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Harlequins Gardens

Harlequins Gardens

Boulder's specialist in well-adapted plants

We are closed for the season, and will reopen in March 2023!

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See our seasonal hours and address, below.

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Home | Products | Season-Extending Tools

Season-Extending Tools

As Colorado gardeners, we’ve come to expect snow in October (in 2019 it was October 10). But on September 9, 2020 we saw a temperature swing of more than 60 degrees, going from record-breaking heat to one of the earliest recorded snow falls in the state (the earliest recorded area snowfall was in 1961 when Denver received over 4″ of snow on Labor Day).

This translates into a lot of flower, fruit, and vegetable crops cut short, and a lot of unanticipated work protecting vulnerable plants, harvesting, and preserving. There are measures you can take now to be prepared to protect your gardens from cold weather and snow when they arrive, suddenly or not. The following tools, techniques, and ‘props’ can make the difference between life and untimely death of your plants during inclement weather.

ENSULATE ROW-COVER FABRIC

Row Cover gives plants a few valuable degrees of warmer temperature. Use it over hoops or garden tunnel frames, or the fabrics can be “floated” over your plants, using clothes pins and weights of various kinds to keep them in place. When handled gently, these fabrics can last several seasons.

Harlequin’s Gardens sells pre-cut or custom-cut lengths of row cover fabric in two weights: ‘Seed Guard’ (.5oz) and Ensulate (1.5 oz). Ensulate can easily last several years. We are sure you will find that row cover fabric is one of your most important and versatile garden tools! Both row cover fabric weights are offered in pre-cut 12’x6’ or 12’x12’ dimensions.

LARGE OVERTURNED NURSERY POTS

Large plastic planting pots are a treasure worth holding on to! They are an easy and effective means of protection from cold temperatures by providing a space for warm air to collect, and as a barrier from snow (and hail, if you’re fast enough to beat the storm!). To add an extra layer of insulation, stuff the bottom of the pot with bubble wrap before placing it over the plant. Remember to uncover your plants as the temperatures warm back up!

If you don’t have a supply of large pots, stop by soon. We will be selling a limited number of used extra-large 7-to-15-gallon pots for $10 to $20.

SAWHORSES & PLANKS OR PLYWOOD SHEETS

If you have a larger area of lower profile plants that you’d like to protect from being smashed by the snow, set up 2 sawhorses and put planks or sheet plywood over them. You can then even attach a large tarp to the end to expand the coverage area. Be sure to place something heavy on the corners of the plywood and the tarp to secure the edges. In addition, you can support the center of the tarp with a bamboo stake. Topping the stake with an old tennis ball will prevent it the stake from punching through your tarp.

WATER PRIOR TO A HARD FREEZE

Damp soil holds four times more heat than dry soil, so make a point to water your plants (except desert plants) thoroughly during the day before an evening frost is predicted. This technique is effective in tandem with any of the aforementioned tools.

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Sign-up for our weekly e-newsletters to receive empowering gardening tips, ecological insights, and to keep up on happenings at Harlequin’s Gardens — such as flash sales and “just in” plants. We never share customer’s addresses!

We do not ship plants!

Our plants are for sale ONLY at our Boulder location. We DO NOT ship plants. Come visit us!

Hours by Season

MARCH HOURS
Thursday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

APRIL-OCTOBER HOURS
Tuesday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

Mondays, CLOSED

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Contact Us

303-939-9403 (Retail)
staff@nullharlequinsgardens.com

4795 North 26th St
Boulder, CO 80301

Sign-up for E-Newsletters!

Sign-up for our weekly e-newsletters to receive empowering gardening tips, ecological insights, and to keep up on happenings at Harlequin’s Gardens — such as flash sales and “just in” plants. We never share customer’s addresses!

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Our Hours

Seasonally, MARCH to OCTOBER.
MARCH HOURS:
Thursday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

APRIL-OCTOBER HOURS:
Tuesday-Sunday, 9AM-5PM

Mondays, CLOSED

The plants we grow are organically grown. All the plants we sell are free of bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides.