Welcome to Spring, to Harlequin’s Gardens and to another year of the challenges and joys of being alive on Earth, along with the opportunities, work, and healing rewards of gardening. It is both curious and common sense that as we nurture, we ourselves are nurtured.
One of the most powerful and telling lessons of 2020 has been how intimately we are all connected with each other. Now we are all aware that we share air and biology with the whole world. Our human bodies are, in reality, half human cells and half microbial cells. And these microbial partners do contribute to our digestion, immune system and even cognition. And the balance of organisms depends on who we are in contact with and what we are eating. Our human health is inseparable from our microbe health. So, if our microbiome is suffering from Roundup, we are suffering from Roundup. This is why it is so valuable to our health to be eating fresh, organic food from our own gardens and from our local organic growers.
We are not just connected to other humans and to our microorganisms, we are interconnected with the farm animals, wild animals, insects, fish and with our atmosphere, water, soil, and our entire planet. And our human health is interconnected with the health of these other beings and systems. This is the basis of an inspiring and challenging idea called One Health (more on that later).
Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly. Photo Credit Stephen Lea
Tiger Swallowtail Caterpillar on fennel
It is said that the 21st Century is really the Age of Biology when the greatest challenges and the greatest solutions are biological. The news is full of the challenges. These are examples of biological solutions: Food as medicine, cover crops as alternatives to chemical fertilizers, insectary plantings as alternatives to pesticides, drawing carbon dioxide into soil to reverse Climate Crisis and increase soil fertility, the use of hemp, fungi, and bacteria to make paper, packaging, fabric, fuels, and medicines.
As we disengage from petroleum, we will discover not only new safer, healthier products, but safer, healthier technologies. The good news is, the human mind is awakening to a saner direction of human development. If we are courageous and open to a new, non-petroleum world, this can be a great time for gardeners and for humanity.
But what about plants, gardens, pollinators, and home-grown food?
We’re on it. This year Harlequin’s Gardens is open for business in March on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Then starting on April 1 we will be open Tuesday thru Sunday, 9-5.
All our plants are free from insect-killing neonicotinoids, and most are free from all toxic pesticides. Again, we are stocked with beekeeping supplies.
Bok Choy ‘Dwarf’
As always, we will have a great selection of organic veggie starts. Every winter Eve pores over the most interesting and reliable seed catalogs, searching for new and special varieties that resist disease and pests, are very productive, taste fabulous, and that we think will likely be successful and rewarding here on the high plains and in the mountains. We think you’ll find the very best choices at Harlequin’s Gardens. Please give us your feedback on what you grow from us. We want to know what works and what doesn’t!
See our complete listing and descriptions.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TOMATO OFFERINGS
A FEW of our NEW TOMATOES: offering 80+ varieties in 2021.
SLICERS
Rosabec – NEW!
60-70 days, Open-pollinated, Determinate
Beautiful, early, glossy-pink slicer tomato from Quebec, with 6-8 oz. globe shaped, blemish-free fruit, high yields, excellent sweet-tart flavor, good texture, tender skins, ripening over several weeks. Sturdy, 4’-tall, determinate bushes are easily caged or trellised. Great for short-season areas such as higher elevations in the foothills.
Read more tomato selections ….
PEPPERS
A few of our NEW PEPPERS
PEPPER, SWEET
Etiuda Bell Pepper, Orange – NEW!
80 days, Open pollinated
An exceptional open pollinated variety developed in Poland. Vivid orange bell pepper, producing loads of blocky, thick-walled, juicy fruit with rich, very sweet flavor throughout the season. Earliest fruits can be very large. Almost candy sweet when fully ripe and the under-ripe fruit are also sweeter than most. Good leaf coverage, but a shade-cloth covering is still helpful to prevent sunscald. Plants need staking because of the weight of the fruits! (Photo Credit, Right: Adaptive Seeds.)
Read more pepper selections ….
EGGPLANTS
GALINE
72 days, F-1 hybrid
Early, dependable Italian-style eggplant, mild, creamy-fleshed fruits averaging 1 lb., with glossy black skin.
Read more eggplant selections ….
OTHER VEGGIE STARTS
about our Potato, Onion, and Asparagus selections.
COOL SEASON VEGGIES & HERBS
We have a Fantastic Selection, too many to list!
Arugula
Wild Arugula, Astro, Ice-Bred
Broccoli
Amadeus, Calabrese, Fiesta, Gypsy hybrid, Nutribud, Leaf Broccoli, Piracicaba. Plus Broccoli Raab and Aspabroc.
Read more …. about our Cool Season Veggies, and Herb selections.
ONE HEALTH
Can we have human health if our domesticated animals, wildlife, plants, and all nature are unhealthy, polluted, poisoned, weak and struggling? The answer seems to be NO. Climate Change “…coupled with a species-extinction crisis, habitat and soil degradation, pollution, extensive destruction of forests and coral reefs…” are all leading to our current health crisis.
HOURS, EVENTS & SALES
about our days of operation, May Day and Members Fall Plant Sales, and our Holiday Market.
VIRTUAL CLASSES
In our classes you will learn more than information. Our teachers are people who have spent years honing their skills and their experience in Colorado will help guide you to success. We are charging $20 unless otherwise stated to support our speakers and Harlequin’s educational direction. All our spring classes are virtual! View our selection on-line and register now! Stay tuned for more virtual classes (and hopefully in-person classes) later in the year.
THE HARLEQUIN EFFECT
Little Harlequin’s Gardens has always taken on the planet’s problems at the human level and at the earth level. We are growing plants without poisons so the bees, birds and bacteria will not be poisoned. We source many of our plants and products locally to support our local economy,
MEMBERSHIP & WEEKELY E-NEWSLETTERS
about the value of our weekly e-newsletters and a Harlequin’s Gardens membership.
OUR STAFF
We are very proud of our staff, so to help you to get to know us and our specialties, here are our portraits.
Amy Scanes-Wolfe spent five years farming on the East Coast before returning to her Colorado roots and diving into permaculture. After three years at Harlequin’s and with Boulder County Parks and Open Space, she now runs a permaculture landscaping business part-time and helps facilitate the Boulder Permaculture Design Course. She is this year’s special office and staff coordinator. Fun fact: Amy is fluent in Swahili!
Read more about our team members ….
PRODUCTS
Products from Paonia Soil Company. This company located in Paonia, Colorado uses more than 20 products in their soil blends, scientifically designed and balanced to provide organic minerals, organic matter, and beneficial biology. We welcome your feedback and experience with Paonia Soil Company products.
Read more …. about our Soil Products, Composts, Fertilizers, Mulch, and Potting Soils.
CACTI AND SUCCULENTS
about our cold-hardy cacti and succulents.
BEE BARN
about our wonderful Bee Barn!
FRUITING PLANTS
One of our specialties is fruiting plants that are adapted to Colorado conditions. All the apples we carry are resistant to fireblight and good tasting. And the cherries we sell are all proven successful in Colorado. Our grapes are the hardiest of any you will find, delicious fresh, in juice and a few are good for wine.
Read descriptions of our fruiting plant selections ….
ROSES
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.
SHRUBS & VINES
We have a large selection of natives, Fernbush, Mountain Ninebark,
PERENNIALS
Harlequin’s huge choice of pollinator-supporting Perennials-including:
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.
Read more perennial selections ….
TREES
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. Here is a sample of some of ours.
Russian Hawthorn
Very tough and xeric, grows 15’ high and wide, white flowers and red berries, loves Colorado.
SEEDS
This year we continue to offer a wonderful selection of seeds from our local Botanical Interests for tried-and-true vegetables, herbs, flowers, and sprouts,
VIRTUAL TOURS
See our HARLEQUIN’S VIRTUAL GARDEN TOURS.
If the majority of plants in one or more of your gardens came from Harlequin’s Gardens, please share the beauty and insights of that garden with the community on our website. Fill out a questionnaire and send photos. It will be fun and educational!
SALUTATION
We are grieving the tragic loss of lives to gun violence in Boulder, and the shattering of the community left to mourn.
We hope that we can be a part of the healing process.
Thank you, local gardeners, for helping to cultivate a healthy 21st Century World!
Sincerely,
Mikl Brawner & Eve Reshetnik-Brawner
And the Great Staff at Harlequin’s Gardens!