamental attributes – dynamic, flowing movement in the breeze, reflecting the dancing light, screening of unsightly areas, as well as their value in providing food and habitat for wildlife. But the grasses are the plant family with the greatest economic value, and it’s interesting to think about grass-based agriculture, the oils derived from grasses, their role in making beverages such as sake, wine, beer, and whiskey, their importance in construction (think thatch roofs, basketry, furniture, fencing, bamboo framing, scaffolding), and of their use in reed instruments.[Read More]
Hummingbirds are zipping and humming and sipping around our gardens, partaking of the summer’s bounty of nectar-rich flowers, many of which are ‘color-coded’ specifically to attract them. And you’ll want hummers in your garden, not only because they’re beautiful, not only because some plants depend on them for pollination, not only because migratory birds are imperiled, but also because they eat prodigious numbers of small flying insects like mosquitoes! And did you know, some hummingbird have been known to live up to 25 years!
Here are some of the plants we sell that attract and support these flying jewels. [Read More]
Incorporating edible flowers in your cuisine not only adds visual appeal, but also can offer high nutritional value and great flavors. Edible flowers have been used for millennia in many cultures to enhance everything from salad to beer and wine. A quick internet query on “ancient edible flower recipes” revealed many results. It could be a fun family event to recreate a heritage recipe!
The flavor of many flowers is improved by removing the sexual parts – stamens, anthers and pistils. And, you will notice how a flowers’ flavor can vary as the plant ages throughout the season, and with variations in the soil, and climate (think terroir!) [Read More]
70-75 Days, Open-Pollinated, Indeterminate
A mysterious and delicious entry in our Taste of Tomato at one of our early tomato tastings, sharing second place (with Pineapple). You won’t find this tomato from seed companies, as we saved seed from the tomatoes donated by the participant who simply said that it came from the location of an Anasazi ruin. The very dark red/purple/black, 2″, round or oval fruit have rich, complex, old-fashioned tomato flavor and pleasing texture and begin ripening in mid-season. The productive plant is indeterminate, with regular leaves. It has been a star in Eve’s garden, and she collects and processes seed for us every year. If you grow this one, please let us know what you think and how it performs in your garden!
70-80 days red ripe, Open-pollinated
We’re thrilled to have this superb, early, high-performing sweet pepper available again! ‘Gypsy Queens’ comes to us from Adaptive Seeds and is their effort at de-hybridizing the very popular F1 hybrid Gypsy pepper. It produces a profusion of elongated, tapered, bell-shaped fruits, which have excellent flavor & productivity. They start out pale lime-yellow and mature to a warm sunny red. Sweet, medium-thick flesh is great for eating fresh, and reliable plants tolerate heat, drought, as well as cool nights and cool, short summers.
75 days to green, 100 days to orange, Open-pollinated,
The world’s first truly heatless Habanero! Bred by organic breeder Michael Mazourek, Habanada is the product of natural breeding techniques. These exceptional snacking peppers have all of the fruity, tropical and floral notes of the habanero without any spice (even the seeds are sweet and add to the flavor). Imagine the culinary possibilities (Habanada sorbet, anyone?)! The 2″-3″ long peppers are more tapered at the ends, and not blocky like the habanero, and are borne on attractive 24″ h x 18″ w tree-like plants that do well in large containers.
75 days, Open-pollinated, Sweet
Amazingly sweet, fruity flavor makes these heirloom peppers tempting and delightful eaten straight off the plant, but traditional Italian cuisine typically uses them for frying. The long, slender, wrinkled fruit will easily reach 6–9 inches starting green and ripening to red on super productive, disease- resistant plants that are widely adapted. Its especially rich flavor has earned Jimmy Nardello’s placement in “The Ark of Taste” by Slow Food USA. If you happen to grow Hot Portugal pepper, make sure you label your plants well-
-Hot Portugal is a twin in every way except the hotness!
70 days, Open Pollinated
Reliable yields of large sweet blocky bells turn from green to red; prolific yields even in short-season areas and cool climates.
70-90 days, Open-pollinated
Marconi Rosso is a large sweet pepper growing to 8” long and 3” wide. The green fruits ripen to deep red and are delicious at all stages. Incredibly sweet and beautiful, these long, slim peppers with medium-thick walls and sweet skin are the gourmet’s choice. They are excellent raw, roasted, grilled and stuffed. The plants are 4’ tall by 1.5 to 2’ wide, fast-growing and prolific.
90 days, Open Pollinated, Heirloom
These little, thin-walled 1-2” bell peppers ripen to gold or red. They make colorful stuffed appetizers, and are great for pickling. Several of the short, stout, productive plants can be grown together in a large pot. Paradoxically, though small-fruited, they ripen fairly late.
70 days, Open-pollinated
Sheepnose is a super-sweet heirloom pimento-type pepper from Ohio. The beautiful, thick-walled, crisp, juicy fruits ripen from green to red and are shaped like little pumpkins (or wheels of cheese, or the noses of sheep), flattened, ribbed globes, 3-4” diameter and 2.5-3” tall. They keep for a long time in the fridge, if you can resist enjoying them raw, on pizza, in pasta, casseroles, antipasto or salad, roasted, sautéed, and a classic for canning. Plants are small (1-2’ tall), easy to grow, heavy-yielding, and can be grown in patio containers.
75 days, Open-pollinated, Heirloom
Yields of 1–1.5” fruit could be described as “ever-bearing”. Small plants produce dozens of these pretty, round, flattened fruit turning from green to red. Flavor is fine and they are ideal for canning, pickling, or stuffing.
70 -80 days, Open Pollinated
This early and productive bell pepper bears up to a dozen thick-walled 6-8” tapered fruits; ripening from green to chocolate-brown with gorgeous burgundy flesh inside, really delicious rich flavor, and good juicy crunch! Eve’s favorite!
Heirloom 70 Days
Sheepnose is a super-sweet heirloom pimento-type pepper from Ohio. The beautiful, thick-walled, crisp, juicy fruits ripen from green to red and are shaped like little pumpkins (or wheels of cheese, or the noses of sheep), flattened, ribbed globes, 3-4” diameter and 2.5-3” tall. They keep for a long time in the fridge, if you can resist enjoying them raw, on pizza, in pasta, casseroles, antipasto or salad, roasted, sautéed, etc. They are a classic sweet pepper for canning. Plants are small (1-2’ tall), easy to grow, and heavy-yielding. They can be grown in patio containers.
60 days, Open Pollinated
This early, small, mild, thin-walled glossy green pepper is popular in Japan, where they are pan-fried and salted and served as an appetizer or side-dish. The thin walls blister and char easily when roasted or grilled, taking on a rich flavor that’s delicious with coarse salt and lemon juice! The fruits grow up to 3-4″ long. The plant has a spreading habit and produces very prolifically. The peppers are typically harvested and used green, but eventually turns orange and red with sweeter flavor. Shishito can be grown successfully in large containers.
90 days, Open-pollinated, Very Hot
The 2-3″ long, slender, pointy peppers are very hot (50,000 – 100,000 Scoville units) and are perfect in nam phrik, the hot pepper condiment found on every Thai table. When compared to commercial Thai pepper varieties, These Thai hot pepper plants are a bit smaller than commercial varieties, but the fruit is a bit larger and nearly every one of them ripens by frost. The plants are quite ornamental and are a great choice for containers.
65 days green, 80 days red, Open-pollinated, Hot
This very rare, northern-adapted C. baccatum species of hot pepper produces 3″ long, waxy-yellow fruit that ripen to a classic orange-red. Aji Marchant is usually harvested under-ripe when still green/yellow and used for pickling. The immature peppers are especially flavorful with a unique earthy-citrus bite that is not overly spicy, but definitely packs a punch when fully ripe. An excellent frying pepper at all levels of ripeness, they also make tasty dried pepper flakes after ripening to a bright red. This heirloom pepper was brought to California by Chilean immigrants during the 1849 gold rush.
85 days, Open Pollinated
A very popular chile. Medium-hot large 8” fruits are excellent roasted and stuffed for chile rellenos.
70-75 days, Open-pollinated, Very Hot
Also called ‘Shipkas’, Bulgarian Carrot Peppers are rumored to have been smuggled out of Russia during the late 1980s, making their way through Europe, the Caribbean, and then the United States. They’re great for salsa, chutney, roasting, stir fry, and grilling. The prolific plant is about 18” tall, and the bright orange, 3-4”-long ‘carrots’ have a crunchy texture and sweet and tangy flavor, and they produce a burst of heat that measures 20,000 – 30,000 Scoville units. They ripen from green to yellow, and then finally orange. This plant does well in areas with cool nights, like ours!
65 days, Heirloom, Medium hot, 4,000 – 5,000 SHU
This famous New Mexico heirloom chile is from the farming town of Chimayo in northern New Mexico, at 5,900′ elevation. Its great flavor is the result of hand selection over hundreds of years. The 6-7” long fruit are probably the earliest Southwestern chile to ripen to red. They are thin-skinned and dry quickly in the sun. Allow the chiles to remain on the plant and mature until almost completely red. This native strain has fantastic red chile flavor and makes great chile powder and sauces for enchiladas, burritos, etc. At first it tastes sweet and then medium hot. Since it’s not too hot, you can use it in large quantities and achieve flavor nirvana, not heat nirvana. A Renewing America’s Food Traditions variety listed with the Ark of Taste as a threatened American food tradition.
63-65 days, Open Pollinated, 2,500-5,000 SHU
Early Jalapeno is a medium-hot pepper and the best Jalapeno variety for an early crop. The short, blunt 2 to 2.5” peppers are thick-walled and juicy. Early Jalapeno will reportedly set fruit under cooler conditions than other Jalapeno varieties. Red, fully ripe fruits are both slightly sweeter and spicier. The stocky 2-foot tall plants will not fall over or break branches.
85 days, Open-pollinated, Low-Medium heat
The Guajillo chile is the dried form of the Mirasol pepper. It is the one of the most popular chiles grown in Mexico, with a raisin-like wrinkled texture, and the 2nd most popular dried chile. The Guajillo has sweet, fruity tones, and then it hits you with a savory heat of 2,000 to 5,000 Scoville units. The fruits grow to 3-6” long and just over an inch wide, standing upright on the plant, with the plant growing about 2’tall. In Mexico, Guajillo chiles are dried first as whole pods, crushed to a powder to make a seasoning paste. This is used to create very flavorful mole sauces, salsas, sauces, spiced cocoa and chocolate, marinades, spice rubs, and more.
90-120 days, Heirloom, 200,000 to 325,000 SHU
By popular demand: one of the most blisteringly fiery peppers, from 200,000 to 325,000 Scoville’s (compare with Early Jalapeno at 4,000 to 6,500 Scoville!). Small plants to 18” tall will set 10-20 pendulous dark green fruits which mature to bright orange. Great for greenhouse and container growing. Likes night-time temperatures 70 degrees and above. Key ingredient in West Indian jerk sauce.
67 days green, 87 days orange ripe, Hybrid, Very Hot
This extra-early hybrid habanero matures much earlier and produces loads of fruits on upright plants that average 24-36″ tall. The fruits average 2.5″ long by 1.5″ diameter. They mature from green to orange, when the citrusy flavor and intense heat are most pronounced. These are very hot and register at 75,000 Scoville units, but are not as searing as many other Habanero peppers. Perfect for northern and short-season gardens.
70 days lime green, 90 days red ripe, Open-pollinated, Very Hot
Bred by Janika Eckert, this beautiful, very hot pepper matures earlier and is more productive than common habaneros. Magnificent, elongated and wrinkled, red, 3-4″ long lantern-shaped fruits are borne on tall plants. They feature a tropical-sweet flavor and lots of heat (150,000 to 400,000 Scoville heat units).
64 days, Open-pollinated, Medium hot
This spicy, 7-8″, tapered and slightly curved heirloom red pepper that is part of the Cayenne group. Fruits are thick, with a good level of heat (5,000 – 30,000 Scoville units), making them versatile in their uses. Vigorous, tall, high-yielding plants bear elongated narrow, glossy red fruits, with the classic wrinkled hip at the stem end. Superb pepper flavor comes through its considerable heat nicely. Most fruits will turn straight from green to red, but 4% off-types will turn from green to yellow to red.
72 days, Heirloom, 2,500 – 10,000 SHU
Perhaps the world’s best known, most versatile and most popular hot pepper, the Jalapeno pepper originated in Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Smoked and dried jalapenos are called chipotles. The blunt, tapered, 3” by 1” fruits are usually used when dark green; they turn red (and hotter) when mature. They have thick walls and do not dry well as whole peppers, but are excellent for canning, pickling or used fresh in salsas and many other Latin American and Southeast Asian dishes. The plants are erect and sturdy and although very productive, generally do not require caging or other support.
