Christmas Tree Recycling 2024 by Vicky Spelman

Many municipalities across Colorado have free tree recycling or composting programs for holiday pines that have served their festive purpose.

What happens to the trees? In most cases, the trees are chipped and made into a mulch which is usually made available free to city or county residents. 

Trees must be stripped of all ornaments, hardware, strings of lights and tinsel.

Tips for Care of Cut Christmas Trees by Vicky Spelman

Christmas Tree Farm Photo credit: Penn State Extension Master Gardener Program

Is your Christmas tree up? Did you get a fresh one?  Whether you cut your own tree or bought a pre-cut tree, here are some tips to make the most of your fresh tree. 

Ready to plant an Amaryllis bulb for the Holidays? by Vicky Spelman

Courtesy: University of Minnesota Extension

Have you tried growing an amaryllis bulb for the Holidays?  Whether it’s your first bulb or your tenth, there is always lots of anticipation waiting for the beefy bulb to produce a flower - easy and fun to do.

Forcing Paperwhites to Bloom by Vicky Spelman

Photo:  FreeImages

 Blooming houseplants are the best during the Winter months!  Gardeners and bulb lovers like to force bulbs to bloom during the winter holidays to brighten the days. 

Paperwhite narcissus bulbs are one of the easiest to force for cut flowers or ornamental displays in the home during the Holidays as they don’t need a chilling period to bloom, unlike tulips and hyacinths.  

Utah Juniper: Nature's Caretaker by Charlotte Coles

 

Utah Juniper All photos by Charlotte Coles

The Utah Juniper, Juniperus osteosperma, is one of nature's caretakers. Utah Juniper is a multi-trunked tree or shrub. Roots are vast and shallow growing in gravelly loam or clay alkaline soil (pH 7.4-8.0). The Utah Juniper grows 0.5 inch per year and may live up to 600 years. They are best suited for elevations of 3000-8000 feet. This monoecious tree or shrub is able to reproduce in distant areas by wind or animals. Each berry contains 1-2 seeds and the staminate are small soft cones.

The Uncertainty of Insect and Plant Apps by Danielle Alkire

"Look Mom!" All photos by D. Alkire

In my garden, I can expect to have a child excitedly describing a “weird bug” they just found (if they are not already holding it up to my face) daily.

Dill Weed in Your Garden by Jeffrey Blake

All photos by Jeffrey Blake

Dill weed (Anethum graveolens) is a valuable addition to your garden because of its culinary versatility, its ability to attract beneficial insects and pollinators, its low-maintenance nature, and its potential medicinal uses. Whether you're an avid cook or simply want to enhance your garden's biodiversity and aesthetics, dill is an herb worth considering for your garden space.

Attracting Pollinators with Bee Balm by Jeffrey Blake

 

Scarlett Bee Balm 

All photos by Jeffrey Blake

Bee Balm (Monarda spp.), also known as wild bergamot or horsemint, is a popular garden plant that is excellent for attracting pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Here are several reasons why Bee Balm is a great choice for attracting these beneficial insects:

How to Attract Mason Bees and Keep Them in Your Garden by Cheryl Kaumeyer Wethey

 

Note nesting tubes that are being plugged with mud. 
All photos by Cheryl Kaumeyer Wethey

Solitary Bees make up 70% of the bee population in Colorado.   Included in this category are Mason Bees, members of Osmia lignaria species.   The Mason Bee gets its name from its characteristic behavior of incorporating mud like a brick mason in building and sealing their nests. 

Holiday Gift idea to start now by Vicky Spelman

University of Minnesota Extension

While bulbs are available at the nurseries, here is a fun and easy Holiday Gift idea.  You can pot up some favorite spring bulbs and create an indoor garden for winter flowering.  

Ants and Aphids Have Each Other's Back by Angelica Elliott

 

Photo: Pexels

Late last summer, something strange caught my attention while weeding around a Cosmo plant. I noticed a black blob on the plant's main stem. As I got closer to inspect, I realized it was a thick colony of black aphids (family Aphididae), and from my experience, where there are aphids, there will likely be ants.

Simple Propagation From Cuttings by Jeffrey Blake

Photo: dreamstime.com

Last season, a neighbor brought over a basket of herbs and vegetables including some very fresh Rosemary sprigs. Since I like to grow my own herbs, I immediately took a 4-5 inch section of a Rosemary sprig and prepared it to propagate in my garden. Now I have a healthy plant in my raised bed – that I use when cooking. And now this season, I have been looking for opportunities to create a few more Rosemary plants. I am sharing here the steps I took to propagate a cutting from my new plant. You can use these generic steps to propagate almost any plant that doesn't have a woody stem.

Preparing For Winter by Gregory Engel

Pexels:  Richard Fletcher

The end of summer is approaching and we're already experiencing cooler days and cooler nights. Flashes of yellow are appearing in the Linden tree outside my home office window and I'm busy harvesting the vegetables. Just as we plan next summer's garden during the winter, perhaps even begin seedlings inside while there is snow on the ground outside, we need to begin to prepare our garden spaces for winter as the harvest winds down and we move into fall.

Are you ready for next year's hail storms? by Terry Rintala

All photos by the author

If you have lived in Colorado for any length of time, you most likely have been in or around a hail storm.  

For gardeners in the state these can be very upsetting and traumatic events. Mainly because they can show up with little to no warning, sometimes weather services will show you that there is the threat of a hail storm during a weather incident (usually heavy rain). But in my experience, its usually 30 mins or less (if you happen to be watching the weather). I know several people that have lost most of their crops due to these storms.

Protecting New Plants from the Summer Sun by Sue Parilla

 

Photo: Sue Parilla

I had a few clusters of winter sown Aquilegia caerulea or Rocky Mountain columbines that I had not yet planted.  I knew they were crowded in their current container and wanted to get them in the ground. 

 If you must put a plant in the ground during the hottest days of the summer, there are some steps you can take to improve the chance that your new plant will survive this less than ideal time for transplanting. The hot Colorado sun will roast a newly planted flower or shrub. Giving it a little shade for its first couple weeks in the ground will give its roots a chance to settle in to its new digs. 

Composting with Worms: Vermicomposting by Sue Zirbes

 

Photo: Pexels: Sippakorn Yamkasikorn

When I was in Germany, I watched my family deposit their food waste in special buckets that were collected and used for community composting.  It’s nice to know that food waste is going back into food production.  One convenient method to do this with your own food waste is to have a worm bin in your garage.  It’s easy to do and it’s not even smelly.  Your worms will eat the food and process it into worm castings (poop) you can use to compost your garden.  The garage is a good home for your operation because the worms need to be shielded from the cold.

Black Swallowtails by Camille Paige

Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes. All photos by Camille Paige

The black swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes, is a large native CO butterfly with distinctive adult and larval (caterpillar) forms. The adults are striking butterflies with yellow spots lining the wings and blue spots and a “tail” on on the hind wing. Females can be distinguished by their more pronounced blue scales and smaller yellow spots.

Cold Frames - Making the Best Choice by Gregory Engel

Photo credit:  Extension, University of Maine 
https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2752e/

If you've gardened in Colorado for more than a few years, you know it's a challenging climate. Conditions vary from the drought days of the early 2000's to the unusually wet and cool spring and summer we've had here in 2023. Add to this a wide variation in elevation zones. More often than not, we wish for an extended growing season. A popular approach to achieving this goal is to set up cold frames structures that extend the growing season by creating a micro-climate favorable to either starting plants earlier in the spring or continue growing them late into fall, perhaps even throughout the winter.

Rocky Mountain Bee Plant by Megan Snow

Photo by Author

Common names: Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, Bee spiderflower, Stinking-clover, Toothed spider-flower

Scientific Name: Cleome serrulata Pursh
 
I love my Rocky Mountain Bee Plant. The name caught my eye as I was looking for plants that attract pollinators to place next to my veggie beds in hopes of encouraging pollination.

A Bounty of Bees By Amy Longworth

Photo by author

One of the first things I planted was echinacea, which were being sold as a medicinal herb that spring. These perennial lovelies grow to about four feet tall and bloom prolifically from early summer until the first freeze in autumn.

The Myth of “Vine Ripe” by Amy Poinsett

When you should REALLY pick your tomatoes...

Many gardeners and tomato lovers believe that the very best tomatoes are those picked right off the vine at the moment of peak ripeness. Something like this…

Image by kie-ker from Pixabay

Unfortunately, we often find that something (I’m looking at you, squirrels!) gets to those perfect fruits before we do:

Galls on my Shrub Redleaf rose bush by Kelli Barker

Photo:  CMG Kelli Barker

Nature spared no creativity in designing its myriad of galls!  As I’ve dived deeper into my master gardener apprenticeship, I’m paying closer attention to the variety of shapes, sizes and colors of galls on various plants. Despite my increased awareness, I was still stumped in identifying what looked like large coronovirus molecules had attached themselves to my Redleaf rose bush (Rosa rubrifolia) in late May.  I planted this xeric shrub in northwest corner of my front yard, just 6 or so feet from the main road of my house in Wheat Ridge.  

The Case for Indoor Plants in the Workplace by Jen H.

Pexels - George Milton

The appreciation for the passive value of people and plants has been lauded for years. By its very definition, biophilia highlights the innate tendency of humans to associate with other living things. Humans are intrinsically wired to find connection with plants...

Look What’s Growing in My Gutter- Strawberry Container Gardening by Kara Olyowski

Photo: Kara Olyowski

There’s nothing that says summer quite like biting into a juicy, homegrown strawberry! When I lived in Golden, I had a massive strawberry bed and my biggest problem was making sure to get to the fruit before the birds. I’ve since moved up into the foothills and live around 8300 feet. Gardening at this elevation has its own challenges for sure, one of them being a short growing season, so last summer we built a greenhouse. Growing in a greenhouse is awesome, but space is definitely at a premium. I wanted to grow strawberries again and decided that growing them in a container was the best space-efficient route to go.

Are Your Lilacs Blossoms Looking “Rusty’? Time to Prune By Joyce D’Agostino

Photo Joyce D'Agostino

For those who love lilacs, having those wonderful blooms and fragrance is a welcome end of the long winter. Lilacs now come in various shades of purple, lavender, pink and white. 

But now that the season for lilac blooming is over, you may notice that those lovely flower heads are replaced with unsightly rusty colored heads. This is normal for your lilac and not an indication of a decline in the shrub or a disease. However now that the blooms are done and before the lilac prepares for next season, you have a window of time now in June to do some removal of those old flowers as well as some pruning.  

Ready to take the pledge Gardeners? by Vicky Spelman

"So, by now you have all your seed starting gear cleaned and ready. You have your seeds and sterile growing media and you have even filled your containers and watered them in so the media is moist and ready. Great job!

Next step…BEFORE you even dare to open a seed packet…. is to create name markers for each planted cell. Never ever think you will remember which is which. You will not. Your sprouts can all look alike at plant out in May! Save yourself some anguish and make your labels ahead of time! It’s a good idea also to write your starting date on the back. You won’t remember that either!

Blue Mustard by CMG Brenda Sterns

 

Photo:  Brenda Sterns

Purple Mustard, Blue Mustard or Crossflower Chorispora tenella  

With the arrival of spring, the days are getting sunnier and warmer, and the trees and ground are showing tinges of green.   Excited to see what’s growing, you stroll through your yard and come across a petite, four-petal flower in shades of purple or pink. Perhaps you've seen it before, or maybe it's your first time noticing it. 

Easter Cactus by Sally Blanchard

Move over those Easter lilies and forced bulbs and welcome the regal Easter Cactus!

Unlike its Thanksgiving and Christmas cousins, the spring blooming Easter Cactus sadly receives very little praise or publicity. All three are Brazilian native epiphytes and actually live in trees, similar to orchids. 

Forcing Cut Branches to Bloom by Nancy Shepard

 

Photo: Nancy Shepard

To help celebrate spring, I usually search the grocery stores for live pussy willows. This year they were hard to find. Yet on an accidental trip to Trader Joe’s I bought some reddish brown twigs with buds with no label. White or pink blooms or something else?

After measuring the branch length for my vase, I cut the bottoms on an angle then slightly smashed the cut bottoms and stuck them in water. The angled cut and smashing helped the branches take up water. In three days I had dainty pink flowers. Maybe cherry? Or plum? They have lasted over a week and are now sprouting leaves.

Sweet Potato Vines in the Garden by CMG Pam Hill

Photo:  Pam Hill

I love lime green ornamental sweet potato vines (lpomoea batatas) for my planters and had a surprise this year.  I pulled the vines after a frost and found I had a crop as well!  

How about a moon garden? by Vicky Spelman

Silver mound wormwood (Artemisia schmidtiana 'Silver mound')

Courtesy Wilson Bros Gardens

Are you planning this year’s garden envisioning plants bathed in daylight?  How about a moon garden too?

What is a moon garden?   Simply… a moon garden has primarily white (or silver) plants that are meant to be enjoyed by the light of the moon.  Moonlight causes the flowers to reflect light differently during these hours than they do in the daytime. They are designed to shine when bathed in the moonlight.  

Scientific Reasons You Should Resolve to Start Gardening in 2023 by Nancy Shepard

 

Professor Jill Litt (right) checks on a plant with colleague Erin Decker (left) at a community garden next to Regis University. Photos by Glenn Asakawa/CU Boulder, 2017

We’ve all heard the anecdotal evidence of gardening improving people’s health but up until now, few studies have scientifically tested gardening’s effects on disease risk factors. Our own University of Colorado did that and the findings were published Jan. 4 in the journal Lancet Planetary Health and Science Direct.

Wrap up from the 2022 high altitude growing season! by CMG Ed Powers

All Photos by Ed Powers

We were OK last year - but what a growing season!  My worst since moving here in 2012.  First of all, I planted my vegetables and flowers late.  Then we were going through a dry spell which slowed down any growth. 

However, I did not let this deter me - I decided not to plant as many vegetables.  Also, we planted and bought more drought tolerant flowers.  Mainly petunias, alyssum and verbena.  Plus, my marigolds volunteered for the 4th season in a row and these along with our mixed flower pots were stunning. 

The Green Wall - Central Park Building by Glenda Sinks

Photo by Glenda Sinks
One Central Park Building—Sydney, Australia

What a spectacular building!  In fact, it is so spectacular that it received the award for Best Tall Building in the World in 2014.  The construction began on it in 2007 and was completed in 2013.  Now, ten years later the green wall concept is still going strong and is growing more important as the effects of climate change continue to take its toll.  As you can imagine, this multi-use building (offices, apartments, & a hotel) does not reflect as much heat as non-green wall buildings. 

Enjoying the Flora in New Zealand by Glenda Sinks

Photo: Glenda Sinks

The snow is hanging on this year, and most of us are probably dreaming of summer.  I was fortunate to experience summer the last few weeks on a trip to New Zealand and Australia.  This first blog features flora in New Zealand with a blog to follow featuring flora in Australia.  

My New Favorite Houseplant! by Pam Hill

Photo: CMG Pam Hill

This is my new favorite houseplant because it grew so quickly and is already blooming!  

Oxalis triangularis or false shamrock is a delightful houseplant in Denver.  A native of South America, it is a rhizomatous ornamental garden or houseplant, hardy only to zone 8.  Plants can be green, variegated, or deep maroon with small white or pink flowers.  The leaves close at night or when disturbed.

First Ever Vaccine for Honeybees by Nancy Shepard

Photo: Kevin/Adobe Stock

Don’t roll your eyes because I know you want to know how they put a needle into every bee arm! The United States Department of Agriculture just approved a vaccine that aims to curb foulbrood, a serious disease caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae that can weaken and kill hives. There is currently no cure for the disease, which in parts of the US has been found in a quarter of hives, requiring beekeepers to destroy and burn any infected colonies and administer antibiotics to prevent further spread.