Scouting Fall Flowers for Next Spring’s Planting by Carol Martin

Purple Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae): All photos by Carol Martin

Many gardeners, both novice and seasoned, see Fall as a time to put their gardens to bed. While this is an important task, I like to think of Fall as my first step in planning for the new plants I will put in my garden next Spring. Fall is the perfect time to take a look at your garden and evaluate whether you have enough plants blooming to make it attractive and to support our pollinators.

Here are some ideas and plant suggestions to keep your garden beautiful throughout the Fall months.

Crevice Garden Building Workshop by Nancy Shepard

 

Crevice garden at the Denver Botanic Gardens Photo: Denver Botanic Gardens

I recently attended a crevice garden building workshop put on by Plant Select® and hosted by CSU. Plant Select is a non-profit collaboration of Colorado State University, Denver Botanic Gardens, and professional horticulturists (https://plantselect.org/.) The workshop was part of a two-day Plant Select conference specifically for landscape professionals. Landscape companies are increasingly using plants from the Plant Select collection because they flourish with less water and are tough and resilient in challenging climates such as our Rocky Mountain region. They told me they also have been getting more requests from their clients to build crevice gardens. CSU supplied the large bare expanse of an ugly eyesore outside the doors of the Colorado State University Horticulture Center.

Gardening Infographics by Nancy Shepard

The Ever Blooming Flower Garden by Lee Schneller 2009

When I was working in the technology industry, I saw firsthand how showing people information in a visual form was so much more powerful than looking at plain numbers and text. Now as a Master Gardener, I am thrilled to see artists interpret gardening and horticultural data into easy-to-understand graphics or what’s better known as infographics. Here are just a few I have come across and I’m sure you've seen great examples too.

Durango Botanic Gardens by Nancy Shepard

 

All pictures by Nancy Shepard

On a recent trip to southern Colorado, I stopped in to the Durango Botanic Gardens. Despite the late growing season in October, I was pleasantly surprised at what they have created. The first garden, the Library Demonstration Garden, was built in 2011 when a handful of community-minded citizens began reimagining and repurposing an unsightly, weedy area behind the library into a Plant Select® Demonstration Garden.

New Plants for 2021 from Plant Select by Nancy Shepard

Antirrhinum sempervirens ‘P020S’ — Drew’s Folly™ Hardy Snapdragon

[This article was originally published in the Jan/Feb 2021 issue of Colorado Green, a landscape professionals publication, and contributed by James E. Klett, professor and extension horticulturist, Colorado State University, Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture in Fort Collins.] 

Plant Select, a collaborative effort between Colorado State University, Denver Botanic Gardens and horticulturists around the world, announced three new introductions being promoted for 2021 and is giving additional promotion to other plants that they have previously introduced. Now entering its 24th year, Plant Select is a leading source of plants that thrive in the High Plains and intermountain region and is a non-profit organization. These plants provide gardeners and landscape professionals with smart, stunning and successful gardens using less water and fewer resources, ultimately having a more positive environmental impact. To find out where to buy these plants, see https://plantselect.org/ 

2021 New Introductions

Helichrysum trilineatum ‘P021S’ — SteppeSuns® Hokubetsi

Hokubetsi is the native Basotho name for Helichrysum trilineatum that grows high up in the Maloti mountain range of southern Africa. SteppeSuns® Hokubetsi is a selection that forms a rounded, dense, silver shrub with clusters of bright yellow strawflowers. Hokubetsi is adaptable, tolerating extremes in temperature, water, and soil types. Fuzzy stems and foliage protect this plant from intense solar radiation and insulate it through bitterly cold winters. Small silver leaves curl up or fall off during winter, leaving a soft ever-silver statement in the garden. It grows to about 3 feet in height and 4 feet in width. During the winter the small silver leaves curl up or fall off, leaving a soft ever-silver statement in the garden. 

Antirrhinum sempervirens ‘P020S’ — Drew’s Folly™ Hardy Snapdragon

DREW’S FOLLY™ Hardy Snapdragon (Antirrhinum sempervirens ‘P020S’) flowers so heavily that when in full bloom, its foliage is almost completely masked. Drew’s Folly is a natural for the rock garden or edge of a flagstone patio. This plant will thrive in a wide range of soil types, in dry conditions with occasional irrigation, with very little maintenance required. It grows to about 12 inches in height and 16 inches in width. 

Penstemon strictus ‘PWWG06S’ — Blanca Peak® Rocky Mountain Beardtongue

Blanca Peak® Rocky Mountain Beardtongue provides a 3 to 4 week-long eye-catching display of white tubular flowers in late spring. Light green foliage forms a low growing evergreen mat. Blanca Peak® is a long-lived perennial native to the higher elevations of AZ, CO, NM, UT, and WY. Thank you to David Salman for bringing this fantastic penstemon to the Plant Select program. It was Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms staff’s favorite in 2019! It grows to about 20-24 inches in height and 15-18 inches in width.

Past Introductions that Deserve More Planting

Acer tataricum ‘GarAnn’ PP15,023 — Hot Wings® Tatarian Maple

Acer tataricum ‘GarAnn’ PP15,023 — Hot Wings® Tatarian Maple

Acer tataricum ‘GarAnn’ PP15,023 — Hot Wings® Tatarian Maple

Enjoy the contrast of the scarlet red samaras against rich green foliage in midsummer on either a single planting or multi-planting of this small tree. Hot Wings® is adaptable to alkaline soil and will grow in full sun or part shade. A rounded upright growth habit with sturdy branching makes it less prone to storm damage. It grows to about 15 to 18 feet in height and width. Perfect as a single specimen or set in a large-scale shrub border.

Viburnum burejaeticum ‘P017S’ — Mini Man™ dwarf Manchurian Viburnum

Viburnum burejaeticum ‘P017S’ — Mini Man™ dwarf Manchurian Viburnum

This compact form of Manchurian viburnum has clusters of white flowers in spring followed by persistent red to blue-black fruit. Mini Man™ is native to Russia and northern China. It grows to about 4 to 6 feet in height and width. A cold hardy, low-water shrub with velvety green leaves that is adaptable to sun or filtered shade.

Free Garden Planning by Nancy Shepard

Example of Plant Select single design

Looking for garden planning help? You don’t have to spend money hiring a garden designer. In some cases it’s as easy as color-by-number paintings when you take advantage of the many detailed designs that local cities, Plant Select, and water conservation organizations have posted for free. Here are a few that offer pre-designed plans that include sketches and plant lists.

Choosing the Best Seeds and Plants for Your Garden by Joyce D’Agostino

For gardeners, this time of year brings exciting arrivals to your mailbox – the new seed and plant catalogs. Sometimes the selections are so tempting that you might want to break your budget to buy as many of the wonderful varieties as possible.

Before you begin placing your orders or making the visits to your garden centers, an important rule is choosing the “right plant for the right place” which will bring more enjoyment and success. Even if you are an experienced gardener in our climate, there may be some plants that you want to try and not certain if they are appropriate for your region.

Master Gardeners in Service: Plant Select Research and Display Garden by Michele Loudis

Delosperma (Alan's Apricot), photo courtesy Plant Select

The Plant Select program is a great resource for area gardeners because it tests and selects the best plants for our interior West’s challenging climate.  Spearheaded by Colorado State University, Plant Select collaborates with Denver Botanic Gardens, growers, landscape professionals, and public gardens to find resilient and tough plants that flourish in our fluctuating temperatures and dry, windy conditions.  And the Colorado Master Gardeners in Jefferson County help!

Open Garden Day at CSU Horticulture Demonstration Garden by Patti O'Neal

CSU Master Gardeners of Jefferson County will be available for questions and tours of the gardens on Saturday, June 20th, from 8:00am until 1:00pm at the Horticulture Demonstration and Research Garden located at the Jeffco Fairgrounds.  

Master Gardeners tend this garden and build structures, demonstrate different planting styles and experiment with plants to show how to manage and increase harvest of produce in front range gardens.  They will be working in the garden this day and invite you to come and ask questions and take photos for ideas and learn about good gardening practices.  

Adjacent to this garden is our Plant Select garden where the public can see some really durable ornamental plants for Colorado.  We do not amend or water this garden other than what Mother Nature provides, so you can be sure these plants do incredibly well here.  

Come and bring questions, cameras or samples of plant problems from your gardens and Master Gardeners will help you to understand what’s happening this year and how you can help your plants to thrive. 

Please join us!