Category: Plants

photos of plants

Posted on in Gardening, Plant Profiles

Foxglove ‘Spanish Peaks’

 (Digitalis thapsi)

digitalis-thapsi-spanish-peaks-dbg-lah-002rWith one- to two-foot spikes of raspberry-pink flowers over a tidy mat of fuzzy foliage, perennial foxglove ‘Spanish Peaks’ isn’t your typical foxglove. Instead of the cool humidity of the British Isles, this hybrid is specifically recommended for Colorado gardens, doing well in our arid and unpredictable climate. As a result, it was named a Plant Select winner in 1999. The cultivar’s name reflects both the plant’s Spanish origins, and it’s suitability to Colorado, home of the Spanish Peaks.

Although attractive to bees and hummingbirds, ‘Spanish Peaks’ is usually disliked by rabbits and deer—probably due to its poisonous foliage. (The drug digitalis comes from plants in this genus.)

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Posted on in Gardening, Veggies

Eating Locally in Colorado?

How much is local?
How much is local?

All over the country, foodies are advocating the wonderful benefits of eating locally. Save on transportation costs (both financial and environment). Know where your food came from and who grew it. Fresher is healthier. There’s no shortage of good reasons to base one’s diet on food produced within a hundred mile (approximately) radius. In fact, several noted authors have written books on the topic.

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Posted on in Gardening, Plant Profiles

Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica)

myosotis-forget-me-not-dbg-lah-011rAppearance
The petite, sky-blue flowers of forget-me-nots have charmed gardeners for ages. Also available in delicate pink or white, the blossoms are suspended by wiry stems above crinkled, heart-shaped leaves of forest green. The plants form a groundcover six to twelve inches high and two feet wide. Even though the species is native to Europe, it has naturalized in North America to the extent that the Forget-me-not is the state flower of Alaska.

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Posted on in Gardening, Veggies

When Is the Last Frost?

frosty-tree-home-2009-02-14-lah-253

This last week of gorgeous spring weather has certainly brought out the crowds at the garden centers and home improvement stores. When I visited last weekend, carts full of geraniums, tomatoes, and other tender annuals were lined up at the checkout.

Today, the forecast is for snow. It was 30 degrees when I got up this morning. There was frost on the parked cars. As I type, big flakes are softly landing on the freshly turned soil out my window. I wondered how many of the people I’d seen at the store had gone home and planted their flowers, only to find them blackened after the sub-freezing night.

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Posted on in Gardening, Landscaping, Veggies

Wind

windy_5

I know that wind is merely “air in motion,” but why does it have to be in such a hurry?

Here in Colorado, the wind has been blowing for weeks now—and not just gentle breezes, but howling gales that topple trees and suck every drop of moisture from already desiccated soil. First a dry winter, now this ceaseless wind.

As a gardener, there are times when I’m totally frustrated by too much wind. It stunts the growth of tender new shoots (I’m not trying to create bonsai tomatoes, but sometimes that’s what I get) and makes working in the garden a miserable experience.

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Posted on in Gardening, Landscaping

Planting Done Right: Part 2

Trees

tilia-x-europaea-linden-cc-2003jul06-lah-003Today is Arbor Day, the traditional day for planting trees. Most of us treasure trees. Planting one is an act of faith, something we do for our children, and perhaps our grandchildren. Sadly, thousands of our nation’s trees now reaching maturity are destined to an early death. They were doomed the day they were planted.

Gardening practices have changed over the years. The days of digging a huge hole for a new tree are over. Research has shown that planting a tree too deeply is a sure recipe for trouble.

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Posted on in Gardening

Planting Done Right: Part 1

Shrubs, Perennials and Ornamental Grasses

plants-for-sale-lowes-cs_2008aug02_lah_5106-1It’s spring. I’ve been digging in the garden—at least between snow storms. My back muscles (and knees and shoulders) ache, there’s dirt under my broken fingernails, and a huge smile on my face. In fact, there’s dirt in my teeth—I’ve been pulling weeds and shaking the soil off their roots before piling them into the compost bucket, and I keep forgetting to close my lips.

One of the joys of spring is adding new plants to our garden. What gardener can resist the dazzling displays at the garden center? Forgetting about budgets and the size of our yards, we load up the cart. Then we get home and the work begins. It’s time to start digging holes.

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Posted on in Gardening, House Plants, Plant Profiles

Crown of Thorns

euphorbia-splendens_crown-of-thorns_blkforest_lah_6087Tomorrow is Good Friday, the day Jesus wore a crown of thorns.  In visualizing that painful headpiece, it helps me to think about the sharp spikes on the plant with the same name.

As the scientific name indicates, Euphorbia Milii is first cousin to other Euphorbias, including poinsettias, the wide variety of spurges, and Snow on the Mountain. All these species share common characteristics such as inconspicuous flowers surrounded by showy bracts, and a toxic, thick, milky sap. This latex can not only cause skin irritation, but if it comes in contact with a mucous membrane, extremely painful inflammation can result. Some species’ sap is even carcinogenic.

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Posted on in Gardening, Landscaping, Plant Profiles, Surviving Winter

Annuals You Can Plant Now

Warmer days flirt with gardeners anxious to get outside and plant something, anything. But the harsh reality of cold nights, coupled with the persistent chance of frost—or even more snow—intrudes on our dreams of summer. It’s far too soon to be trusting Mother Nature with frost tender petunias, geraniums, or marigolds, but there are some annuals that can handle a bit of cold. Don’t expect them to survive wintry extremes, but they should still be alive and flourishing after lows in the 20s.

Pansies

viola-x-wittrockiana_pansies_dbg_20100417_lah_2623Annual members of the violet family, pansies are much hardier than they look. Hot and sunny summer days will fry them to a crisp, so now is the time to enjoy them. Pansies prefer enriched soil, and will do fine in full sun or light shade, as long as the weather stays cool. They are slow to start from seed, so buy transplants. Their small size makes them perfect for edging, or group them in containers where they won’t be overlooked. With colors ranging from deep purple and burgundy to pastel pinks, soft peach, and cheerful yellow and white, you can find just the right cultivar to fit any landscape scheme.

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Posted on in Gardening, Soils, Veggies

New Advice on Soil Amendments

compost-in-bags-no-label-lowes-cs_lah_5090-1You’re gotten your test results back from the soil lab, telling you to add some organic matter. What’s the best thing to add?

In the past, I’d just bop on down to the local garden center and load up a few bags of… something. Soil amendment, composted manure, planting mix, potting mix, top soil, compost… there are hundreds of products, and the names are pretty random.

So are the ingredients. Since there are no legal standards, these bags can contain whatever the manufacturer wants them to. There’s no labeling law, either. If there’s a label at all, often you’ll see something like, “Contains (peat, forest products compost, and/or compost), wetting agent, fertilizer.” You have no idea if this particular bag has peat or compost, much less what went into that compost. And what’s a forest product? Bark? Sawdust? Squirrels?

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