These Happy Gardeners welcome visitors to the North Carolina Botanical Gardens at Chapel Hill.


Even though I’m back from my travels to North Carolina, I wanted to share a bit more of my trip because I visited so many wonderful public and private gardens and saw so many plants I’d never seen before.

We had but a short time at the North Carolina Botanical Gardens, part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

I only caught a glimpse of the the gardens’ new environmentally-sustainable visitor education center as the bus pulled into the parking lot.

It was then a mad dash to the gardens to see as much as possible in 40 minutes flat.

I’m afraid I didn’t get too far into the official collection of North Carolina native plants, because I was enjoying the herb garden too much.

The Herb Garden included large beds of culinary and medicinal herbs that were used to treat a number of common ailments, like chest diseases, infectious diseases, rheumatism and other external complaints.

Placing plants near downspouts is one way to take advantage of rainwater before it runs off your property.

The new law allowing rainwater collection in Colorado doesn’t apply to most gardeners. If you get your water from a municipality or water district, you still can’t collect rainwater.

Colorado water law is confusing, but it boils down to this: the rainwater that falls on your property doesn’t belong to you. In our state that water is considered part of the tributary to a natural stream and should be allowed to runoff.

Senate Bill 09-080 was signed by Governor Ritter during this legislative session and it allows only limited collection of rainwater to a limited number of property owners meeting set criteria pertaining to a well on the property. A list of the rules is available at Rainwater Collection in Colorado.

Homeowners who don’t fit all of the criteria are not allowed to divert and hold rainwater on their property.

It’s hard work to tear up the turf, but the payoff is less lawn to water, feed, weed and mow.

The dry winter, combined with last year’s hot summer, left the turf in the backyard looking shabby. And not in a shabby-chic way, either.

So in early spring, I decided that instead of replanting the grass, I’d take some of it up and replace it with shrubs, rock and mulch. Limiting irrigated turf areas is one of the seven Xeriscape principles.

Yesterday, after several long weekends of digging, shoveling, wheelbarrowing and replanting, I finally finished my mini-landscaping project.

I dug up the turf that caused the most problems–it was in an area that was difficult to water and to mow. There still would be enough lawn without this area for the dog to enjoy and to have a spot of green just off the patio.

I think these irises are as beautiful as any orchid.

Irises have been part of the landscape for so long it’s easy to take them for granted. Cultivated for hundreds of years, and a staple of grandma’s garden, the bearded iris is the perennial that keeps on giving.

These easy-to-grow plants are colorful, drought-friendly additions to any landscape. The plant’s upright leaves add vertical interest throughout the season and the flowers come in a dazzling array of colors, color combinations, shapes, sizes and bloom times. They also multiply each year.

Irises also serve many purposes in the landscape. Tall irises are traditionally planted along fences or in corners as specimen plants. But mixing heights and bloom times can add color to the garden throughout spring.

Irises can also fill in areas where it’s difficult to put other plants, like the edge of a sidewalk or along the driveway because they can take the heat.

A litter of four squirrels has found a happy home in my garden.


One day John and I looked out the office window and saw a little squirrel head poking out of the opening of the wooden squirrel nesting box at the corner of the garden. Then another head poked through. And another. And then one more.

The squirrel box was one of the last projects my father-in-law made for me and he would be delighted to know that it’s made such a hospitable home for these four juvenile squirrels.

It’s so much fun to see them chase through the garden in the morning, jumping from the picket fence to the arbor and then playing hide-and-seek. We watch them from inside our house as they take turns at the squirrel feeder chomping furiously at sunflower seeds or hanging upside down at the “squirrel-proof” bird feeder. I love to watch them take long drinks at the birdbath.

Gardeners looking for hardy plants to add to their gardens should check this out.

I was at the Plant Select annual meeting a few years ago when the seed was planted for a new garden book. That seed germinated and now it has bloomed.

“Durable Plants for the Garden: A Plant Select Guide” is a beautiful new resource for gardeners looking to add the hardiest plants to their gardens. It’s an essential addition to every gardener’s library.

The book, edited by James E. Henrich, is a cooperative effort of Plant Select, Colorado State University, Denver Botanic Gardens and the Green Industries of Colorado.

The book includes the first 74 plants introduced to the public by the Plant Select Program. The program’s goal is to introduce and then recommend more adaptable plants to the Rocky Mountain region and beyond and every year 6 or 7 plants are chosen. Some of the plants are overlooked treasures and other are completely new to the trade.

Perennial Favorites, in Rye, Colo., is a specialty plant nursery that caters to gardeners and their growing challenges.

Mother’s Day weekend wouldn’t be the same without our annual trek to Rye for the Perennial Favorites Open House. Every year I return home with new plants specially grown here.

Located on a historic dairy farm, this nursery has blossomed into one of the top providers of perennials in the state. But when it first opened in 1987, perennials weren’t as popular as annuals for spring planting. “We started growing perennials because it was low tech and we didn’t need much in the way of greenhouse space,” explains Diana Capen, co-owner. “We wanted to grow interesting plants not available in our area.”

In addition to a loyal following of Colorado customers, gardeners from New Mexico, Kansas, and Oklahoma make it a point to stop at the nursery to select from 1000 varieties of ground covers, herbs, shrubs, and native plants.

Lawns in Denver do just fine with three days of watering each week.

Homeowners in Denver learned today that rules for watering will be extended to Oct. 1 instead of ending on August 31. And that’s just fine with me.

My small peanut-shaped front lawn requires less water because of its size, but also because I’m a bit lazy when it comes to dragging the hose around the yard. Denver Water’s rules of limiting watering to three days a week also don’t bother me and I never water between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. anyway.

But that’s not the case in my Green Valley Ranch neighborhood. I have one neighbor who breaks nearly every watering rule all summer long. First, he waters every day–whether the lawn needs it or not. This means he sets his irrigation system once in the spring and then turns it off in the fall instead of adjusting it to meet watering rules or weather conditions.

Smart gardeners should plant extra tomatoes for canning or freezing this year.

I haven’t heard much about the continuing drought in California, but what happens there this year, will have a lot to do with the price of canned tomatoes next year. That’s why smart gardeners should add a few extra tomato plants to their gardens this season.

California has a $35 billion agriculture industry and consumers in the U.S. rely on the state for half of our fruits and vegetables–including tomatoes. The continuing drought may make it difficult to plant and grow tomatoes this season, which could lead to fewer and more expensive canned tomato products next year.

This is the third year in a row for California’s water woes which is causing produce problems. Without water farmers won’t be planting crops like tomatoes.

All Western landscapes benefit from winter watering.

If your landscape and garden are as dry as mine, it’s definitely time to water. Even if it seems too early to pull out the hose, trees, shrubs and lawns need winter watering. The general rule for winter watering is to apply water twice a month from October through March, especially if there has been no measurable precipitation and the temperature is above 40 degrees.

The temperature today is well above 40 degrees here in Denver and other parts of the West. In fact, we’re coming off our driest February on record. Even if you’re trying to conserve water in the landscape, it’s important to give plants a drink to prevent permanent damage.

To make the most of your water budget, you can prioritize your watering zones.