With today’s busy lifestyles, who has the time to do hours of landscape maintenance? And with Colorado drought restrictions, as well as concerns about the environmental impact of traditional landscaping, many homeowners are looking for grass-free landscape ideas. Grass-free landscapes decrease maintenance while still making your yard look beautiful. Plus, they can be better for…
Continue ReadingPlant Highlight: The Poppy Mallow Flatters Xeriscaped Lawns
Xeriscaped or grass-free landscapes present some unique challenges when it comes to adding plants and features. You have to consider watering as well as design requirements. The poppy mallow flower, or winecup, is perfect for Xeriscaped lawns, as it provides color and texture while also being drought-tolerant. It is a purple flower with a white…
Continue Reading5 Container Gardening Mistakes to Avoid This Winter
Winter gardening in Colorado isn’t impossible, but it will require a few changes on your part. If you don’t want your landscape to look like a bleak midwinter snowstorm, container gardening is a wonderful way to enjoy winter interest on your patio and around other areas of your yard. You can even enhance your container’s visual impact by adding…
Continue ReadingGorgeous Plants for Landscape Edging
Landscape edging forms the border of beautiful flower beds and can frame the rest of your Colorado landscape design, while directing pathways and leading the eye along a visual journey. In casual gardens or landscapes that mimic a more natural plant environment, we often forgo the use of harsh borders and select plants that will create a softer visual appeal….
Continue ReadingCommon Gardening Mistakes to Avoid in Colorado
Here in Colorado, gardeners often face difficult weather patterns, air circulation, and variations in soil types from region to region. But no matter which part of Colorado you call home, gardening requires patience and knowledge because even skilled gardeners can make mistakes. Here are a few common gardening mistakes to avoid so that your back yard…
Continue ReadingA Colorado Gardener’s January Checklist
If you haven’t already done so, finish checking off the items from our December gardener’s checklist. Then, use this lull between holiday weeks to organize your January checklist, so you’ll be prepared once the New Year’s festivities have ended. Here are some Colorado gardening tips for your January checklist. Water your plants. There are two…
Continue ReadingControl Destructive Pests – Emerald Ash Borer
As Pantone’s 2013 Color of the Year, emerald has been spotted all over homes and landscapes. But there was one emerald that was less welcomed — the Emerald Ash Borer. As the EAB info site explains, this exotic beetle has become the most destructive of North America, costing several states and industries millions and millions…
Continue ReadingThe Western Sandcherry
One of the most important factors to consider when planting a garden is assessing what your landscape will look like during the winter months. The Western Sandcherry, a creeping, low-growing plant native to the Rocky Mountains, is active in both the spring and summer. In addition to this, the leafy plant is also extremely diverse…
Continue ReadingRabbitbrush – A Colorful Colorado Native Shrub
PlantTalk Colorado says, it’s “one of the most ornamental and useful native plants for a Colorado garden,” and Better Homes & Gardens names it one of their “Standout Plants for the Mountain West.” A shrub native to Colorado, rabbitbrush not only celebrates the natural beauty of our state but it inherently comes with a tolerance for the…
Continue Reading5 Favorite Colorado Native Perennials
A drought-tolerant landscape does not have to be defunct of color! There are several plants native to Colorado that are perfect for xeriscaping and offer year-round visual interest with vibrant colors, engaging textures, and sculptural shapes. Here are five of our favorites that call Colorado home. Rocky Mountain Columbine This beautiful perennial has striking white…
Continue Reading