(Editor’s note: This article was first published on March 27, 2009.)
There’s ONE overriding reason to garden.
And it’s not the economy, though pole beans make a great hedge fund and basil seedlings have a price-to-eatings ratio that Ben Bernanke could only dream about. It’s not the exercise either, though a single year of growing anything in Colorado soil will give you a bumper crop of biceps. It’s not even the bragging rights you’ll earn wresting food from the ground during weather that barely tempts others to venture outside.
It’s because from the moment you plant that first seed, you claim a relationship with the planet — and it claims you fiercely in return. The way you see the wheeling sun and stars, the birds, bees, worms and wasps, changes forever. Even the weather shatters into a million pieces of new beauty: frost on borage blossoms, evening light on a swallowtail’s wings, the smell of a weed’s roots as you pull them from damp soil. The slow, almost silent song of water trickling through a rock face pocked with blooms.
A garden stops you, shuts you up. It turns you under to its own purposes, sows its own gift: the knowledge that we are small and our seasons are brief. But if we harvest generosity and beauty, they will somehow, almost always, be enough.
One reason not good enough? Here are more.
TWO elements.
Earth.
Colorado’s soil is notorious for its challenges and idiosyncrasies. It’s either clay fit only for a brick kiln or coarse, decomposing gravel that holds onto nothing that roots need. Roughly 80 percent of home landscape problems are soil problems — things like compacted soil, alkaline pH, too much salt, calcium, or simply not enough of it (the soil).
But just look around: There are still gardens everywhere.
And so, go forth undaunted. Study up — there’s a wealth of information on Colorado soil available on the web and in garden books.
Got rocks? Make a rock garden and fill it with the “Rock Star” line of perennials (rockstars.com).
Got clay? Aerate (lawns) amend (everywhere) and adapt (everything).
And know that you’ve got plenty of company. See the box at right for where to take your soil questions.
Water.
It’s scarce and only getting scarcer. Use what you’re allotted wisely and get the biggest bang for it with the most efficient irrigation systems, mulch and good plant choices. Some cities offer free or low-cost irrigation audits through the Center for ReSource Conservation (go to , click on “water,” then “Slow the Flow Colorado”). Other towns may offer audits through county extension offices for a small fee.
THREE fountains of free and low-cost information
The Internet. Because it never closes.
A vast array of gardening information is available through Colorado State University Extension. Go to . There’s a search button in the upper right-hand corner. Another button, center top, has a list of all county offices, their websites, addresses and phone numbers. Also check out the new Front Range Food Gardener Blog.
Mail-order houses also have a wealth of informational articles on their websites; try High Country Gardens at for practical information about planting in our climate.
The phone. Most county extension offices have volunteers manning question lines throughout the growing season.If they don’t have an answer, they’ll steer you to someone who does. Check your local office for the days and times you can call.
County offices for CSU Extension
Metro-area county offices
Adams: 303-637-8100
Arapahoe: 303-730-1920
Boulder: 303-678-6238
Broomfield: 720-887-2286
Denver: 720-913-5270
Douglas: 720-733-6930
Jefferson: 303-271-6620
Larimer: 1-970-498-6000
Weld: 1-970-304-6535.
Local botanic gardens and garden centers. Check out rosters of classes in your area. These are often inexpensive and taught by passionate plant people. If you’re in a garden center, don’t be afraid to ask: “Have you planted this? How did it do for you? Is there someone here today who knows a lot about it?”
FOUR creatures to attract
Bees. Gardens are made to delight the senses, and the sight and sound of these industrious little buzzers soothes the tattered soul. To lure them all season, include catnip, blue spireas, lavender and that bulletproof late-summer/early fall bloomer, garlic chives, arguably worth it for the bee pageant even if it is a prolific self-seeder.
Butterflies. Butterfly bush is a no-brainer, but also try bronze fennel and a diverse veggie, flower and herb garden. These winged beauties visit where their children can find food, such as the black swallowtail’s caterpillars that dine on parsley. Hold the pesticides and put up with some gnawed leaves to enjoy the show. Many adult butterflies feed on a wide variety of flowers — especially bee balm, or monarda, and common garden annuals zinnias, cosmos and marigolds. Guess what? Many love dandelions.
Hawk moths. These hummingbird mimics aren’t the real thing, but are great fun to watch zooming about as summer dusk slowly falls. They seem to adore Salvia greggii cultivars, a reason to plant them even if their hardiness is spotty in our zone 5 climate.
Hummingbirds. They’re the real deal, a sign your garden has been weighed and measured by a discerning migratory crowd. They’ll gravitate toward some of the same plants as butterflies, but throw in agastaches, penstemons, salvias and echinacea, focusing on red, pink and orange blooms. Give them a year or so to put you on their mental maps.
FIVE must-visit gardens.
Sure, the Denver Botanic Gardens is on the top of any list. But these five are also worth the drive, says Plant Select executive director Pat Hayward.
1. The Gardens at Kendrick Lake Park, 9351 W. Jewell Ave., Lakewood. 6 a.m.-11 p.m. daily. Free.
“You have to go every month; there’s always something new,” Hayward says.
2. Xeriscape demonstration garden at Colorado Springs Utilities, 2855 Mesa Road, Colorado Springs. Garden always open; lobby 9 a.m.-5 p.m. M-F. 719-668-4555. Free.
Check out the Mesa Xeriscape gardens on the west side of town. Mixed conifers and xeric perennials share space in gorgeous, well-labeled beds at a site that’s exposed to high wind.
3. Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, 220 Water Ave., Berthoud. Business hours 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., but the gardens are always open. Free. .
The district’s Conservation Gardens, planted in 2003, include a wide variety of natives and low-water plants.
4. The Butterfly Pavilion, 6252 W. 104th Ave., Westminster. 303-469-5441. Open daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $7.95 adults; kids $4.95. .
Go in late summer to see the habitat gardens.
5. The cactus and succulent garden at the Mesa County Extension Office, 2775 U.S. 50, Grand Junction. Garden always open; office open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays.
Visit the gardens at the Mesa County Fairgrounds in May for proof of how gorgeous a garden can be when it gets no more than 15 minutes of water per week and summer temperatures soar to 105 degrees.
SIX ways to dig deeper
So you’re hooked, and you want a crash course in Colorado gardening? A bushel of organizations offer ways to learn by teaching.
Master gardener. You get 80 hours of instruction from CSU Extension and give your volunteer time back in return. If you’d rather do the coursework without the volunteer commitment, plan to spend $800. Classes take place January-March; apply through your county extension office in fall. Boulder County also offers night classes in fall; apply in summer.
Master composter. It all starts in the soil; Denver Urban Gardens (dug.org) teaches how to keep that invaluable resource healthy and fertile. Forty hours of classes; 40 hours of volunteer service. Classes begin in March; apply in October (303-292-9900). DUG also offers single-day, free classes in composting May-October, usually at its Gove Community Garden at East 13th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard in Denver, 720-865-6810.
Native plant master. This CSU Extension program teaches about Colorado’s native flora, from gorgeous wildflowers to noxious weeds. Thirty-six hours of coursework, repaid by teaching 60 members of the public what you’ve learned. You can opt out of the teaching requirement by paying a fee. Classes in early spring; apply early in the year.
Master food safety adviser. Can you can? Can you teach others how? Program covers canning, freezing, drying, pickling, nutrition and food safety. Requires 30 hours of training, passage of a written exam and 40 hours of service. Larimer, Boulder, Mesa, Routt and Pueblo counties.
Community garden master. A Denver Urban Gardens program, new this year, trains those interested in starting or facilitating community gardens. Land and lease issues, community organizing, irrigation, soil and horticulture in 30 hours of classes; 30 hours volunteering. Classes Feb.-March; applications in fall (303-292-9900).
Garden volunteer. Denver Botanic Gardens has a buffet of opportunities to get closer to the plants. Volunteers lead tours, assist in the Japanese Garden and other exhibits, act as touch-cart docents and help in horticulture and research, among other activities. More information: .; click on “volunteer.”
SEVEN great books for inspiration and information
“Durable Plants for the Garden: A Plant Select Guide,” by Plant Select. Extensive photos, essential information on an assortment of trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals that have been thoroughly tested in Colorado.
“The Colorado Gardener’s Companion,” by Jodi Torpey. If you’ve just moved here from somewhere more botanically hospitable, this essential little volume will gently introduce your new challenges.
“High and Dry: Gardening with Cold-Hardy Dryland Plants,” by Robert Nold. Beautiful, informed, opinionated, punctuated with gorgeous drawings and enticing photos. If you love rock gardens, you’ll have to have this.
“Landscape as Spirit: Creating a Contemplative Garden,” by Martin Hakubai Mosko and Alxe Noden. Sumptuous photos, Eastern philosophy, and a way of looking at rocks and water in landscapes that will alter your vision.
“The 12-Month Gardener,” by Jeff Ashton. Bushels of techniques for extending the growing season in your food garden and overwintering vegetables. Look for it gently used; you’ll use it even more.
“Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener’s Guide to the Soil Food Web,” by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis. You think we’ve got weather challenges? This book was written by two Alaskans, including the man who founded Plant a Row for the Hungry (Lowenfels).
“Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life,” by Barbara Kingsolver. This best-selling bible of the local food movement is sure to change how you view food gardening, even if you never grow more than daffodils. With handy, basic recipes for canning season.
Also don’t miss: “Flourish: A Visionary Garden in the American West,” from the Denver Botanic Gardens, due this May; and Amy Goldman’s series on heirloom vegetables, “The Heirloom Tomato,””The Compleat Squash” and “Melons for the Passionate Grower.”
Susan Clotfelter blogs on gardening at .
