Betty Cahill

Betty Cahill speaks and writes about gardening in the Rocky Mountain Region. Visit her site at for even more gardening tips.

Sunny days and cool (but not freezing) nights let the red shine through in the leaves of this Tatarian maple.

Punch List: Mowing leaves into the lawn, cutting back perennials and more fall garden care

October 20, 2017 at 5:42 p.m.

This week, Betty Cahill offers gardening tips including fall lawn care, taking care of trees before winter hits, cutting back perennials before the freeze and more.

Use cloches, cold frames or season extenders for cool-season vegetables like lettuce, spinach, broccoli and kale on cold nights -- in the 20s and 30s.

Punch List: Time to shut down sprinklers for the season and protect newly planted perennials and trees

October 6, 2017 at 4:54 p.m.

This week, Betty Cahill's Punch List covers: preparing the sprinkler system for winter; protecting newly planted perennials, shrubs and trees; and lawn aeration.

Planting cover crops, also known as green manures, is a great way to bring your soil up to snuff for next year.

Punch List: Which crops to cover on frosty nights; cover crops, cuttings from the garden

September 29, 2017 at 5:16 p.m.

Betty Cahill covers gardening in Colorado. This week: Knowing which crops to cover on frosty nights; cover crops, or green manure; taking cuttings from the garden.

Plant garlic now, pointy side up, to harvest next summer.

Punch List: Fall watering, planting bulbs and pre-winter lawn care

September 14, 2017 at 8:47 p.m.

This week's Punch List covers fall watering for trees and shrubs, planting bulbs now to harvest next summer and pre-winter lawn care.

Now's the time to divide your perennials. Your plants will have the rest of the fall to get their roots established.

Punch List: Divide your plants, fill the garden with plant deals and winter vegetables

August 31, 2017 at 7:53 p.m.

Time to divide perennials for an even more spectacular garden next year, and harvest what抖阴ap in season.

Tomatoes from the garden. Early morning after the dew has dried is ideal to harvest. The next best time is when temperatures have cooled in the evening.

Punch List: Harvesting vegetables, fall flowers, cicadas and other Colorado gardening tips

August 24, 2017 at 5:27 p.m.

This week, Betty Cahill offers expert gardening tips on how to keep your flowers going and harvesting vegetables.

A bumble bee on a coneflower. In Colorado, honey bees, bumble bees and native bees pollinate apples, pears, peaches, melons, cucumbers, sunflowers, squash and many more plants and crops.

Punch List: The buzz on bees in the garden

August 17, 2017 at 5:07 p.m.

Betty Cahill's Punch List covers bees and other things to look for in the garden this week.

Mushrooms are more unsightly than harmful to your lawn.

Punch List: Caring for plants after heavy rain, watching for disease in the garden

August 10, 2017 at 8:15 p.m.

What Denver-area gardeners should look for this week: mushrooms; caring for plants after heavy rain; slugs; watching for disease in the garden.

Adult Japanese beetles will devour entire leaves in the garden. Here they're shown on hibiscus.

Punch List: Troubleshooting tomatoes, battling Japanese beetles

August 3, 2017 at 7:50 p.m.

Tips for your Denver-area garden for the first week of August, including how to diagnose problems with your tomatoes and what you can do about Japanese beetles.

Even large containers can dry out at this time of the year. Water twice a day if your pots are drying out quickly.

Punch List: Keeping container plants well watered, harvesting peppers

July 27, 2017 at 8:53 p.m.

Gardening tips for early August in and around Denver, including harvesting peppers, keeping containers from drying out and dividing crowded bearded iris rhizomes.

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