Colorado Cactus and Succlent Society's Show and Plant Sale by Dusty M

Specialized plant groups can be valuable resources to gardeners who want to explore subdivisions of the gardening world. Here in Colorado there are a host of organizations with special focus, from African violets and orchids to daylilies and dahlias, from water gardening to carnivorous plants. In these groups one can tap into a wealth of information, practical experience, and passion for particular plants and styles of gardening. Most of them are also a source of plants.

This weekend took me to the Colorado Cactus and Succulent Society's show and plant sale at the Denver Botanic Gardens. I'm planning a non-irrigated ornamental plot in my backyard and expect cacti and succulents to play a prominent role. So this seemed a good chance to get started.

We 'Sedum' and We Loved 'em! by MJ Lechner

In a quiet corner lot in northwest Denver, a garden gem has been created. Stepping into Megan's yard is like stepping into an artist's studio - it is awash with stuff and color! Megan likes to collect things for her middle school art classes and for her own art work. She also likes to collect sedum.

Sedum turn up in her eclectic garden in the most unusual containers: upturned Tiffany lampshades, old chairs painted Santa Fe blue, a purple antique washing machine, a rusty watering can; you name it and she has sedum planted in it. And it looks fabulous!!!

Megan has the artist's eye for both color and imagination. If I ever tried to make my yard look like hers, the neighbors would call Code Enforcement and Jeffco Mental Health, but in her yard, it is perfect! There is a definite echo of New Mexico in each of her garden vignettes. With the rich colors and use of unique statuary, you can almost smell the chiles roasting and the pinon in the air...

My little Power Shot does not do her brilliant colors justice, but they give you just a sample of the many treasures nestled in this jewel box garden.

April Showers bring May Flowers by Gardener Cumax

In my case, April snow dumps can squash the flowers. It just depends on what kind of flowers they are. The tulips have some minor damage. Most were not open yet. In the case of winter hardy succulents, no amount of snow can dampen their enthusiasm.



Imagine that heavy snow crushing these delicate Delosperma 'Beaufort West' flowers. The bright sun revives them and they shine again. Heavy snow, bright sun, flowers again. Six words that aptly describe hardy succulents.



If you happen to see some pink in the foothills, it's Pediocactus simpsonii, a Colorado native that is just about done flowering. One can find these in various places on the southern flanks of Green Mountain. These two are currently flowering in my hardy succulent garden.




We call the Stomatium mustillinum (native to S. Africa) the Banana Taffy Flower because that's exactly what its fragrance smells like. Its flowers open about 5-6 pm every night for 4 months starting after the last snow. In this case the flowers started a week after that April 18th snow dump. As long as it's sunny most of the day, the flowers will open. A few cloudy days will simply close them up; the returning sun opens those same flowers again.