Front Range gardens challenging
By Kathy Hatfield
Correspondent
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Gardening in northern Colorado is challenging during the best of times.
But when extreme drought conditions are added to the mix of high winds,
intense sun, alkaline soils and temperature extremes, all but the toughest
plants perish.
Climatologists try to predict when the current drought will end and residents
are asking if there will be water restrictions this summer. But drought
is recurrent and normal in Colorado. Wallace Stegner in his 1969 book,
"The Sound of Mountain Water," said the unifying feature of the American
West is aridity. Before that, in 1806, the explorer Zebulon Pike, and later
Stephen Long, called this area the "Great American Desert," unfit for humans,
especially people depending on agriculture.
Yes, we live in an arid state with an ever-increasing population. Yet we
have been gardening in the West as if we have ample water supplies - copying
the English cottage garden, recreating the eastern woodland garden, planting
trees and Kentucky bluegrass where they don't belong.
For those of us who view gardening as a necessity rather than an option,
dry conditions and water restrictions compel us to re-consider how we will
garden.
We must change our perception of what makes a garden and redesign our palette
of plant choices. Luckily, we have only to turn to Mother Nature for suggestions.
Native plants provide not only hardy stock from which to choose, but also
a variety of colors, textures and growth forms. By using plants that are
adapted to our conditions and do not need pampering, there is less initial
labor involved in developing the garden and less maintenance in the long
run.
Such an approach to gardening encourages gardens that represent a sense
of place--complementing the natural landscape rather than struggling with
it. The natural vegetation of a given area is perfectly suited to the soils,
the climate and the plant and animal life of that area. It needs no soil
amendments, no fertilizing, no water other than natural precipitation,
and it adapts to the local flora and fauna without pesticides and fungicides.
With over 2,500 species of native plants in Colorado, we can create a garden
that is not only beautiful, but well adapted to Colorado's challenging
climate.
My suggestions for planting a successful, colorful, drought-tolerant garden
follow
- Plant early in the season, when danger of frost is past, but before the
really hot summer weather hits.
- Use large-sized plants--the larger root systems will help the plants
become established more quickly.
- Water the plants deeply as soon as they are planted.
- Add water-retaining crystals to the soil, which help create a reservoir
of water for the growing plants. These can be purchased at garden supply
stores.
- Mulch to retain soil moisture, cool the soil and reduce weed growth.
Shredded leaves, pine needles, and 3/8-inch gravel are a few types available.
Do not use black plastic under mulches, as it prevents oxygen from getting
into the soil and encourages shallow root growth. A better choice is a
weed-barrier fabric.
- Amend the soil if necessary. Adding organic matter in the form of compost
will improve the soil's ability to absorb water. Find out the plant's requirements
and avoid indiscriminately adding compost and fertilizers. Native plants
often do better in leaner soil, and all you need to do is loosen the soil
to prepare for planting.
- Choose your plants carefully. Just because a plant is native does not
mean it is drought tolerant.
Here are a dozen perennials that I have found to be particularly well suited
to my northern Colorado garden. All of them do well in unamended soils
and are cold and drought tolerant.
- Pussytoes (Antennaria parvifolia) - A low growing, gray-green carpet
ideal for planting between flagstones. Keeps its tidy evergreen appearance
throughout the winter.
- Prairie sagebrush (Artemisia ludoviciana) - This volunteer on my property
has grown with no additional water for the last three to four years. It
has delicate silvery-green foliage.
- Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) - A great butterfly magnet with
showy bright orange flowers. Does not transplant well, so best started
from seed.
- Chocolate flower (Berlan-diera lyrata) - A yellow daisy-like flower
that smells like milk chocolate! Reseeds readily.
- Prairie wine cup, buffalo rose (Callirhoe involucrata) - Deep magenta,
cup-shaped flowers all summer long. Reseeds and spreads, so makes a great
groundcover.
- Purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea) - Rose-purple flowers on upright
stems. Evergreen rosettes in winter.
- Indian blanket (Gaillardia aristata) - Daisy-like flowers of reddish
orange and yellow. Too much water will cause this one to be floppy. Good
cut flower; nice seed heads for fall and winter interest.
- Spotted gayfeather, blazing star (Liatris punctata) - Bright deep pink
to lavender flowers from mid- to late summer. Attracts butterflies; good
cut flower.
- Desert four o'clock (Mirabilis multiflora) - Bright magenta trumpet-like
flowers from mid-summer to fall. Reseeds.
- Rocky Mountain penstemon (Penstemon strictus) - Most easily grown and
longest lived of the penstemons. Purple spires from late spring to early
summer. Evergreen foliage turns purplish in winter.
- Scarlet globe mallow, cowboy's delight (Sphaeralcea coccinea) - An
almost endless supply of red-orange flowers on a low, spreading groundcover.
Continues to flower after a light frost.
- Wild verbena (Verbena bipinnatifida) - Lavender flower clusters attract
butterflies all summer.
In addition to contacting your local nurseries and garden centers, information
on gardening in Colorado can be gleaned from these sources:
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