Kendrick Lake Park a Xeric Wonder

Jefferson County's garden is world renowned. If you haven't visited, please do so. You will get so many ideas for your home garden!
!Kendrick Lake park a xeric wonder - The Denver Post

Young gardeners hear from veteran how nation harvested sense of unity in WWII - The Denver Post

Ceci Droll, our very own Colorado Master Gardener Emeritus was the star of this lovely story in the Denver Post. It discusses Jefferson County CSU Extension's Junior Master Gardener Program.

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Young gardeners hear from veteran how nation harvested sense of unity in WWII - The Denver Post

Finding a New Vegetable: Scorzonera

Would it grow in Colorado?


Finding a New Vegetable: Scorzonera - Slashfood

How to Choose Vegetable Seedlings

Carol O'Meara from Boulder County CSU Extension shows us what to look for when purchasing vegetable seedlings. Don't get stung at the greenhouse!

A Passion for Peonies by MJ Lechner

Every Spring I watch and wait.  Ever-so-slowly, the little reddish shoots emerge through the cold early spring soil and my heart skips a beat- the peonies are back!  From the first spotting until, I watch and wait patiently until one day, they burst into bloom!  It is then I am sure that spring is truly here to stay.
So, what is it about peonies that make them so darn enchanting?  Named for the ancient Balkan region & tribe, Paeonia, peonies hail from Asia and southern Europe.  They are an herbaceous (bushy) plant, meaning that they die all the way back in the winter.  Their color range is almost endless, with new hybrids being introduced each year.  Some tried and true favorites are singles, (e.g. Athena, Dad, Krinkled White, Scarlet O’Hara, Sea Shell) Japanese, (Nippon Beauty, Madame Butterfly) Semi-Double, (Paula Fay, Coral Charm, Miss America, Buckeye Belle) Double (Ann Cousins, Gardenia, Kansas, Paul M. Wild, Tourangelle) and Bomb-Double (Red Charm, Raspberry Sundae, Mons Jules Elie).

Comments on Spring Rose Pruning by Gardener Dave

Just a couple of paragraphs, repeated from my blog posting of May 12th, 2009, “Spring Rose Pruning and Other Rosy Ramblings”:

1) Pruning: I DON’T try to save rose canes in the spring that are really dark in color or have “weather cankers” on them. They will almost NEVER support good roses later in the season, even if they have new sprouts on them. When you cut the canes back from the top, look for a healthy green cambium layer all the way around the cane down to the base, then stop pruning a bit above that point. This spring my roses will be severely pruned!

2) Pruning: I WAIT until late April or early May to prune the canes back. By that time you will have a pretty good idea of the extent of winter damage, and new sprouting growth will be evident. This last winter was hard on roses in our area, especially if they were exposed to below-zero temperatures and drying winds. In my first years of growing roses, I would prune canes back on mild days (during some of our “false springs” in February or March) only to prune them back some more after later cold spells. All right… I’ll admit that some years – such as this one – I just can’t stand the sight of ugly tall, brown, thorny canes, and I do lop them off early to improve the general appearance of the garden.

Cheers,

Gardener Dave

May Madness by MJ Lechner

Well, it 's come and gone:  Mother’s Day, the unofficial start of gardening here in Colorado!  Everybody will soon be elbowing their way through the aisles at the garden centers grabbing for six packs of petunias and black pots of poppies…but wait!  Before you fill your cart with annuals, here are a few things to consider.

Waiting for the (Real) Spring by Gardener Dave

Sometimes it takes so very long

for spring to come again

I check my tools and look outside

Will today bring snow or rain?

How to properly prune damaged branches

While Ft. Collins and northern Colorado bore the brunt of the heavy snow,  some of us in Jefferson County no doubt lost limbs.  Here's an article from Ft. Collins that will be helpful in pruning those damaged trees and shrubs.  Now let's hope we don't have to discuss this subject again until late fall!!

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How to properly prune damaged branches | coloradoan.com | The Coloradoan

Veggie Gardening in Containers by Donna Duffy

The number of people who grow vegetables at home has increased dramatically over the past few years. But what if you are limited on space? Vegetable gardens require lots of square footage, don’t they? Well, not necessarily. Some vegetables will be perfectly content to grow in a container if a few basic principles are followed.

Lakewood! Zoning Improvement Urban Agriculture in Lakewood, Colorado

Gardeners!  Got an opinion on beekeeping in the city?  How about city chickens?  Now's the time to let your ideas be known! The City of Lakewood is hosting an event to explore the topic of urban agriculture. The event will allow residents and business owners to hear from experts on the topic and to share their comments and ideas as a part of the Lakewood! Zoning Improvement Process. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18, 2010, with an open house in the Civic Center South Building and a formal presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. Both sessions will be at 480 S. Allison Parkway.

Here's the complete scoop:

City Of Lakewood: Events Calendar - Lakewood! Zoning Improvement Urban Agriculture...

How to protect your early spring garden from a late snow storm -

"Tis a privilege to live in Colorado" - F Bonfils

Here's the prediction straight from NOAA: 

A STRONG SPRING STORM WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHERN UTAH TUESDAY
AFTERNOON...AND THEN TRACK ACROSS COLORADO TUESDAY NIGHT AND
WEDNESDAY MORNING.  PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN THE
MOUNTAINS TUESDAY...AND THEN SPREAD ACROSS THE PLAINS TUESDAY
AFTERNOON AND NIGHT.  HEAVY SNOWFALL IS POSSIBLE ESPECIALLY OVER THE
FRONT RANGE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS.  IN ADDITION...TEMPERATURES MAY
BE COLD ENOUGH TO BRING SNOW INTO THE URBAN CORRIDOR AND PORTIONS OF
THE PLAINS AS WELL...ESPECIALLY LATE TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY.

THERE IS STILL CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY WITH THE TRACK OF THE
STORM...AND ANY VARIATION TO THIS TRACK WILL HAVE EXTREMELY LARGE
IMPLICATIONS ON TEMPERATURES AND THE AMOUNT OF SNOWFALL AT ANY GIVEN
LOCATION. 

Here's a great site with helpful information for protecting your plants tomorrow night!

How to protect your early spring garden from a late snow storm - by Rex Trulove - Helium

PlantTalk Colorado ; Front Range Gardening Questions Answered Here!

Providing consistent plant care information to the public, this Internet-based system of over 450 timely gardening topics combines the expertise of three leading Colorado garden information organizations. PlantTalk Colorado delivers answers to planting challenges based on university and commercial research.
Look here!

PlantTalk Colorado - provides reliable, timely information on more than 400 horticultural topics.

Today @ Colorado State University - Researchers, cities, and farmers work together to solve water challenges

 Researchers, cities, and farmers work together to solve water challenges in the West.  Read the latest here:

Today @ Colorado State University - Researchers, cities, and farmers work together to solve water challenges

Plant Select: Great Plants for the Rocky Mountain Region!

 Plant Select^® is a cooperative program administered by Denver Botanic Gardens and Colorado State University in concert with horticulturists and nurseries throughout the Rocky Mountain region and beyond. The purpose of Plant Select^® is to seek out, identify and distribute the very best plants for landscapes and gardens from the intermountain region to the high plains.  Check out the recommended plants here!   Plant Select

These plants will perform well in your front range garden.

How Green Is Your Garden?

As gardeners, we think we are "green" but really, just how green are we?  Here's a provocative article about creating a carbon-neutral garden! 

How Green Is Your Garden? - National Wildlife Federation