Category: Plants

photos of plants

Posted on in Gardening

Yellow Leaves with Green Veins

GOG_20090812_LAH_9072r-signedColorado—the word means “red” in Spanish. And Colorado’s soils are often reddish, due to the abundance of oxidized iron. Here in Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods (right) attracts visitors with bright orange sandstone monoliths. Further north, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre is part of the same formation. Our well water has so much iron in it that our white laundry turned pink—we had to install an iron-removal component to our water system.

So, with all this iron present in our soils, why do so many plants here suffer from a deficiency?

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Posted on in Landscaping, Plant Profiles, Xeriscape

Beyond Crabapples: Another Flowering Tree for Spring

Crataegus laevigata_English Hawthorni_HudsonGardens-CO_LAH_5810-001When it comes planting a spring flowering tree, most Colorado gardeners immediately think of crabapples. Wildly popular all along the Front Range, crabs deserve their stellar reputation. However, they aren’t the only flowering tree that thrive in our harsh environment. There might even be a better choice! Consider their close relative, the Hawthorn.

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Posted on in Botany for Gardeners

What Did You Say?

Colorado State Univ. Field DayMany people talk to their plants. Whether or not it makes a difference, we chatter on about the weather, how nice the plant is looking, perhaps how shiny a leaf or pretty a flower. Of course, the plants don’t really hold up their end of the conversation. I’ve heard nary a peep from my peony, nor a single ahem from my Agastache. Even if they could talk, I doubt we’d find the conversation stimulating. After all, plants don’t have brains. But a lack of brain and vocal cords doesn’t stop plants from communicating. We just have to learn their language.

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Posted on in Birds, Garden Quiz, Photography

Bird Photography: Practice makes perfect!

Belted Kingfisher_FCNC-CO_LAH_1319_filteredThere are lots of reasons to photograph birds. For one, it’s lots of fun (although all-too-often frustrating as well). Photos can provide a record of birds you’ve seen, especially if, like me, you start second-guessing your best sightings the minute the bird flies away. They provide proof to ebird and records committees that your rarity was indeed what you thought it was.

Perhaps you’re birding in an unfamiliar location. You may not immediately recognize all the birds you see, and photos might allow you to ID some species later, when you’re not in a hurry.

Photos can also be artistic. Everyone can be creative—it’s part of our DNA—and photography makes a wonderful creative outlet.

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Posted on in Garden Quiz, Gardening

Garden Jargon, Quiz 2

Broncos game_DSCF0222The previous garden jargon quiz was so much fun, we’re doing it again. In case you missed the explanation last time, here it is again. (If you remember the previous quiz, just skip ahead.)

How well do you know your gardening terms? As with most groups of people with a specific hobby or occupation, those who garden have a specialized vocabulary—our garden jargon. We often use words that other people might not understand—or will they?

I’ve taken a series of gardening terms that have other meanings not related to gardening. For example, a bed can be a place we sleep—or a landscaped area, often filled with flowers.

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Posted on in Botany for Gardeners

Phloem is for “Phood”

Cercidium sp. - Palo Verde Tree @PBG 2004apr18 LAH 003Last week’s post about xylem explained how it carries water from the roots to the rest of a plant. But there’s another transportation problem that plants have to solve. As you know, plants make food (sugars) through photosynthesis. (See my previous posts on photosynthesis.) This food factory requires both chlorophyll and sunlight, and can only take place in the green parts of a plant. Usually this means the leaves, although cacti and other xeric species (such as this Palo Verde, above right) often have chlorophyll in their stems.

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Posted on in Botany for Gardeners

Botany for Gardeners: Phloem & Xylem

Aspen_EmeraldValley-CO_LAH_4270Today’s (and next week’s) botany lessons are brought to you by “xylem” and “phloem.” You may remember these terms from a biology class, but I bet you haven’t used them lately. It’s time you did. You’ll be a better gardener as a result. Besides, I used to teach biology, and once a teacher, always a teacher. There will even be a quiz at the end.

Like all forms of life, plants have to solve a very important problem: how do you move nutrients and water from one part of your body to another? Animals (at least the more complicated ones) have a circulatory system, but what do plants do?

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