Cottonwood Cotton by Carol King

The cottonwood cotton is flying in my North Lakewood neighborhood.  There are irrigation ditches in this part of town and the trees seem to follow the ditches. It looks like a snow storm in summer!

Here's some interesting facts about the cottonwood:

The cottonwood can grow to be one of the continent’s largest trees – up to 80 feet tall, with trunks that can reach five feet in diameter.
Cottonwoods consume a large amount of water in their growth cycle.  There are estimates that a mature cottonwood tree will use 200 gallons of water a day.

Cottonwoods live up to 100 years old.  Their roughly furrowed, thick bark makes them fire resistant, which helped them survive the regular grass fires on the Great Plains in years past.

Memorial Day and Poppies by Carol King

Photo by Tina Negus

The Memorial Day Organization tells us that Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.  Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No.11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
In 1915, inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields", Moina Michael conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need. Thus a tradition was born.


In Flanders Fields

John McCrae, 1915.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Why not plant a poppy bed in honor of Memorial Day?     Poppies are easy to grow in Colorado.  They are drought and pest resistant.  Many varieties grow easily from seed. 

Here's an article that will help you have success with your planting. 

Upside Down Tomatoes by Carol King

The next couple of weeks is tomato planting time along the Front Range.  Day and night time temperatures are still too low to support tomato growth so "wall of waters"  is a good idea until night time temps reach 50+.

Planting "upside down" tomatoes appears to be a big fad right now. While the practice is nationwide, there are some Colorado-specific concerns from Planttalk Colorado.

organicgardeningfarming.com

"Plants know up from down!  Auxins (hormones produced in the growing tips) turn stem growth upwards. When tomato plants are hung, new stem growth makes a U-turn upwards. In Colorado’s windy weather, the weight of the stems in windy weather can pull or break off the stem. The new growth will make another U-turn upward.