Colorado Gardening Calendar for April 2024

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

Last week’s snow covering forsythia starting to bloom. Photo: Molly Gaines

Signs of spring are everywhere in Denver. Daffodils, crocus and other spring flowers in full bloom one day; covered in ice and snow the next. Oh, to be a gardener at 5,280 feet!

While it’s too early to spend a lot of time planting, it’s a perfect time to prepare your soil, garden beds, tools, pots and lawn for the 2024 growing season. Below are a few gardening activities to consider before Mother’s Day, May 12 (around the safe zone from hard frosts) for planting most plants, flowers and vegetables.

Crocus are always a welcome first sign of springtime. Photo: Molly Gaines

As you plan your garden, it’s worth noting that some of the Denver metro is in a new gardening zone. Last November, the USDA announced updates to its “Plant Hardiness Zone Map,” updating this go-to tool for gardeners for the first time since 2012. The new map, which can be found here, places parts of Denver in Zone 6a rather than 5b. Zone numbers reflect the average extreme minimum temperatures and help determine what plants will thrive in each zone.  Higher numbers equal incrementally warmer low temperatures. For background about how to use this map as a planting guide, visit this helpful article from the National Gardening Association’s learning library.    

New USDA Plant Hariness Zone Map now places parts of Denver in Zone 6A. Credit: USDA

Vegetable Garden

• Clear remaining debris. Pull emerging weeds.
• When the soil is dry, add a fresh 2-3-inch layer of compost to your beds. This supports soil health and plant vigor. Gently work compost into the top layer of your existing soil with your hands, a trowel or a cultivator. Let rest a few weeks before planting.
• Plant frost-tolerant spring plantings, such as peas, spinach, arugula, radishes, Swiss chard, etc.
• Start indoor seeds for warm-weather vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons, etc.
• Reference this Vegetable Planting Guide to plan what you will plant when.

Trees & Shrubs

• The snowpack is solid Colorado-wide this year, well above 100 percent. This includes Denver. That said, if this month is dry, be sure to water your trees and shrubs.
• Early this month, prune deciduous trees, conifers and summer-blooming shrubs.
• Later in April into mid-May, prune rose bushes. For details on exactly how, why and when to do this, visit here.  This is weather dependent so watch for low temperatures and delay if a cold snap is predicted.
• Remove broken branches from trees and clear dead leaves and decayed fruit from the base.
• If you’re looking to plant a new tree, consider the Park People’s annual fruit and yard tree sale that begins April 20. Trees range from $50 to $80, and sales support the Denver Digs program. More details can be found here.  

Lawn Care

• Prep your mower, sharpening the blade as necessary and conducting other maintenance. Lawn mower blades should be sharpened at least once per season.
• If you use a pre-emergent weed product, apply in early April. For more details about how to use, visit here.
• Fertilize as desired, reading labels for proper application. Keep in mind that fall is the most important time for lawn fertilization. Applying only in the spring can mean excessive top growth and shallow root systems.

Perennial Beds

• Cut back perennial plants if this wasn’t done last fall, leaving 3 inches of the plant above the soil.
• Similar to your vegetable garden, the soil in these beds will also benefit greatly from compost, with the exception of native plants which generally prefer unamended soil.
• Pull emerging weeds now. Stay on top of them from the start.
• Divide overgrown perennials such as chives, sedum, grasses, phlox, daisies, hosta, etc. This will lead to healthier plants and better growth.

Other April Gardening Thoughts

• Assess garden supplies. Purchase or plan to borrow anything needed. Sterilize and sharpen garden tools.
• Empty any pots or containers still holding last year’s dead plantings. Clean and disinfect them to prevent disease in new plantings.

These pots need to be cleared of last year’s plantings, disinfected and filled with new soil for plantings. Photo: Molly Gaines

• Denver Water recommends waiting to turn on your irrigation until after the last freeze, typically in early May. Hand water until then.
• Sow wildflower and pollinator seed mixes.
• Prepare for frost, hail and other bad weather. Have sheets of plastic, old bedsheets and five-gallon buckets in easy reach for late-season snow or spring and summer hail. Remember the hailstorm that hit Denver late June last season?

Sad peas in a bed covered with hail. June 29, 2023. Photo: Molly Gaines

Springtime in Denver is special. I love watching new life slowly unveil itself. It’s a time full of promise, new beginnings and high anticipation of the color, flavor and textures around the corner. The more prepared you are in April, the more enjoyable your summer gardening season will be.

As always, if you have questions about plants, planting and any other gardening and yard related topics, visit the CSU Extension Yard and Garden website for tips.

Creating a Colorado Sensory Garden

By Felicia Brower, CSU Extension – Denver Master Gardener since 2020

Sensory gardens – gardens that appeal to one or more of the five senses – are a great way to get both children and adults excited about the natural world. Featuring plants that appeal to sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch turns a stroll through the garden into an immersive experience where you can engage with the grasses, trees, flowers, shrubs, and hardscape elements.

Sensory gardens can be any size and can be designed to target just one sense (a garden with exceptionally bright or fragrant flowers is a good example) or as many senses as possible. Some senses are easier to find plants for than others, which is where hardscape elements come in handy. Texture from boulders, walkway stones, stumps, woodchips, and other permanent structures can take away the need to touch the plants directly, though there are plants that make finger-friendly additions to the garden.

Always make sure that your sensory garden is safe for visitors. Avoid putting harmful plants within easy reach of pathways or using toxic pesticides on plants that are easily accessible, especially if your garden is geared towards younger, curious children.

Before you plant anything, check your location to make sure that you’re choosing plants that will thrive there. Putting plants with high water needs by those with low water needs can result in plants being over- or under-watered and not surviving. Make sure you accommodate for sun and shade needs as well.

If you want to give your sensory garden an added environmental bonus, make one with native plants! These localized plants are adapted for our climate, soil, and water needs and serve as important habitats and food sources to native birds and bugs.

Here are a few plants that would make a great addition to your Colorado sensory garden:

Sight

Plants that are brightly colored or with distinctly shaped flowers, seeds, or leaves draw the eye and can be a great source of excitement in the garden. Shrubs like serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) are great multi-season additions to the garden, with clusters of small white flowers, blue-black berries, and an orange to red coloring in the fall. Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus) has distinctly shaped, feathery corkscrew seed heads. The undersides of the leaves are furry, and the flowers have a sweet smell, which allows you to cross off three senses (sight, touch, and smell) with just one plant.

^{Mountain mahogany}

Sound 

Ornamental grasses are an easy way to appeal to sound in your sensory garden. Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) is a native grass that grows as a 3-foot-tall arching clump of blue-green leaves in the summer. Flowering stalks emerge in late summer and grow as tall as six feet, and the seedheads that form resemble a turkey’s foot. Listening to the sound of the grass swaying in a late-summer breeze is a great way to unwind in the garden. As an added sight bonus, the leaves turn pink, orange, rust, and purple in the fall. Despite the name, Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) is a different plant entirely that also goes through beautiful color changes (powder blue, darkening to purple, and ending with dark red stalks in winter) and provides a nice soothing sound when it sways in the summer and fall winds.

^{Big bluestem}

Touch

As mentioned earlier, adding hardscape elements like stumps, boulders, smooth walkway stones, and woodchip paths is a simple way to add texture to your garden and check off the touch box in your sensory garden. There are some native plants that have textures as well, including the blanket flower (Gaillardia aristata) with its fuzzy leaves and stunning yellow and red daisy blooms and Blue Grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis) known informally as “eyelash grass” due to the shape of its seed clusters.

^{Blanket flower}

Smell

Smell is one of the easier senses to find plants for, as many flowers have fragrant blooms. A popular native plant that works well is aptly named chocolate flower (Berlandiera lyrata) with its chocolate smelling daisy-like flowers. Agastache sunset hyssop (Agastache rupestris), another native, appeals to both sight and smell with its vibrant spikes of orange and purple flowers that emit a root beer fragrance.

^{Chocolate flower}

Taste

Always exercise caution when eating anything out of the garden. Make sure that you’ve correctly identified the plant and that it’s safe to consume before eating it or encouraging others to do the same. The golden currant (Ribes aureum) is a safe-to-eat shrub with sweet yellow, red, or black berries that emerge in the late-summer and fall. These berries can be eaten fresh off the plant or be used to make jams and jellies.

^{Golden currant}

Sensory gardens add another layer to a garden. Whether you’re passing through quickly or spending more time in one to take it all in, you’ll feel more connected to the plants during your sensory experience.

Growing Currants in Colorado

By Felicia Brower, Colorado Master Gardener since 2020

Photo credit: Jodi Torpey

What are Currants

Currants (Ribes spp.) are edible and ornamental deciduous shrubs that can reach three to six feet in height. In addition to being an attractive addition to the yard, the pea-sized fruits contain several minerals and are high in vitamins A, B, and C. Currants are hardy and thornless, and the fruits grow in a grape-like cluster on a drooping stem called a “strig.”

There are several varieties of currants, including red, black, white, and golden. Red currants are tart and are often used in fruit and jelly production. Black currants can also be used for jams and jellies, but they’re also used to make liqueur. White and golden currants have sweeter flavors and can be enjoyed directly off of the plant.

How and When to Start Currants

Currants do well in fertile, loamy soil that has good drainage with full sun, so it’s best to plant them on north-facing slopes and use mulch to moderate soil temperature fluctuations. The optimum pH is 6.2 to 6.5, but they’ll tolerate 5.5 to 7.0. At a higher pH, the fruit quantity may be limited, but the plants can still be used for ornamental landscaping. To find out your soil’s pH level, conduct a soil test through Colorado State University.

You can propagate currants from cuttings of year-old stems, or you can purchase the plants from your local nursery (often grown in containers as two- or three-year-old plants) or through a catalog (sold as one- or two-year old bare-root plants). Purchase quality, disease-free plants to ensure that you have high yields and fewer plant problems down the road.

Photo credit: Jodi Torpey

Due to their hardy nature, you can plant currants 3.5 to 4.5 feet apart in early spring as soon as the soil is workable. Prior to planting, prune out all damaged roots and branches. Keep the plants cool and moist until they go into the ground, and soak bare root plants in water for three to four hours right before planting. Cut all of the branches back to five inches and set plants one to two inches below the soil line in holes wider than their roots. Water well.

Plant Maintenance

To ensure that you have the highest possible yield, control weeds to reduce competition and use mulch to reduce weeds, watering, and injury to roots caused by cold-weather temperature fluctuations. Currants can have pest problems, including aphids, cane borers, and red spider mites. Address any pest problems immediately to prevent yield reductions and ongoing damage to the plant.

When to Pick Currants

Currants will rarely fruit in the first year, and typically don’t produce well until two to five years after planting. The plants from nurseries have often been growing for two to three years already, so you can expect fruit immediately from those. Currants are extremely long lived and can continue producing for two to three decades if properly maintained.

Harvest your currants mid to late summer. When using the fruit for jellies and jams, harvest before the fruit is fully ripe so that natural fruit pectin levels will be higher. You can eat the fruit of some currant varieties right off the vine or immediately use it for juice but some, especially the black currant, have a strong taste that might not be favorable.  For storage, refrigerate the freshly picked fruit in a covered container or closed bag for several weeks or dry them and use them as a substitute for raisins. They will keep on the vine for several weeks, so you can also just leave them on until you’re ready to use them.

Photo credit: Jodi Torpey

End-Season Care & Overwintering

After you harvest your plants completely, reduce the amount of water to harden the plants prior to winter. Give the plant a final deep watering in November to reduce drying during the winter.

You must prune currants if you want to continue to get a high yield. In late winter or early spring, prior to bud swelling, remove all wood more than three years old and thin out any younger wood until you’re left with three upright stems each of three-, two- and one-year-old wood.

Take a Virtual Container Garden Tour

CSU-Denver Master Gardeners have had extra time to spend in their gardens this summer, but few opportunities to show them off – until now.

Please join our virtual tour to see seven stunning container gardens overflowing with beauty and creativity. The tour features containers of different shapes, sizes, materials, and of course, fabulous plants. These talented gardeners also share their secrets to success.

We hope you enjoy the tour!

Steve Aegerter, CMG since 1999
Steve’s hanging basket includes Calibrachoa in three colors, sweet potato vine and orange nasturtiums (peeking out on right side). He grew nearly everything from seeds, except the potato vine. His planting recipe includes about 3-4 sections of a deep six-pack of Calibrachoa, probably 3-4 nasturtium seeds and 2 sweet potato vines from cuttings.
The basket is low maintenance as flowers are self-cleaning. Steve used 4-month slow-release fertilizer at planting, plus peat moss and vermiculite in a potting soil medium. He waters the hanging basket “every other day which wouldn’t be necessary if I didn’t use sweet potato vine,” he says.

Steff Grogan, CMG since 2018
Steff says she loves to mix perennials and annuals together in her containers, “at least until the perennials outgrow the pot!” One of her favorite plantings this summer included a large container meant for a mostly-shady spot. The container includes 6 varieties of Coleus, 1 Lime Margarita sweet potato vine and 1 purple sweet potato vine.
Steff’s foliage container get 3-4 hours of morning sun and she waters it every other day, depending on heat and precipitation.

Jan Davis, CMG since 2012
Jan sent in a view of one of her large container gardens brimming with a variety of flowering plants. Her secret to such a spectacular display is to use 2-3 plants of the same type in each pot for a bigger splash. She says the show stoppers are the fragrant pink Oriental Trumpet lilies. The lilies are planted in large plastic pots so Jan can remove them from the grouping after blooming is finished. She overwinters them in the garage, after they have gone dormant. “I love this container garden because it is right outside my kitchen window and next to our outdoor eating area,” Jan says. “It gets enjoyed all the time!”

Ashley Cosme, CMG Apprentice
“I love the simple color line of this pot,” says Ashley. “Sometimes going with a straightforward white and green color brings out the beauty in the textures. I have left the perennial lysimachia and the heuchera in the pot for a few years which is very budget friendly as well.”
Ashley’s recipe for planting includes one 6-inch Kimberly fern, two 4.5-inch tropical white sunpatien, three 4.5-inch euphorbia, one #1 citronelle heuchera, two 4.5-inch Niagara Falls coleus, one 4.5-inch ipomea and one #1 lysimachia. This pot gets morning sun with afternoon shade and requires a bit of extra water as the sunpatien and the fern are thirsty plants.

Lois Margolin, CMG since 2010
Lois’s raised bed garden was built by her son-in-law and includes three large containers, each 2-feet by 4, 5, and 8 feet lengths. She says the raised beds are large enough to grow enough vegetables for two people. “The raised beds work great because I don’t have to bend or get down on my knees to garden.” In the longest of the three containers she’s planted 2 rows of carrots along the front side, carrots, scallions and carrots on the back side. Other plants include bell peppers, marigolds, Early Girl tomato, Japanese eggplant and 2 cucumber plants along the edge so they trail over the side of the container.
Lois places plants close together and uses potting soil, compost and slow release fertilizer at planting time, plus a liquid fertilizer once a month during the growing season.

Anne Beletic, CMG since 2016
Anne’s container garden is composed of 7 troughs that are planted with 11 6-inch Pincushion plants, 5 2.5-inch Dusty Miller plants, Forget-Me-Not, Borage, Cornflowers (from seeds); trailing plants are Sweet Potato vines, variegated Vinca (both 2.5 ” pots).
Anne says she likes this planting because the Pincushions have been flowering for weeks, the flowers attract bees and the Borage star shaped flowers are “exquisite.” The only downside is the borage has become too big and thirsty, she says.
Anne used a good quality potting soil with slow release fertilizer at planting, waters daily and cuts back the Pincushions to the next bud. She plans to keep the Pincushions in a flower bed “as these were the only plants I spent real money on, and they should be a viable perennial in Denver.” Anne notes, “the Pincushions were the bulk of the planting until seeds grew, and so merited buying a little larger.”

Jill Fielder, CMG since 2012
Jill says she played with new types of fancy coleus, both for color and because many of these can now be successfully grown in either sun or shade. She has two of these containers on either side of her front porch. “They get different amounts of sunlight, are bright with color that doesn’t rely on big flowers or wide leaves susceptible to hail and these are (mostly) plants that aren’t all that attractive to Japanese Beetles,” she says.
Jill’s recipe includes 1 Coleus Fireworks (purple & lime), 2 Fuchsia Gartenmeister, 2 Asparagus fern, 2 Impatiens Walleriana Peach Butterfly, 1 Coleus Maharaja (red), and 2 Dragon Wing Red begonias.
This container gets dappled morning light, is on a daily drip system and was planted up with slow release fertilizer early in the season.

A Special Thank You to the seven generous CMGs who shared their gardens and tips with us. We hope this virtual container garden tour inspires you to plant something a little different in your garden next year!

By Jodi Torpey
Master Gardener since 2005
Photos provided by each CMG

Planting in Summer’s Heat

Without fail, every year I find myself adding plants to the perennial garden during the hottest part of the season. Sometimes the plant is  a gift from a friend’s yard, other times it’s a couldn’t resist variety at the garden center. Given this spring’s quarantine, trips to the nursery were delayed and even now are limited, somehow making the visits even more special.  

I seem to always be able to find room for another perennial, telling myself it is the one that will complete the garden (are gardens ever really finished?). Or perhaps it will perfectly fill an empty space, bloom when others have faded, add the ideal color, or supply needed texture.  Whatever the rationale, how could it not come home with me? 

Here are a few pointers for successfully establishing herbaceous perennials when summer’s heat, arid conditions and drying winds present challenges. While these best practices are important, equally critical is the gardener’s diligence and consistency. Plants are less forgiving at this time of year and may not recover if ignored.  Conversely, they’ll respond well with a little extra TLC.

• Choose plants that love the heat and adapt to our semi-arid climate. Native plants and Plant Select® offerings are good bets.

• Plant in the evening so plants have the cooler nighttime and early morning temperatures to acclimate.

• Prior to planting, coat  the roots with mycorrhizae (my cor rye zay), a fungus which stimulates healthy root development and improves absorption of moisture and nutrients. Several companies market this ingredient under different names.

• Remove buds and blooms, which allows the plant to put more energy into establishing roots and foliage.  Admittedly, sacrificing the blooms is hard, but it does help reduce transplant shock.

• Unless there has been a soaking rain, water daily for the first week or two to avoid dehydration and transpiration.  Watch the plant for the remainder of the season to determine good watering practice. 

• Apply mulch around the plant, stopping within a few inches of the crown. Mulch will cool the soil and reduce evaporation.

• Tent the plant with shade cloth during the hottest part of the day.

• Transplant the plant a temporary home in a large container until late summer or early fall, when adapting to a new home may be less stressful.

Are you adding to your gardens this summer? 

 

References:

https://www.waytogrow.net/blog/mycorrhizae-improve-your-yield-part-1/

CMG GardenNotes 212: The Living Soil

Help, My Garden is Wilting!

Text and photo by Linda McDonnell, A Denver County Master Gardener

Meet the Garden Squad—Gardening Help at the Denver Botanic Gardens

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

Meet the Gardening Help Volunteers

The CSU Extension Master Gardeners usually pick up the gardening helpline at the Denver Botanic Gardens or answer questions when people walk-in the door. Even though buildings at DBG are closed for now, gardeners can still get their gardening questions answered by Gardening Help from Colorado Master Gardeners at Denver Botanic Gardens, only remotely.

The interest in gardening has soared ever since people have had to hunker down at home and find ways to keep busy. First-time gardeners will likely have questions on how to get started, what to plant now, what can grow in containers, and much more.

Even gardeners with some experience have questions, too. All gardening questions can be emailed to gardeninghelp@botanicgardens.org and a CMG, working remotely, will reply by email.

Gardening Help volunteers include: Back row, left to right: Jan Fahs, Jan Davis, Ken Zwenger, Mark Zammuto, Gordon Carruth, Fran Hogan
Middle row: Lynne Conroy, Harriet Palmer Willis, Kathleen Schroeder, Leona Berger, Cindy Hanna, Mary Adams, Nancy Downs
Kneeling: Dee Becker, Charlotte Aycrigg, Jan Moran
Not pictured: Mary Carnegie, Linda Hanna, Maggie Haskett, April Montgomery, Ann Moore, Kathy Roth, Amy White

Gardening Help is a project of the CSU Extension-Denver Master Gardeners at the DBG. Volunteers provide reliable and research-based information to thousands of home gardeners each year.

Volunteers commit to at least one year in the role, with a minimum of six shifts spread across the year. The commitment starts early in the year with an orientation and training from Nancy Downs, project coordinator.

Many volunteers are GH regulars and they return to the project every year. In addition to being an active CMG, they have to satisfy DBG volunteer requirements, too. That means they’re a member of the DBG and enrolled there as a volunteer.

Some of the key characteristics of GH volunteers are good research, plant identification and diagnostic skills. Because the project is located at DBG, volunteers need to keep on top of what’s blooming at the DBG by season, so they can answer common questions that might pop up.

Photo provided by Nancy Downs

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

Hummingbirds in the Garden

Hummingbirds have been dancing around my yard this summer, lured by plants including Goldflame Honeysuckle, Penstemons (Red Rocks and Pike’s Peak), Coral Bells,  Butterfly Bush and brightly colored annuals such as Verbena, Salvia and Geranium. Red Birds in a Tree was irresistible to them last year, but sadly did not return this year (any suggestions for getting this perennial to reliably come back year after year?).  Agastache and Bee Balms are among other highly prized nectar sources. The Hummingbird Society offers this list of recommended plant families.

Hummers are guided to nectar sources by color – they have no sense of smell – they rely on their keen vision to spot plants or the common red bird feeder filled with sugar-water. Bright hues, especially red, orange and purple, which can be seen from distances of 30’ to 50’ in the air, signal that a good meal awaits. Tubular flowers allow hummers to hover near the bloom and lick nectar with their forked, fringed tongues. As with other pollinators, swaths of the same plant make for effective grazing and a succession of season long blooms encourages return visits. Avoidance of pesticides, a  good source of water and shrubs or trees for perching and nesting also make an inviting habitat.

According to the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine,  a hummingbird’s wing beat ranges from 720-5400 times per minute when hovering and they have been clocked in flight at 33+ miles per hour!  On average, a hummer weighs less than a nickel and consumes about twice its weight in nectar, spiders and insects  daily. Their metabolism is 100 times faster than an elephant’s, requiring them to busily visit 1,000 to 2,000 flowers daily. They can fly in rain and are the only bird that fly backwards. The distinctive humming sound is made by the wings in flight and actually sounds more like a whistle to me.

Several varieties of hummingbirds have been identified in Colorado, with the most common being the broad-tail. The Audubon Society has established a citizen science program, Hummingbirds at Home, to  chronicle sightings and learn more about food sources.  If you’d like to contribute observations, it’s easy to get started here.

These aerial acrobats will be around till September when they start their journey back to Mexico, with the promise of return next spring. If you don’t already enjoy hummingbirds in your yard, consider adding some plants to lure them in – and encourage your neighbors to do the same to create a larger, more inviting haven for these birds. You won’t regret it.

 

Written and photographed by Linda McDonnell, a Denver County Master Gardener

 

10 Reasons for Becoming a Denver Master Gardener

If you like to plant and grow things, you may be a Master Gardener in the making. A desire to help your community is another plus. In case you need more convincing, consider these 10 benefits of joining us and then take the next step to become a Colorado Master Gardener.

Number 10: You’ll be a better gardener. Becoming a Denver Master Gardener doesn’t mean you’ll be a perfect gardener, but at least you’ll know why the daisies died, what’s wrong with your tomato plant, why the lawn has brown spots, and what the heck is eating those roses. The CSU Master Gardener program is like getting a mini-degree in horticulture.

Number 9: You’ll help with important research. Master Gardeners are often called on to help with CSU Extension research projects. One recent project included collecting tree data as part of the Rollinger Tree Collection Survey project, a collaboration with the Denver Botanic Gardens and other partners to understand the past, present and future of Denver’s urban forest.

Master Gardeners like to meet, mingle and break crab legs together.

Number 8: You’ll meet and mingle with like-minded folks. Gardeners like to talk—and listen. Whether you’re a social butterfly or just like to belong to a tribe with similar interests, there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy each other’s company.

Number 7: You can share your knowledge. People have questions and now you’ll have the research-backed information to provide answers in person at farmer’s markets and special events or by answering email questions from home. There’s a lot of gardening misinformation out there, but you can help dispel the myths (except when it comes to marijuana).

Number 6: You can volunteer in meaningful ways. Community outreach is an important part of being a Denver Master Gardener and others appreciate your contribution. The vegetables grown in the Harvard Gulch Demonstration Garden are donated to help feed the hungry; The Haven at Fort Logan offers another chance to serve others with your gardening skills.

Master Gardeners plan and plant the CSU Extension exhibit at the Colorado Garden and Home Show.

Number 5: You’ll get to work behind the scenes at the Colorado Garden and Home Show. A favorite volunteer project is being part of the annual show whether helping to build the CSU Master Gardener display or answering attendee’s questions. Free entry to the show is an added bonus.

Number 4: You can stretch your leadership skills. Being a Master Gardener lets you take the lead on a special project in a safe and supportive environment. Creativity, innovation and new ideas keep the program interesting.

Number 3: You’ll receive a well-recognized credential. Anyone who’s been paying attention has heard of CSU Extension’s Master Gardener program. The title is a well-known and well respected credential in the gardening world and in every state across the country.

Number 2: You’ll be supporting an important educational program. Becoming a Master Gardener isn’t free, but the nominal annual fee ensures the Denver Master Gardener program can continue its mission.

Being a volunteer at the City Park Greenhouse refreshes gardening skills for the new season.

And the Number 1 reason for becoming a Denver Master Gardener: Volunteering at the City Park Greenhouse.  It’s one of the most revitalizing volunteer gigs, and it happens at a time of year when gardeners need it the most.

Those are my top 10 reasons. What are your top reasons for becoming a Denver Master Gardener?

By Jodi Torpey
A Denver Master Gardener since 2005

Pretty Tough Plants Book Review

I love the name of the new book by the experts at Plant Select. Pretty Tough Plants describes the family of Plant Select plants perfectly.

If you’ve grown any of these beautiful plants that are so well-suited to our gardens, then you know what I mean. If you haven’t grown any Plant Select recommendations, what’s stopping you? These are the plants that can help you be a more successful gardener.

Plant Select calls itself “a nonprofit collaboration of Colorado State University, Denver Botanic Gardens, and professional horticulturists.” I call it one of the best plant testing and introduction programs in the country.

Pretty Tough Plants: 135 Resilient, Water-Smart Choices for a Beautiful Garden (Timber Press, 2017) is a follow-up to Durable Plants for the Garden: A Plant Select Guide published in 2009.

This new edition seems to be more user friendly, both by its manageable size and in the plant presentations. Plants are divided into groups that include tender perennials and annuals, petites, groundcovers, perennials, grasses, vines, shrubs, and trees and conifers.

Each Plant Select description includes its scientific name, common name, mature size, flower type, bloom time, and best features. Understandable icons give details on sun and water requirements, as well as if the plant attracts pollinators or if deer resist browsing it.

The “Landscape Use” information is meant for gardeners who have difficulty matching plants to place or are unsure of how to combine plants for the most striking effect. The descriptions make suggestions for perfect placement and the best Plant Select companions.

Many of the gorgeous, full-color images show both a close-up view of the plant and a shot of how it looks in the landscape when in full bloom. One of my favorites is Redleaf rose (Rosa glauca) shown as a fabulous specimen plant, and closeups of the star-like single pink flowers and brilliant red hips.

An especially nice feature for this volume is the Plant Reference Guide in the back of the book. This guide provides a quick resource for matching the right Plant Select plant to the right spot in the landscape.

Besides the typical categories, there are two additional and interesting categories: Special landscape use and North American roots. Not every plant has a special landscape use, but when a plant is recommended for “dry shade, cold hardy,” like Denver Gold columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha), gardeners can trust the endorsement.

Prairie Jewel penstemon (Penstemon grandiflorus) is one Pretty Tough Plant in my xeriscape.

I’ve grown many different Plant Select recommendations in my perennial beds, and I can vouch for their resilience – one of the seven qualities a plant has to have to be added to the program.

In addition to being able to stand up to a challenging climate, Plant Select plants have to thrive in a variety of conditions, be water smart, have that “it” factor, resist insect pests and plant diseases, offer long-lasting beauty, and aren’t invasive.

I can tell Pretty Tough Plants was a labor of love by a group of passionate plant people. The photo credits read like a list of area Who’s Who, from well-known horticulturists to CSU Extension Master Gardeners. Pat Hayward and David Winger had the happy task of sorting and selecting images, including many of their own.

By Jodi Torpey
A Denver Master Gardener
(Timber Press provided a complimentary copy of Pretty Tough Plants for this review.)