Colorado Gardening Calendar for October 2023

By Margerie Hicks, CSU Extension – Denver Master Gardener since 2010

October is my favorite month to enjoy the vibrant, intense colors and crisp autumn breezes of Colorado. Gardeners need to adjust their routines to ensure a healthy, beautiful garden next year by completing the maintenance tasks outlined here that apply to your garden.

Vegetable Garden

Harvesting carrots and beets photo by a-lesa on iStock

• Harvest and Preserve: Your vegetable garden may still be yielding some late-season treasures. Harvest your remaining root vegetables and squash. Store them in a cool dry place for use throughout the winter. Consider canning or freezing surplus produce or donating some to a food bank. For canning information click here. The first frost will probably occur mid-month, so don’t be caught harvesting one night in a freezing drizzle (I’m speaking from experience); observe the weather reports each day.
• Clean and Compost: Remove spent plants and weeds from your garden beds to prevent diseases and pests from overwintering. Compost healthy plant material to create nutrient-rich soil for next spring. Learn more about composting techniques here.
• Plant Cover Crops: Protect your garden’s soil during the harsh winter months by sowing cover crops like winter rye. These cover crops help prevent soil erosion, suppress weeds, and improve soil structure. When spring arrives, you can simply turn them under to add organic matter to your soil.

Trees and Shrubs

• Blow out the sprinkler system: When water freezes the pipes may crack.
• Wrap the trunks of trees that have been planted in the last one or two years:  Click here for details.
• Prune and trim: See this Colorado State Forest Service pruning guide. Do not prune spring flowering shrubs or you will be removing next year’s blooms. In the future, prune these soon after the blooms fade. 
• Irrigate: Continue to water, and plan for monthly watering all winter on days the temperature is above 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Lawn Care

child playing in leaves photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash.com

• Rake leaves:  First form big piles so the children in your life can play in them. Then compost the leaves at home or take them, ideally in paper bags, to one of the leaf drop sites provided by the City of Denver. Click here for locations, dates, and times.
• Fertilize: Click here for details on proper lawn fertilization.
• Aerate: Unless your lawn has been aerated since spring, see the sub section of this fact sheet called “Core Cultivation or Aerating” to learn more.

Perennial Flower Beds

Planting tulip bulbs photo by LianeM on iStock

• Plant spring bulbs: Tulip, hyacinth, crocus, daffodil and other spring blooming bulbs can be planted when the weather gets cool. See this fact sheet for important considerations in selecting and planting bulbs.
• Divide and transplant: October is the ideal time to divide overgrown perennials. This process rejuvenates the plants and can also provide you with new additions to your garden. Transplant them to new areas or share them with fellow gardeners.
• Cut back and clean: Trim back faded perennial foliage and remove debris from your flower beds. Consider leaving some plants uncut, such as ornamental grasses and dried echinacea blossoms, as winter habitat and seeds for birds. These and other plants, such as Autumn Joy sedum, provide winter interest to the garden.

Annual Flower Beds

Ornamental Cabbage photo by Santi WiWatchaikul on iStock

• Plant cool season annuals: Extend the beauty of your garden by introducing cool season annuals like pansies, violas, and ornamental kale or cabbage. These hardy plants can withstand the cooler temperatures of late fall and early winter, adding vibrant color to your landscape.
• Enjoy blooms inside: Before the frost, cut any remaining blooms, such as roses, bring them in the house, and put in vases to enjoy the last summer color.

Other Tasks

• Bring in house plants from the patio before the inevitable frost. First, hose off the summer dust and any insects, then let them dry while still outside.
• Wash and store pots; clean, sharpen, and oil garden tools; store for the winter.

October is a transitional month in Colorado gardening. Use this month to prepare your garden for the winter months ahead. Remember to adapt these guidelines to your specific microclimate and garden conditions, and always consult research-based resources such as https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/ for the most accurate advice. Happy gardening.

Planting Fall Perennials and Bulbs

By: Molly Gaines, CSU Extension-Denver Master Gardener since 2019

Our lovely Blue Mist spirea buzzed with bees. Spirea is a great choice for fall planting. Place in full sun; requires little water once established.

September is coming in hot with another streak of 90-plus degree temperatures. But our first frost could be only a month away. This makes it a great time to assess your gardens for beleaguered plantings or spaces for new ones that will add repetition, variety, color or texture next spring. Perennials, which live for many years under the right growing conditions, are an excellent choice as they are quickly established and provide a beautiful landscape around one’s home. Fall, with its cooling temperatures yet warm soil, is an ideal time in Denver to plant most perennials, including bulbs.

Last week, my husband and I did some assessing of our space for new perennial plantings. This followed an unfortunate incident in our front yard. Per our request, the owner of an unoccupied house next door removed massive patches of 7-foot tall thistles and copious bindweed encroaching on our lawn and garden. In the process, the workers mistook our 10-year-old blue mist spirea for a weed.

At first I was highly annoyed this gorgeous perennial woody shrub had been removed, leaving a gaping hole and hundreds of bees homeless. But after a few minutes the shock wore off and I got excited about planting something new. This weekend, we’ll make a trip to our favorite garden store to walk the aisles, selecting whatever perennial promises to bring new life and color to our yard.

I’ve also been wanting to add early spring pops of color to our beds. For this I’ll turn to tulips, hyacinth and maybe some daffodils. I’m also looking at more groundcover, perhaps light pink dianthus, which also loves to be planted in the fall. Our garden also needs new ornamental grasses, ideal for our dry climate, but those require more time to get established before winter. If I want to plant those, I need to do it soon as they should be in the ground at least a month before the first frost.

Wisteria is a perennial that quickly establishes itself as a prolific climber with beautiful purple flowers.

There are a number of perennial plants, flowers, trees and veggies that are excellent choices to for fall planting. Water them frequently so their root systems adequately establish before the ground freezes and they go dormant for the winter. Don’t forget to winter water during dry spells. Find tips here.

Here are a few to consider:

Bulbs

It’s delightful to see the first crocuses blooming in March, a tell-tale sign that spring is coming. Additional early bloomers to consider include snowdrops, species tulips, dwarf iris and Siberian squill. To keep the color going through spring, think about grape hyacinths (oh that intoxicating scent!), tulips or daffodils. For early summer blooms, alliums, bearded iris and Dutch iris are also good considerations. For great information about bulb selection and planting, visit this CMG blog post or this fact sheet from PlantTalk. One tip to remember: plant each bulb 2-3 times as deep as the length of the bulb itself.

Crocus in bloom on March 23 in Denver.

Perennials

For a terrific overview of everything you’d want to know about perennials, from designing a space, to selecting plants, to getting them in the ground, check out this Colorado State University (CSU) fact sheet.

When it comes to choosing perennial plants for fall planting, I find garden centers naturally guide the selection process based upon what they are selling. Here’s a comprehensive list from CSU of perennial options that thrive in our higher elevations and are suitable for sunny, partial sun and shady locations.

If you’re interested in newcomers to our Denver gardens and they are available, consider recommendations from Colorado State University researchers. Last year, they released a list of the top 8 best new perennials to grow in in our Rocky Mountain climate. These include Firefly Sunshine yarrow, Alchemy Silver brunnera, Euphoria Ruby Joe-Pye weed, Crazy Blue Russian sage, Prima Angelina sedum and Moody Blues veronica (mauve improved). A note on roses: while there are roses on this list, according to CSU, they are better-suited to spring planting.

After hot summer days, endless weeding tasks and the constant watering our Denver gardens demand, the fall season calls us to relax into the landscapes we’ve created. But a final push of perennial planting will be appreciated next spring as new life emerges, along with the promise a new gardening season holds.

Fall Blooming Saffron Crocus

Lori Williams, CSU Extension – Denver Master Gardener since 2016

Saffron Crocus flower and grass-like leaves. Photo: Lori Williams

Saffron is one of the most exotic and expensive spices in the world, prized for its complex, sweet and earthy flavor. This highly desirable seasoning comes from the red female pollen receptors or stamens of the fall blooming saffron crocus (Crocus sativus). While the plant looks like the familiar spring blooming crocus, only saffron crocus produces this coveted culinary ingredient.

Lucky for Colorado front range gardeners, saffron crocus is hardy in our zone 5 climate and once established, is drought tolerant. I added it to my garden three years ago and am really enjoying it.

Let’s take a look at the plant’s history and tips for growing and harvesting.

Saffron Through the Ages

For centuries, saffron has been used in a wide variety of ways – as a richly scented perfume ingredient, a vibrant fabric and ink dye, an aide in organ functioning, and to beat the blues – to name just a few. Reportedly, Cleopatra soaked in saffron-infused baths as she liked the luminous glow it gave her skin. Today, saffron’ s most notable use is as a flavorful seasoning in sweet and savory dishes.

Planting Tips and Growth Cycle

Saffron crocus plants develop from corms (a squat shaped bulb). Since the Denver area is on the cold edge of the plant’s hardiness range (zone 5),  plants will benefit from the sunniest location possible.

Plant six weeks before the expected first frost. Bury corms in well-draining soil, 2-3 inches deep, 3-4 inches apart with pointy end up and ‘hairy’ end down. For successful flowering, nighttime soil temperatures should be as low as 40 degrees. Corms spoil quickly so plant soon after purchasing.

Thin, grass-like leaves sprout in 4-10 weeks, followed shortly by 2-4 purplish cup-shaped blooms which last up to a month.

The foliage remains green for months while underground the ‘mother’ corm multiplies or produces ‘daughters.’

Leaves yellow and die in spring; plants will be dormant in summer. Divide bulbs every 3-5 years during the late summer dormant period.

The saffron crocus lifecycle. ( University of Vermont)

Harvesting Saffron

Timing and TLC are critical to capturing maximum flavor. This is where the labor cost of commercially grown saffron adds up. Plants are low-yield and picked by hand – producing just three stigmas per flower. It takes 4600 flowers to produce one ounce of saffron. It’s no wonder that today .03 ounce of the spice costs $24!

Some growers believe the most robust flavor comes from the morning harvest of the season’s first blooms. Imagine watchful workers jumping into action on that first morning, hand plucking dark red threads from each flower.

Saffron threads on leaf. Photo: Lori Williams

Here are harvesting tips for the home gardener:

• Allow the plant to mature for an entire life cycle before collecting the stigmas. My initial year’s growth was small and floppy, with underdeveloped stigma, so I just enjoyed the prettiness.
• Microclimates impact plant growth and saffron production. This year, my esteemed master gardener friend who gardens to the south of me completed harvesting by mid-October, mine flowered about two weeks later.
• Remove the long, crimson red stigma by hand when flowers are in bloom. Last year I harvested a few days post-bloom which resulted in orange-stained fingers and strands that went *POOF* into dust the moment they were touched. A good, but hard lesson to learn.

Saffron is amazing fresh; however, it’s more commonly used dry. To preserve it, lay the threads on paper towels and protect from light to maintain flavor. When dry, wrap threads in foil and place in an air-tight container. Ideal storage temperature is 77 degrees.

Resources and References

Saffron crocus is getting easier to find at local garden centers and there are many reputable growers online and via catalogues. This Nebraska Extension article includes a helpful list.

This video from a Tasmanian saffron farm is fun to watch.

America’s Test Kitchen offers some mouth-watering sweet and savory saffron recipes here.

The University of Vermont is home to the North American Center for Saffron Research and Development.

Saffron crocus is a lovely addition to the fall garden as well as your spice rack. I hope you’ll try growing it!

Colorado Gardening Calendar for SEPTEMBER 2022

By: Valerie Podmore, CSU Extension-Denver Master Gardener since 2020

Summer’s not done yet! by Valerie Podmore

Let’s not get downhearted at the impending end of growing season! September is one of the best months for continuing harvests, enjoying our gardens, and yes, preparing for the end of summer (sad face). Mark your calendar to get these gardening to-do’s done in your yard and garden.

Vegetable Garden

• Continue consistent watering practices. We might be cooling down, but we are still dry, so don’t let your hard work “die on the vine!”
• Plant fall vegetables! Some do really well in cooler weather and ripen quickly for harvest, such as lettuce, kale, arugula, Swiss chard, and spinach which can be direct seeded.
• Save heirloom plant seeds if you are looking to start your own plants for next season.
• Get your plant covers at the ready just in case we have a (pretty typical) cold snap or just in case temperatures dip lower than your veggies enjoy.
• Make sure to clear away any dead vegetation to prevent disease or pest proliferation.

mmmmm….the fruits of our labors. Photo by Valerie Podmore

Trees and Shrubs

• Water, water, water! Just like our vegetable gardens, our trees and shrubs need to be consistently watered. Weekly is a good schedule, but this fact sheet provides very thorough advice.
• Trim only branches or limbs which are damaged or diseased at this time.
• Be careful with fertilizing trees and shrubs. This link has good information on fertilization if there’s been particularly dry weather (when is it not?).
• While planting in fall might not be the #1 time, it’s still possible to find discounted plants and if you finish before the end of October, your tree or shrub will have some time to establish itself before the cold of winter.

Lawn Care

• Aerate this month to allow oxygen to get to the roots of your grass. This is an awesome turfgrass post for more information.
• Water deeply, giving your grass a good, long drink. Weekly for even 45 minutes is more beneficial than more often for less time.
• This great fact sheet has probably everything you need to know for keeping your lawn healthy.
• While the scourge of Japanese Beetles might be behind us, this is a prime time to apply grub-killers like grubGONE! and GrubEx to turf to help prevent them returning.

Perennial Flower Beds

• Water (I know, it’s like déjà vu!) weekly until the ground freezes to give the roots a chance to develop before winter.
• Cut back spent plants but consider leaving some stems and seed pods in place for pollinators and birds. This post from our Routt County Extension friends posits a different way of thinking about cleaning up (or not!) the season’s leftovers.
• Look at what needs filling in or doesn’t work and make plan for spring.
• Purchase fall planted bulbs – who doesn’t love plant shopping? This is the time that plant stores, catalogs or online sellers are stocking up so go crazy!

I can’t wait to shop! Photo by Pixabay

Annual Flower Beds

• Clean up annuals in containers and sanitize any pots you’ve emptied.
• Get some fall color such as chrysanthemums or pansies which overwinter quite well if mulched properly.

Other Projects

• KEEP WEEDING! That is all.
• Start prepping houseplants that have been outside to come back inside for winter. Check out this post for details.
• Finally, this is the month when Colorado Master Gardener program applications will begin! These will be posted on our main website with applications open September 1 – October 16. Do you or someone you know want to apply? Please DO!

Visit the CSU Extension Yard and Garden website (https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden) for more gardening tips.

Forcing Bulbs Indoors

By Valerie Podmore, CSU Extension-Denver Master Gardener since 2020

Photo credit: Pexels from Pixabay

With the pandemic still lingering, many of us are staying at home which can give us a feeling of needing something to prevent cabin fever, and since we are pretty much finished up with the outdoor growing season, our thoughts turn to how to make our indoor space more plant-y and flowery. Forcing bulbs indoors is a great way to have flowering plants throughout the winter months to add some joy, color, and scent to our lives.

If you are like me, you’ve grown one of the more well-known winter bulbs, such as amaryllis, but not ventured into anything further. Let’s see if we can all learn to do this together!

Photo credit: Stux from Pixabay

Forcing bulbs is essentially a way of fooling the plant into thinking it’s spring so that it will bloom much earlier than normal. Many bulbs are bred for just this type of growing, but amaryllis, crocus, hyacinth, narcissus (daffodils and paperwhites), tulips and grape hyacinth are good bulbs to use.

Remember that different bulbs will bloom at different times so if you need to, ask the supplier, or pay attention to the bulb/plant information that usually comes with the bulb. Look for bulbs which are top quality, good-sized (bigger is better!) firm and free of mold or mildew. If the bulb has a paper-like covering just leave that, as it is normal.

You will want to use clean clay, ceramic or plastic containers which range from 6 to 8 inches deep with drainage holes. Use new potting soil (not garden soil) and fill your pot or container about 1/3 full. Place the bulbs in the soil with the hairy root end in the soil and the tips pointing up.

Handle the bulbs gently to prevent damaging them, but plant the bulbs close together. Add soil carefully making sure the bulbs stay upright, leaving the tips slightly exposed. Remember to consider the planting depth for the specific type of bulb you are working with. Finally, water the soil until moistened.

Now is the time to simulate the bulbs’ being in the ground over the winter, so you will want to give the bulbs a cold treatment of between 35-38 degrees Fahrenheit for a period of 12-16 weeks. Unheated locations such as a basement, cellar, cold frame or even a fridge work great. Cover the pot with plastic that has holed poked in it if you choose to go the fridge method.

Don’t let the bulbs freeze and rely on the supplier information to tell you how long the bulbs should be chilled. It all depends on type and size. Having said that, paperwhites (a type of daffodil) are one bulb that don’t require this chilling method.

Photo credit: Pnyjs from Pixabay

Next step after you’ve been so patient, is to bring the bulb containers indoors! Find a warm location (about 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit) that receives indirect light and place them there. You should start to see shoots in about 3 to 4 weeks. Don’t forget to keep the soil moist as the bulbs start to bloom.

Once the bulbs are blooming you can move the containers to a cool location overnight to prolong flowering. Many of these forced bulbs will not be able to flower again next season due to the amount of energy it takes to produce blooms. The forced bulbs can be composted once they have finished blooming. Having said that (again!), amaryllis are a type of bulb that CAN be grown to bloom year after year.

Photo credit: Stux from Pixabay

While we may need to start the process of forcing bulbs earlier in the year than December, there’s no reason we can’t give it go now and see what happens. You can always check with local garden centers or other suppliers to see what they have left, or even use any bulbs you didn’t get planted in the ground. Have fun and enjoy the flowery reward!

Selecting Spring Bulbs

By Lori Williams, CSU Extension-Denver Master Gardener since 2016

Gardening is a year-round venture, always the next season to look forward to. As we are harvesting late season veggies and ticking off our end-of-summer chores, most of us are already thinking about next year, specifically, next spring. It’s time to dive into colorful bulb catalogs, your gardening (or public) library books, investigate varieties online, and start a wish list! Spring bulbs are a wonderful investment for your gardening dollar. (We call them “spring” bulbs but we plant them in the fall.) Buy them once, plant them once, and the payoff is lovely year after year!

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  Mighty Dainty fritillaria. Photo: L. Williams

Planning

• What varieties and colors will make your spring pop? So many beautiful options!
• Creating a new bulb bed? Planttalk Colorado’s step-by-step guide will help.
• Designing your style ~ naturalized bulb swaths, dramatic or cool symmetry? Personally, I’m a tucker. I tuck bulbs everywhere.
• At a glance bulb Bloom Time Chart for Spring and Summer Bulbs

Selecting your bulbs

• Choose the healthiest bulbs you can, the prettier the better – though I’ve had good luck with some quite sad looking bulbs. If it looks possible at all, I’m putting the bulb in the ground. It can’t hurt. 
• Choose similar sized bulbs in selected varieties. Bulb size roughly equates to bloom size.
• By mid-September my fave garden centers start rolling out their bins of bulbs. Car keys, please!

Planting

• Read tags and packaging for specifics on the variety: planting depth, spacing, sun and drainage, fertilizing and more.
• Correct planting depth is essential for healthiest bloom and better perennialization. Each bulb needs the freeze process to produce a flower. If planted too close to the soil surface, it will probably come up too early and freeze = no flower. Planted too deep and the soil temp is too low for germination to happen = also no bloom. Save the Bulbs!
• Some bulbs are more rounded, or shrunken looking, than teardrop shaped. It’s a little tricky to know which end is tip or root – do your best. For obvious wide ends or an end with roots: sit that end on the soil at the bottom of hole. If there is a defined pointy end, this is pointed towards the top of the hole.
• Mid-September through October is Colorado’s planting window. Earlier in that time frame it is easier for me to get this done as the soil is still warm(ish) with some moisture and it loosens without a fight.*
• Bulbs like being planted sooner, too. They have less time to get damaged or dehydrated, and more time to establish their roots before freezing temps arrive.
• That said, healthy spring bulbs can be kept in a cool, dry and dark place until you have time to plant.
• Winter watering bulbs along with our trees will help them thrive.

*Planting procrastination costs a lot of time and effort. When I was a new homeowner I found myself digging in dry, cold, heavy soil on a cold day, one day before Thanksgiving, which we were celebrating 200 miles to the southeast. 50 bulbs were not going to waste.  Planted well beyond late, the soil was a struggle, and I barely watered the bulbs in, if at all. It was a long day!  They bloomed like champs that spring and I was forever hooked on tulips. But, oh brother, it could’ve been so much easier!

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  Hakuun Darwin Tulips. Photo by L. Williams

I like to plant additional spring bulbs every fall, filling bare spots with spring color. For me, pictures are key for planning. Each spring I take photos of my bulbs every couple of weeks as they take turns blooming and save them for the next fall. I review the pictures before any digging. They show me where the blank garden spots are and, hopefully, help me avoid chopping into existing bulbs. 

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  ‘Mid Spring De Caen anemone, shade lover. They show off their blooms for weeks! Photo: L. Williams

You will be so glad for the time and effort you put in for your spring bulbs. Friends and strangers will smile and noticeable pitter-pats in their hearts will happen. Scientifically, I’d say it’s because spring bulbs are basically just truly irresistible. 

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  Feb 9, spotted my first Crocus of 2021. Photo by L. Williams

Additional reading ~ planting other bulbs in spring:

• Growing Garlic in Colorado
• Bulbs: Summer Flowering

Let CSU Extension-Denver Master Gardeners answer your gardening questions: by email denvermg@colostate.edu or call 720-913-5278.

Gardening Predictions for 2021

There may have been one bright spot among the gloom of 2020: The pandemic turned out to be great for horticulture. Experts estimate the industry gained 16-20 million new gardeners during the pandemic.

They’re predicting 85% of those gardeners will continue this year.

If that prediction holds true, experienced gardeners will be competing with new gardeners for seeds, plants, potting soil, mulch, tools, accessories and anything else that helps with planting and growing.

Last year seed catalogs, online retailers and garden shops couldn’t keep up with the overwhelming spring demand. More than a few had to shut down their online systems so they could catch up with orders.

Even though companies say they’re better prepared this year, gardeners should plan ahead and order their favorite varieties yesterday.

Backyard, front yard, patio and balcony food growing will continue to engage new and newer gardeners. Those who had some success last season will be anxious to expand their gardens; those who wished they would’ve started last season will get growing this year. They’ll be on the lookout for heirlooms and all kinds of organic options.

Some plants will sell out sooner than others because of special marketing and promotional programs. That’s especially true for the National Garden Bureau’s Plants of the Year for 2021.

Every year the national organization selects and promotes its Crops of the Year plants. The selections are popular, easy-to-grow, widely adaptable, genetically diverse, and versatile, according to the NGB.

The 2021 Plants of the Year include:

Annual: Sunflowers
Perennial: Monardas
Bulb crop: Hyacinths
Edible: Garden beans
Shrub: Hardy hibiscus

Plant Select has three new introductions for this year that include Drew’s Folly Hardy Snapdragon (Antirrhinum sempervirens), Hokubetsi (Helichrysum trilineatum) and Blanca Peak Rocky Mountain Beardtongue. The Plant Select website features a list of retailers that offer Plant Select plants so you can call ahead to check on availability.

Smaller garden varieties are part of All-America Selections winning plants this year. Goldilocks squash and Pot-a-peno peppers are meant for small-space gardens. The AAS’s Gold Medal winner is Profusion Red Yellow bicolor zinnia that’s sure to be in demand.

The Perennial Plant Association selected Calamintha nepta (calamint) as its Perennial Plant of the Year for 2021. A nice rock garden and border plant, tiny white flowers bloom on a bushy low mounding plant that attracts pollinators to the garden.

Houseplants will continue to be in demand to fill home offices and windowsills that have turned into miniature greenhouses. New offerings include plants that drape over pot edges and tiny plants for tiny places.

Pantone’s colors of the year will show up in plants, flower colors, pottery and other garden accessories. Look for combinations of Illuminating Yellow and Ultimate Gray at big box stores, garden centers, the plant sections at grocery stores and wherever else gardening supplies are sold.

New gardeners will continue searching for resources, help and advice. CSU Extension master gardeners will need to be extra-creative when it comes to cultivating community from a distance, encouraging new gardeners to reach out for reliable information and finding ways to reduce the fear of failure for beginning gardeners.

If you have any gardening predictions for 2021, look into your crystal ball and add your forecast here.

By Jodi Torpey
CSU Extension master gardener since 2005
Image provided by Pixabay

Meet the Garden Squad’s Kim Douglas

Meet the Garden Squad is a way to get better acquainted with some of our CSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers.

Meet Kim Douglas

Denver Master Gardener Kim Douglas enjoys a day in Crested Butte.

If anyone is cut out to be a Denver Master Gardener, it’s Kim Douglas. She’s as passionate about learning as she is about sharing what she’s learned.

This comes naturally to Kim, a retired English as a Second Language teacher and a current Library Program Associate on staff at Denver Public Library.

Her part-time work at the library includes programming that ranges from helping people learn how to use their smartphones and tablets to hands-on work with sewing and embroidery.

“I’m on my third chapter,” she said. “I’m excited about getting and giving training.”

One of the library programs she’s involved with is called Plaza. This special program is designed to meet the needs of immigrant, refugee, and asylee populations. Kim helps participants learn and practice English, prepares them to take their citizenship test, and lends a hand to children with arts and crafts projects.

“It’s very rewarding and a wonderful experience to help people in a way where they really need help,” she said.

Kim became a Master Gardener apprentice in 2018, something she always wanted to do and the first thing she did when she retired from teaching.

Fourth of July fireworks in Kim’s garden.

Part of the attraction was gaining a sense of accomplishment by taking her gardening hobby to the next level.

“I knew I’d get a lot of information about gardening and get a good grasp of the science behind gardening in Colorado, even though I had been doing it for years,” she explained.

One of her big “aha” moments was when she learned about soil compaction and how important it is to not work in wet soil, something she used to do on weekends when she was working fulltime.

Kim’s advice to Master Gardener apprentices is to take advantage of all the information and experience within the organization. “Be active, be involved, go to meetings and special events, get to know people.”

She’s taken her own advice to heart. At last season’s DMG plant sale she designed a better system to standardize the plant signage. From her experience the previous year, she realized signs could be more descriptive to help customers find exactly what they wanted.

‘Queen of the Night’ tulips add stunning color to Kim’s garden.

Kim said she also enjoys volunteering at the Master Gardener booth at the Farmers Market and helping with the Plant Select plants at the Denver Botanic Gardens annual plant sale.

“It’s fun, interesting and I develop a relationship with those plants,” she said. “I guess it’s just lust—plant lust—that makes me say, ‘I must have that plant’ like the ruby muhly ornamental grass I saw there.”

Her garden is filled to the brim with those love-at-first-sight plants. Part of the front yard is xeriscaped with native and low-water plants displayed in a big swath.

“In my garden I strive for an explosion of colors like gems and fireworks.” One of her favorite displays is a combination of plants that is in full flower around the Fourth of July.

It includes dark red daylilies planted with white Shasta daisies and highlighted with sea holly (Eryngium). She said the “funky, spiky” sea holly plants produce striking purple-blue flowers that look like small glowing thistles.

It’ easy to see why’Black Nigra’ hollyhocks attract attention.

When it comes to the gem colors, she selects plants that have such rich and vibrant flowers that passersby have to slow down or stop to appreciate them.

Some of the show-stopper plants include ‘Dark Magician Girl’ daylilies, ‘Ebony Dream’ iris, ‘Black Nigra’ hollyhocks, and ‘Queen of the Night’ tulips.

In the backyard vegetable garden she plants tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, and tomatillos – “everything to make a nice salsa” – plus eggplants and potatoes.

Kim said she’ll be combining her passions for teaching and gardening this season. She’s on the schedule to present programs on propagating plants and raised bed gardening at several library branches this spring.

Images provides by Kim Douglas

Text by Jodi Torpey
Master Gardener volunteer since 2005

No More Buds? Turn to Earbuds.

By this time in the year, I’m at the point of good riddance! with the weeds and careful tending (shout out to this cold spell for sealing the deal). Pretty much everything is done and put to bed. I then spend the next two weeks really dialing into my houseplant game before I get bored and start Spring dreaming. My Fall break from the garden is short-lived so I start listening to old episodes of now-defunct podcast series and dream with new ones.  Here are a few of my favs:

Gardenerd Tip of The Week

Gardenerd.com is the ultimate resource for garden nerds. We provide organic gardening information whenever you need it, helping you turn land, public space, and containers into a more satisfying and productive garden that is capable of producing better-tasting and healthier food.

https://gardenerd.com/

My thoughts: The host lives in LA, so this one is great for winter listening as we get chillier, I love hearing about the warmth of Southern California and what’s coming into season. Interviews with other experts and educators in the horticulture field discussing plants, but also cultivating grains, discussing bees, and seeds. Each episode ends with the guest’s own tips, many of which are news to me and have been incorporated into my own practices. 

On the Ledge

I’m Jane Perrone, and I’ve been growing houseplants since I was a child, caring for cacti in my bedroom and growing a grapefruit from seed; filling a fishtank full of fittonias and bringing African violets back from the dead.

https://www.janeperrone.com/on-the-ledge

Houseplants, if new to the podcast start here for an overview, and guidance.

Jane is a freelance journalist and presenter on gardening topics. Her podcast has a ton of tips for beginners, and more advanced info for longtime houseplant lovers, as well as interviews with other plant experts. The website is also useful to explore the content of an episode if you aren’t able to listen. I could spend an entire morning traveling in and out of the archives. 

My thoughts: As the growing season comes to a close, my indoors watering schedule starts wobbling between what the plants need and my summer habits of watering too many times per week–welcome back,  fungus gnats! Here’s an entire episode on them

Plant Daddy Podcast

We aim to create a listener community around houseplants, to learn things, teach things, share conversations with experts, professionals in the horticulture industry, and amateur hobbyists like ourselves. We also want to bring the conversation beyond plants, since anybody with leaf babies has a multitude of intersectional identities. We, ourselves, are a couple gay guys living in Seattle, Washington, with a passion for gardening and houseplants. A lot of our friends are the same, though each of us has a different connection, interest, and set of skills in this hobby, demonstrating a small amount of the diversity we want to highlight among plant enthusiasts.

https://plantdaddypodcast.com/

My thoughts: Plants are visual, podcasts are auditory- episodic overviews with links to viewable content available on their website. Are you also seeing Staghorn Ferns everywhere? They have an entire episode (photos included!) on the fern and how to properly mount it for that vegan taxiderm look. Matthew and Stephen are self-identified hobbyists with a passion for plants all the way down to the Latin–it’s impressive.

Epic Gardening

The Epic Gardening podcast…where your gardening questions are answered daily! The goal of this podcast is to give you a little boost of gardening wisdom in under 10 minutes a day. I cover a wide range of topics, from pest prevention, to hydroponics, to plant care guides…as long as it has something to do with gardening, I’ll talk about it on the show!

https://www.epicgardening.com/

My thoughts: The Netflix-episode-when-you-just-don’t-feel-like-a-movie kind of podcast. Addresses the best varietals, composting, soil pH, and troubleshooting some common issues in the garden. With daily episodes archived back to December 2018, there is a quickly digested thought for some of your own curiosities. The website is also a wealth of knowledge. 

Eatweeds Podcast: For People Who Love Plants

Eatweeds: An audio journey through the wonderful wild world of plants. Episodes cover modern and ancient ways wild plants have been used in human culture as food, medicine and utilitarian uses.

http://eatweeds.libsyn.com/

My thoughts: most recent episode (and appropriately timed!)  On edible acorns. My fav topics include foraging and wild yeast fermentation; and when I really start missing the Pacific Northwest, The Wild and Wonderful World of Fungi sends me back to a misty forest wander politely decorated by les champignons. Posting of this pod is sporadic–only 25 episodes since 2014.

You Bet Your Garden

(no longer on air, but archives available)

 

You Bet Your Garden® was a weekly radio show and podcast produced at WHYY through September, 2018. The show’s archive is available online. It was a weekly syndicated radio show, with lots of call-ins. This weekly call-in program offers ‘fiercely organic’ advice to gardeners far and wide.

https://www.wlvt.org/television/you-bet-your-garden/

My thoughts: Host, Mike McGrath, spends much of the show taking calls and troubleshooting, reminiscent of another public radio behemoth with Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers. McGrath incorporates a lifetime of organic gardening tips with humor. McGrath features one tip to find a local “rent a goat place” (no joke) to get goats to eat the most troublesome weeds to a concerned caller considering setting much of her yard on fire.

Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History and the Human Impulse to Garden

Jennifer Jewell, the founder of Jewellgarden and Cultivating Place, achieves this mission through her writing, photographs, exhibits about and advocacy for gardens & natural history and through her weekly public radio program and podcast Cultivating Place: Conversations on Natural History and the Human Impulse to Garden, on gardens as integral to our natural and cultural literacy.

https://www.cultivatingplace.com/

My thoughts: sort of like On Being, but for gardening.

A fav episode:

If you aren’t so sure about this podcast thing, and just want a place to start, start here.

Do you really need a brain to sense the world around you? To remember? Or even learn? Well, it depends on who you ask. Jad and Robert, they are split on this one. Today, Robert drags Jad along on a parade for the surprising feats of brainless plants. Along with a home-inspection duo, a science writer, and some enterprising scientists at Princeton University, we dig into the work of evolutionary ecologist Monica Gagliano, who turns our brain-centered worldview on its head through a series of clever experiments that show plants doing things we never would’ve imagined. Can Robert get Jad to join the march?

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/radiolab/articles/smarty-plants

Species Tulips

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Colorful hybrid tulips are an iconic symbol of spring. Planted in the fall, they’ll light up next year’s landscape with their tall stems and cup shaped blooms. In subsequent years, they’re likely to decline – sending up fewer blooms, weak foliage and sometimes not bursting through the soil at all. Allowing the foliage to senesce (turn yellow, limp and easy to pull up) after the flowers fade does help supply nutrients to the bulb for the following year, but the popular tulip bulb generally does not bloom for more than a year or two. In fact, tulips in public gardens are often treated as annuals and replanted each year.

Tulipa saxatillis   Photo courtesy of Drystonegarden.com

An alternative to the common, hybridized “Holland” tulip are  species or botanical tulips. They are native to Central Asia and other Steppe regions, areas that are climatically similar to Colorado. This group of tulips are shorter (6-12 inches tall), will naturalize, or spread each year by self-sown seeds or stolons and some varieties will send out multiple stems. Good drainage and a sunny location with room for the plants to expand are ideal. The bulbs also do well in gravelly soil and are used successfully in rock gardens.

Tulipa ‘Little Beauty’ Photo courtesy of Google Free Images

Mid September to late October is an ideal time to plant, setting the bulbs in clumps or drifts and burying 4 inches deep or as recommended for the specific cultivar. Colors range from delicate pastels to vibrant reds and pinks, blooms can be bi-colored and foliage is often grey-green or stippled. Since the foliage is smaller and more compact, the die-back is less unappealing.

 

Tulipa ‘Lilac Wonder’ Photo by Linda McDonnell

Species tulips can be found online and at independent nurseries, where they are sold in pre-packaged bags and found near other small bulbs such as crocus and muscari.

While I love the flashy hybrid tulip, I’m adding reliable, graceful species tulips to my garden this year too, how bout you?

 

 

 

Resources:

CSU Fact Sheet 7.410: Fall Planted Bulbs and Corms
University of Wyoming: Bulbs Well Adapted to Our Inhospitable Climate,

Written by Linda McDonnell, a Denver County Master Gardener