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Perennials

Some Late-Bloomers to Feed Late Pollinators

Agastache cana – Bubblegum Mint
Agastache foeniculum – Anise Hyssop
Agastache rupestris – Licorice Mint
Salvia reptans – Texas Sand Sage
Salvia coccinea – Red Sage
Scrophularia macrantha – Red Birds in a Tree
Zinnia grandiflora – Prairie Zinnia
Gaura lindheimeri – Whirling Butterflies, Appleblossom Grass
Saponaria x ‘Max Frei’ – ‘Max Frei’ Soapwort
Chrysothamnus naus. nauseosus – Dwf. Blue Rabbitbrush
Sphaeralcea fendleri – Fendler’s Globemallow
Fallugia paradoxa – Apache Plume
Verbesina encelioides – Cowpen Daisy
Berlandiera lyrata – Chocolate Flower
Ceratostigma plantaginoides – Hardy Plumbago
Symphyotrichum leave – Smooth ASter
Symphyotrichum ericoides – Heath Aster
Symphyotrichum oblongifolium
Anemone hybrida – Japanese Windflower
Eschscholtzia californica – California Poppy
Eriogonum wrightii v wrightii – Snow Mesa Buckwheat
Grindellia squarrosa – Rosinweed
Helianthus maximillianus – Maximillian Sunflower
Crocus speciosus – Autumn Crocus
Crocus sativa – Saffron Crocus
Cyclamen hederifolium – Ivy-leaf Cyclamen
Ipomopsis rubra – Standing Cypress, Scarlet Gilia
Helenium amarum ‘Dakota Gold’
Sedum telephium ‘Matrona’ and others
Solidago speciosa –
Clematis integrifolia – herbaceous Clematis
Satureja montana – Winter Savory
Verbena bonariensis – Purpletop
Verbena rigida ‘Santos Purple’

 

 

Harlequin’s Gardens Pollinator Garden

We are in the last week of Pollinator Month. We still have a lot of good pollinator perennials and shrubs. Our pollinator garden is looking beautiful and many plants have labels. This garden was given a boost last spring by a grant from People and Pollinators Action Network, plus a lot of Harlequin’s plants. Last Saturday Mikl led a tour of the garden for the Garden Conservancy a national nonprofit working to share and celebrate America’s gardens.

[Read More]

Grow Your Own Berries

Triple Crown Blackberry

Among the fruits we eat, berries are closer to wild foods and are therefore much higher in antioxidants and phytonutrients that strongly support our immune systems and general health. Berries are also kid-height and kids don’t need encouragement to pick them once they know when they are ripe!

Most berries are unavailable in grocery stores and are very seldom found at farmer’s markets. The few berries that can be found, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, are picked unripe, shipped hundreds or thousands of miles, and are most often lacking in the flavor and freshness of homegrown fruits. These days, many are even grown in greenhouses, or even hydroponically, where the fruits don’t receive the natural stimuli for producing phytonutrients.

Most berries are pretty easy to grow. Currants and gooseberries are moderate-sized shrubs, and grow best in partial shade in Colorado, with soil improved with one third compost to two thirds your regular clay soil. Water deeply twice a week the first year, and usually once a week deeply once the plants are mature. The fruits of our native currants (Ribes aureum and Ribes odoratum), particularly the selections ‘Crandall’ and ‘Gwen’s Buffalo’, are sweet and flavorful when fully ripe, and relished by children of all ages. European currants and gooseberries are favorites for making pies and preserves, with the addition of sugar.

Elderberries have been grown for their medicinal and culinary uses, as well as their beauty and rapid growth, for centuries. They grow to 8-10 feet tall and wide and need two different varieties of the same species for pollination (for example: plant one Sambucus nigra ‘Mikl’s’ and one S. nigra ‘Marge’ near one another to get fruit. They can even be planted together in one hole if you have a small space. Elderberries also thrive in part shade or morning sun and afternoon shade, and soil and watering recommendations are the same as for currants. In addition to elderberry syrup, you can
make elderberry brandy with the flowers or the berries, as well as elderberry flower pancakes, and all kinds of baked goods and preserves.

Raspberries are suckering plants that make colonies and can be planted in rows and staked to wires between free posts. Ours are either ever-bearing varieties, bearing in summer on old canes and again in fall on new canes, or Primocane varieties, bearing fruit on the current year’s canes in the fall. They have prickly stems, but the berries are easy to reach for harvest without injury. There is nothing like a fully ripe, fresh raspberry! Our varieties are ‘primocane’, meaning that they bear fruit on new (the current year’s) growth. We recommend mowing them down in autumn, even if the variety is “everbearing”. Part shade is ideal for raspberries, but full sun is okay, too. All are best fertilized with half to one cup of organic fertilizer every September, and mulched to make good crops.

Our varieties are ‘primocane’, meaning that they bear fruit on new (the current year’s) growth. We recommend mowing them down in autumn, even if the variety is “everbearing”. Part shade is ideal for raspberries. All are best fertilized with half to one cup of organic fertilizer every September, and mulched to make good crops.

Our Blackberries are thornless (and you wouldn’t want them any other way!). The canes can be tied to a trellis or fence, and soil and fertilizer recommendations are the same as those for raspberries.’ Triple Crown’ produces large, delicious berries that begin ripening in late July or early August on second-year canes. We have never found store-bought blackberries that were worth paying for.

Currently in stock: 

‘Triple Crown’ Blackberry – This productive plant yields large, juicy, black berries that offers copious crops on vigorous canes. Named for its three attributes: flavor, productivity, and vigor. Thornless semi-erect canes need support, especially under heavy fruit load. Self pollinating and disease resistant. Ripens begins in late July/early August. Hands-down winner of a public taste-test conducted by Boulder County extension service at Longmont Farmer’s Market. Hardy to USDA zone 5.

‘Pixwell Gooseberry’ – Prolific large oval berries that are light green, turning rosy pink when ripe. Fruit is prized for pies and preserves, more than for fresh eating. Best in part shade if summers are hot. Mildew and drought resistant. Hardy to USDA zone 3.

‘Hinnomaki’ Red Gooseberry – A medium-sized red gooseberry with outstanding flavor. The skin is tangy and the flesh is sweet. Great for fresh eating or pies. This very productive, upright bush has good resistance to mildew. Hardy to zone 2. Does well in sun to part shade.

Cutleaf Black Elderberry – Sambucus nigra v laciniata- A fast growing deciduous shrub known for its fern-like green foliage and white, citrus-scented flowers. It offers high wildlife value, providing edible black berries in late summer.  It thrives in full sun to part shade.  Plant with another S. nigra variety for successful fruiting.  Makes great elderberry syrup.  Hardy to USDA zone 3.

‘Marge’ Black Elderberry – Sambucus nigra- A cross of the American black elderberry with the European black elderberry which gives us large berries and all of the characteristics of the European varieties. ‘Marge’ is said to be self-pollinating so only one plant is needed for fruit production.  Flowers form on the previous year’s woody growth so fruit will begin to form the second year after planting. Very productive.  Hardy to USDA zone 3.

‘Mikl’s’ Black Elderberry – Sambucus nigra – Highly regarded as a medicinal plant for immune system support, Mikl’s has large showy clusters of white flowers followed by clusters of small, purple-black berries that can be used for jams and jellies or in tinctures and syrups. Plant another black elderberry for pollination. This one comes from a plant in Mikl’s garden. Hardy in Boulder the last 35 years.

‘Johns’ Elderberry – Sambucus canadensis – Produces more fruit and earlier than other elderberries. Very large clusters of medium sized berries which are especially good for pies, jellies and elixirs.  Needs a pollenizer, any other sambucus canadensis selection.  Hardy to USDA zone 3.

‘Imperial White’ Currant – Ribes sativum – Pearly white translucent fruit has a pink blush with a flavor that is milder and sweeter than its red counterparts. Delicious fresh or for jams and jellies. Vigorous and hardy to USDA zone 3.

‘Heritage’ Red Raspberry – Rubus idaeus – Fall-fruiting heirloom. A tough and easy variety that is productive and good flavored. Mow to the ground in late Fall or February-mid March and remove all debris. Bushy habit requires no staking.  Hardy to USDA zone 4.

‘Anne’ Raspberry – Rubus idaeus – Tested in Colorado.  Produces large, super sweet berries, and considered the best tasting among the yellow varieties. Canes are long and vigorous. Mow to the ground in late fall or February – mid-March and remove the debris. Ripens from August to frost.

Black-fruiting Nanking Cherry – Prunus tomentosa ‘Nigra’ – A beautiful shrub that has both ornamental and edible qualities. The deep purple fruits have a sweet taste and a juicy texture. Plant with another Nanking Cherry selection for successful fruiting. Hardy to USDA zone 3.

 

Mouthwatering STRAWBERRIES on Sale THIS WEEK for 20% off!

When you buy fresh strawberries at the grocery store, are they ripe? No. Delicious? No. Expensive? Yes. Enough said.

Earliglow: Many people miss out on the best-tasting strawberries because they are “June bearing.” Why buy ‘Earliglow’ Strawberry when it only fruits in June? Because the flavor is fabulous and because it produces a lot all through the month, so even a small patch can produce enough berries for bowls or strawberry shortcakes you will remember. A bigger patch yields enough for preserves, too. “Earliglow is prized for its rich, classic heirloom sweetness, glossy red skin and firm texture. Highly vigorous and cold-hardy, this variety is exceptionally beginner-friendly and renowned for producing abundant runners (more plants). It is perfect for fresh eating, freezing and jams. It is also disease resistant.

Ogallala: A vigorous, very cold-hardy, ‘everbearing’ strawberry that “combines the sweet, intense flavor of the Rocky Mt. wild strawberry with the large size of traditional garden varieties.” (McKay Nursery) It was bred at the Cheyenne Horticultural Station to withstand drought, zone 3 cold, heat and exposure. It has a long season and is high yielding. A small patch can provide delicious grazing, offering a few ripe fruits just about
every day from June to September.

For a limited time, these two strawberry varieties are available at 20% off the regular price. ENJOY!

Clematis fruticosa – ‘Mongolian Gold’

Looking for a compact shrub that blooms all through July? And August, and into September? ‘Mongolian Gold’ Clematis may be your answer. Eve’s has graced her front yard for about 30 years, and reliably makes a mound about 2 feet high and 3 feet wide every year. Most people assume that all Clematis are vines, but this is an exception. Mongolian Gold begins blooming in early July and just keeps going and going. Honeybees and native bees visit the lightly fragrant pendant yellow flowers often. In Eve’s garden, Mongolian Gold Clematis is located under the southeast edge of the canopy of a very large Douglas Fir tree that’s been limbed up, so it receives full sun in winter, and in the morning from spring through fall. It is watered only occasionally. It has a somewhat weeping habit and makes a perfect accent shrub where its branches can cascade over a short wall. The plant makes a permanent woody base framework that, once mature, should be pruned yearly in February to shorten the previous year’s slender stems. We’ve never seen any pest damage on Mongolian Gold.

 

Just in: Two Rare Native Shrubs

We just got in two plants we have had many requests for: come soon, supplies are limited.

Boulder Raspberry

Boulder Raspberry, Rubus deliciosus:  This lovely local native shrub is adorned with large single white blossoms that look similar to wild roses, blooming in May and June. Pollinators that are attracted to Boulder Raspberry are: Bumblebees, native solitary bees like metallic green sweat bees, mason bees and mining bees, also honey bees, lady bugs, butterflies and beneficial syrphid flies. It grows 3-5’ high and wide with arching stems. Although it is named Rubus deliciosus, it is neither a thorny raspberry, nor are the fruits delicious. But it is a beautiful shrub for the home landscape. It grows best in partial shade with water once a week.

Leadplant

Amorpha canescens, Silver Leadplant – This Colorado native plant fits into small water-wise landscapes, growing only 2’-4’ tall and wide. In June/July it blooms with showy spikes of purple flowers which are rich in both nectar and pollen. Pollinators include Bumblebees, metallic green sweat bees, plasterer bees, leaf-cutter bees, butterflies, beneficial wasps and is a host plant for butterflies. The small compound leaves add a lovely texture, and the plant is nitrogen-fixing.

Prune Now to Keep Woody Plants Smaller

Do you have a tree or shrub that you’d like to restrain from getting much larger? For the next 3-4 weeks, pruning will be the most effect in reducing the size of woody plants. As we near the Summer Solstice, this year on June 21, we are approaching the midpoint in the growth cycle. This is the time when the days are longest and sunlight is strongest in the northern hemisphere. Woody plants start growing rapidly in early spring using energy that was stored in the roots and branches last fall. By mid-summer, the tree’s resources are being stored in the foliage to support photosynthesis.

So, when we prune at this time, we are removing these resources for growth. This is why summer pruning slows growth. By late summer and fall the nutrients are again being stored in the roots and branches, so pruning removes fewer growth-inducing resources. This is also the reason that fertilizing in late summer and fall is the best time to strengthen a tree or shrub, and support development of the buds that will become next year’s flowers and fruits. Note that solstice pruning of trees and shrubs that bloom in mid to late summer will remove the current year’s bloom and fruiting potential (Bluemist Spirea, Russian Sage, Golden Raintree, Rose of Sharon, Seven Son Flower, etc.)

Incidentally, If you would like to keep certain tall fall-blooming perennials more compact and stocky and less floppy or top-heavy, you can shear them back by a third to a half in late June/early July. This works well for tall asters and goldenrods, Blue Sage (Salvia azurea), Agastache.

More plants coming! Others selling out fast!

 

Hostas

First of all, we have MANY plants just becoming ready, MANY we had held back for lack of time and space. So just because we had a huge influx of perennials a couple of weeks ago doesn’t mean we’d brought them all out for sale. But here they come now! Also, we’re now bringing out flats and flats of perennials now that they’re fully rooted into their pots. And these all look glorious!

Many are specialty items, including great Native and Pollinator Favorites! At the same time, if you’re looking for Peonies, Hosta, Ferns, Bleeding Hearts, Lungworts (Pulmonaria), Variegated False Forget-me-not (Brunnera), Hellebores, Golden Wood Poppies (Stylophorum diphylum) and some other classic long-lived spring perennials, these sell out quickly and will not be re-stocked until next year, so come for them now!

A note of advice about plants in small pots or 6-packs: These may have come recently from greenhouse conditions, so be sure to water them frequently until you get them planted in the ground or in larger pots.

 

Penstemon palmeri – Palmer’s Beardtongue

Palmer’s Beardstongue

2-5’ tall x 1-2’wide, Full Sun
Hardy to 6500’
Deer-resistant

Stop the car! What’s that mass of pink soaring above the roadside slopes? The largest of the hardy Penstemons, both in plant size and flower size, Palmer’s is a magnificent plant with a commanding presence. Above the substantial and attractive serrated, fleshy gray, evergreen leaves, towering flower spikes from 2 to 5’ tall display large, wide-mouthed light pink flowers marked with darker veins, and exuding a sweet fragrance.

These are specifically adapted to accommodate larger pollinators, particularly bumblebees, carpenter bees and hummingbirds. Butterflies and moths also visit them. Native to dry washes, sandy plains, and canyon slopes of the Intermountain West and Southwest, including Colorado and Wyoming, Palmer’s Penstemon colonizes open, well-drained soils from desert foothills to about 6,500 feet elevation. Adaptation
to poor, gravelly soils and periodic drought makes it a perfect choice for xeriscape and low-water gardens. Widely adapted and requiring minimal care, it will thrive and naturalize from seed, and can form impressive colonies.

 

Rocky Mountain Native Plant Primer

The Rocky Mountain Native Plant Primer: 225 Plants for an Earth-Friendly Garden
by Lauren Springer and Bryan Fischer

The great Colorado gardening book we’ve been waiting years for is HERE AT LAST! Over the years, Colorado’s best and brightest garden writers, including Lauren Springer, have produced excellent books to help gardeners understand and work with the weather, soils, plants, pests and peculiarities of gardening here in the Rocky Mountain region. But before long, they were all out of print! With so many new gardeners, ‘new-to-Colorado’ gardeners and ‘new-to-natives’ gardeners needing expert advice for gardening HERE, in our various situations, from the urban-suburban metro area, to the plains, foothills, steppe and mountains, the lack of good resources in print was a big problem.

Fortunately, Lauren Springer returns, partnering with colleague Bryan Fischer, with an essential resource for gardening successfully and beautifully with native plants to attract and support pollinators and beneficial wildlife, and reduce maintenance at the same time! The wonderful photographs, the organization and presentation of accurate, practical growing information, and the solid decades of experience behind this book make it a treasured resource you will refer to for a lifetime. And remember – Harlequin’s Gardens members get 25% off books all year long!

New Perennials, Vines, and Annuals!

This Weekend! New Perennials, Vines, and Annuals

Here’s a glimpse of some of the influx of plants we expect to have ready for you by this weekend! Some are rare finds in limited quantities, so try not to miss out! .

Agastache cana – Double Bubble Hummingbird Mint

Artemisia frigida – Fringed Sage

Asclepias incarnata – Rose Milkweed

Dalea purpurea – Purple Prairie Clover

Engelmannia peristenia – Engelmann’s Daisy

Iris missouriensis – Native Wild Iris

Liatris pychnostachya – Prairie Blazing Star

Nepeta x faassenii -‘Walker’s Low’ Catmint

Tradescantia occidentalis – Western Spiderwort

Dahlia – Bishop’s Children

Dahlia – Short Mix

Nasturtium – Alaska Mix

Nasturtium – Jewel

Nasturtium – Ladybird

Nasturtium – Peach Melba

Nasturtium – Tall Mix

Nasturtium – Tiptop

Pansy – Velvet Mix

Poppy – Lauren’s Grape

Poppy – Mission Bells

Poppy – California Orange

AND MORE!

Whiskbroom Parsley

Whiskbroom Parsley

In spite of the drought, rambles in local open space parks reveal the early signs of spring. Now showing at a park near you, a conspicuous star is Whiskbroom Parsley (Harbouria trachypleura), a genus with just a single species. Native to Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico, we’ve encountered it from the lower foothills to subalpine locations, on dry, sunny, rocky slopes, but it is even more at home in moist meadows, grasslands and under trees.

Many ‘wild parsley’ species are highly toxic, but this one is edible and was commonly used in culinary and medicinal ways by native Americans. The very fine, bright green dill-like foliage is surprising for a dryland plant, and the umbels (heads) of tiny, bright yellow flowers are an important nectar source for many native pollinators and beneficial insects. This plant is not in commerce, as it spends years developing its deep soil-stabilizing taproot before producing much top-growth, let alone flowering. Enjoy it in the wild!

Autumn Pollinators – Butterflies

Monarch on Verbena

Are you noticing a plethora of butterflies visiting your garden, or out and about on the trails? Lately, my garden and my neighborhood in Longmont are alive with these fluttering pollinators and nectar-gatherers. Suddenly there are Monarch butterflies (one at a time) in my yard, as well as at least seven or eight other delightful species, some of them in good numbers, and some I’ve never found or noticed before. Yesterday I sighted my first Common Buckeye, a species that uses clever camouflage tactics to hide in plain sight.

[Read More]

Help Fall Plantings Beat the Heat

Fall is among the best times to plant perennials. While we may begin to wilt from late summer heat, many plants rise to the occasion and burst into bloom!  As days begin to grow shorter, perennials spend the next few months developing root systems or taproots that delve well below the hot, dry surface soil. Pollinators depend on finding pollen and nectar sources through the entire summer, so it’s important to include late-summer and autumn bloomers in your garden. 

Here are a few suggestions for successful planting.

[Read More]

Ready Now

Geranium x cantabrigiense

Remember Spring of 2023? Cool, rainy and cloudy? We had many thousands of plants coming along from seed, cuttings and plugs. And under these challenging conditions, some of them took a very long time to reach the point when they became ready for sale. But they’re ready now! And some of our best groundcover plants for dry shade or part sun, Plumbago and hardy Geraniums (Cranesbills) are among them!

 

Here’s a list of some of the great plants, including many native plants (noted with an asterisk), we now have in stock.

[Read More]

Thanks, Volunteers!

Gary Meis teaching

Gary Meis teaching

Last Saturday a group of dedicated plantspeople came in from the cold to learn and volunteer with Harlequin’s Gardens’ expert propagator Gary Meis. We’re passing a few of his native plant seeding and propagation tips along to you.

[Read More]

Fall Sale Continues!

Our 2022 Big Fall Sale continues, with 30% off most plants! 

Sept. 20 thru end of the season take 30% off perennials, shrubs, roses, and trees, and 30% off soil products in big bags, and Compost Tea. (No discount on fruit trees, veggies, bulbs, 2023 seeds, or Holiday Market Books).

In our experience, fall is the most successful time to establish most plants, especially when mycorrhizae are applied to the roots during planting (and we’re well stocked with several types of mycorrhizae!).  We have a large and diverse selection of perennials, particularly in larger quart and gallon sizes, that are ready for planting. (Photo: Grass Calamagrostis brachytricha)

[Read More]

Daylilies Shine in Mid-Summer

Daylilies are old favorites for good reasons. They are:
Low maintenance
Cold hardy (to USDA Zone 3)
Moderately drought-tolerant
Very attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds
Adaptable to a variety of soil conditions
Disease-free and pest-free
Graceful, eye-catching, and long-blooming
Available in a very wide range of colors and sizes
Rabbit-resistant
Fast-growing
Good for erosion control
Edible and tasty

And we still have some wonderful varieties in stock! And they are in bloom!  [Read More]

Fall Sale Updates & More!

Our Big Fall Sale continues with many fresh, new plants added. We are continually propagating and potting up plants, and some of them are just ready now, just in time to go on sale at 25% off!

Our 2022 Deep Discount Area opens today & our Big Fall Sale continues, with 25% off for everyone! Included in this week’s sale are:

Sept. 6 thru 11 Enjoy:

  • 25% off perennials, grasses, vines, shrubs, and trees
  • 20% off Roses. Note: the discount on roses will not increase
  • 20% off Compost Tea.
    No discounts on fruit trees, veggie starts, and bulbs.

[Read More]

Versatile Hardy Geraniums

Hardy Geraniums are some of the most versatile an adaptable perennials for our area! Available in many colors and habits, they can be useful in sun and shade, moist and dry, as individual specimens, companion plants and ground covers.

These are not to be confused with Pelargoniums, the popular house plant, container and bedding plant Zonal “Geraniums” and Ivy “Geraniums,” which are not cold-hardy outdoors in Colorado. The name “geranium” is derived from a Greek word meaning little crane, hence the common name “cranesbill” which refers to the appearance of the seed heads. [Read More]

Perennials in 1-gallon Pots

At this time of year, when the weather is hot and mostly dry, it can be easier to establish transplants that already have a larger, deeper root system. Another very important factor in successful transplanting in this heat and drought is the quality of the potting soil the plant was grown in. Harlequin’s Gardens doesn’t use a commercial, lightweight, soil-less mix, designed for using chemical fertilizers and for minimizing shipping costs. [Read More]

Fall Sale Updates!

Our 2022 Big Fall Sale continues, with 30% off most plants! 

Sept. 13 thru 18 take 30% off perennials, shrubs, and trees, and 20% off roses, soil products in big bags, books, and 20% off Compost Tea. (No discount on fruit trees, veggie starts, bulbs, and 2023 seeds).

We’ve added lots of timely COVER CROP SEEDS and BEEKEEPING SUPPLIES to our DEEP DISCOUNT offers!

In our experience, fall is the most successful time to establish most plants, especially when mycorrhizae are applied to the roots during planting (and we’re well stocked with several types of mycorrhizae!).  We have a large and diverse selection of perennials, particularly in larger quart and gallon sizes, that are ready for planting. (Photo: Sedum “Matrona”)

[Read More]

Unique Peonies

We have a limited number of choice Peonies in 2-gallon pots, ready to make a long-lived presence in your garden! These varieties are different from the ones we will have in stock in a couple of weeks, which will be in 1-gallon pots.

Peonies are classic garden plants that add a lot of charm and beauty to the garden, increasing in size and beauty for many decades. Their gorgeous, fragrant blooms and lush foliage have made them popular for many years. When a peony is finished blooming, the attractive foliage mound makes a great seasonal ‘shrub’. And, of course, the sensuous flowers make stunning bouquets. Cut them when the buds have swelled and are beginning to open slightly. [Read More]

Beloved Monarch Butterflies are now Endangered

Monarch butterflies previously considered Threatened, have now been classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the world’s most comprehensive scientific authority on the status of species. Two major driving factors are habitat loss (and thus, food loss), and climate change.

“The numbers of Western monarchs, which live west of the Rocky Mountains, plummeted by an estimated 99.9 percent between the 1980s and 2021. While they rebounded somewhat this year, they remain in great peril. Eastern monarchs, who make up most of the population in North America, dropped by 84 percent from 1996 to 2014. The new designation of endangered covers both populations.” (New York Times.) [Read More]

Pollinator Pathways: Rewilding Boulder Landscapes

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.

[Read More]

PERENNIALS – 2022 Newsletter

Harlequin’s huge choice of pollinator-supporting Perennials. Including:

NATIVES

Eriogonum umbellatum var. aureum ‘Psdowns’ (Kannah Creek® buckwheat). Photo Credit: Plant Select

SULFUR FLOWER KANNAH CREEK
Mahogany fall color. Eriogonum allennii – 3′ wide, very xeric, yellow flowers, a winner. Eriogonum umbellatum – yellow blooms cover xeric native mat, feeds butterflies, bees.

ASCLEPIAS INCARNATA
1′-3′ Full Sun, Attracts butterflies, native and honeybees, hummingbirds.

ASCLEPIAS TUBEROSA
Butterfly Weed, orange flowers, 1’-2’ high, essential Monarch food and nectar.

NATIVE PUSSYTOES, ASTER, Arnica, Skyrocket Ipomopsis, Blazing Star, Navajo Tea, Prairie Sundrops (Calylophus serrulatus)

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.

MANY COLUMBINES INCLUDING
Rocky Mt., Denver Gold, Western Red, Barneby’s

Dalea purpurea (Purple Prairie Clover)

PURPLE PRAIRIE CLOVER
Long lived xeric native loved by many bee species, bright purple-pink, nitrogen-fixing.

GAILLARDIA ARISTATE – BlanketFlower

LIATRIS PUNCTATA – Gayfeather

OENOTHERAS – Evening Primroses

CHOCOLATE FLOWER
12″ x 24″ wide, yellow daisies with chocolate fragrance, very xeric native.

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, exclusive!

GEUM TRIFLORUM/PRAIRIE SMOKE
Colorado native, handsome foliage, reddish flowers, feathery seedheads, sun/part shade.

Engelmannia peristenia (Engelmann Daisy)

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.

 

PLUS, MANY GREAT NON-NATIVES INCLUDING:

MANY AGASTACHES
Blue Fortune, Coronado, Black Adder, A. rupestris.

SAGE
Culinary, Purple, Berggarten, Blue Hill, May Night, Caradonna, Furman’s Red, Mojave, S.azurea, S. argentea.

Dianthus gratianopolitanus ‘Firewitch’

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” diam. D. Firewitch – fragrant; 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, Cherokee Sunset

ROSEMARY
Arp, Madeline Hill, Tuscan Blue, Prostrata.

HARLEQUIN’S SILVER GERMANDER, 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, Fancy Heucheras, many Hostas, and many, many more!

TOUGH ANNUALS

Datura meteloides

Snapdragons, Zinnia, Lauren’s Grape Poppy, Petunias, Datura, Pansies, California Poppy, Nicotiana, Salvias, Larkspurs, Peony-flowered Poppies, Swan River Daisy, Sweet Alyssum, Calendula, Kiwi Blue Honeywort, Cleome, Cuphia, Dahlia, Sacred Datura, Gomphrena, Marigolds, Nasturtiums, Baby Blue-Eyes, Love-in-a-Mist, Sun Rose, California Bluebells, Wax Begonia, Blackeyed Susan Vine, Annual Periwinkle, Canterbury Bells, and more!

Great Hummingbird Plants for Your Garden

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]

Edible Flowers

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]