Thursday, May 30, 2019

One more sponsor! 
One more big "thank you"!



Wildseed Farms has been growing fields of wildflowers for the production of seed for over 35 years. It is the nation's largest working wildflower farm with over 200 acres in Fredericksburg, Texas alone, with over 450,000 visitors each year.


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We've been busy as bees packing swag bags, organizing raffle items, mapping out bus routes, assembling badges, and taking care of the lingering details.
Here are Leigh and John, sorting raffle prizes and getting a bit looney over it...





Itinerary update: On June 15, at our first stop (8:45, Botanical Interests) we will be served a light, grab-and-go breakfast. 


Veteran flingers: If you have any tips for first-timers about what to pack that was not covered in last week's post, that could be a helpful conversation for Facebook. 

Friday, May 24, 2019

Registration is closed

Registration for the 2019 Fling is now closed.

We are happy to say that we have 84 attendees, and 

20 are first-time flingers!



Tips for what to pack and expect:

The average high for Denver in June is 82°F, and the average low is 53°F. June CAN see days up in the 90s, and nights in the 40s. But even on a hot day, as soon as the sun goes down, it cools off fast. A sweater and/or light windbreaker is recommended.

The average rainfall is 2". Typically, June rain occurs after noon. The 5-day meteorological forecasts are usually reliable, so check that out before you travel. It might be good to bring a compact rain poncho.

UV rays are more intense at high altitudes, so it's easier to get sunburned here; don't forget the sunscreen. Hat, cap, or visor is good to have as well.

Comfortable shoes/sandals are a must! You'll be walking quite a bit.

As we are close to the mountains, we sometimes see mountain wildlife venturing down to the front range such as elk, deer, bighorn sheep, 
Coyote
coyotes, bobcats, and even the occasional bear or moose. Bring binoculars, if you have them.













More typically you will see cottontail rabbits




and prairie dogs


which are in abundance here. 




Red foxes are predators of both, and you would be lucky to see one of these swift and graceful, beautiful animals. Yesterday I spotted one at 11am, in a field just north of here (Broomfield).


Red-tailed hawk
Hawks are very common; there are several species that nest in Colorado, along with a number of other raptors.

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Donors of swag/raffle goods for Denver Fling!


We want to acknowledge the companies who donated 
swag and raffle items

Applewood Seed
Bluestone Perennials
Botanical Interests
Bower & Branch
CobraHead
Corona Tools
Dramm
Esschert Design
Fiskars
Garden Tower Project
Garden Works
GrowIt!
Hang-a-Pot
High Plains Environmental Center
Live Trends Design
Niche Gardens
Paw Paw Everlast Label Co.
Plant Development Services
Proven Winners Color Choice
St. Lynn's Press
Tagawa Gardens
Teak Closeouts
Timber Press
Tubtrugs (Red Gorilla)
Tula Hats
Womanswork
Your True Nature

Check out some of the great items we will see in our 
raffle and swag bags!

Hats, hats, and more Fair-trade, sun-protecting hats!


Hang your flower pots just about anywhere with these sturdy pot hangers.
Amazing vertical Garden Tower and composting system


                                                   All-leather gauntlet gloves




Lidded coffee/tea mugs

Recyclable, paper seed-starting pots












Tuesday, May 14, 2019

More Denver Fling sponsors

Giving THANKS to more of our sponsors


Applewood Seed Co.  Provider of the best wildflower seeds, garden flower seeds, grass seeds, and herb seeds, to packet seed companies, regional and national distributors, landscapers, highway departments, and conservation programs since 1965.

The Gardening Products Review   Honest, unbiased reviews of a wide range of products used in the home garden. From hand tools to outdoor power equipment, if it's used in the garden, you'll find it reviewed right here!


Paw Paw Everlast Label Co.   The original metal garden label manufacturer. Made in the U.S.A with 99.6% zinc for the longest-lasting nameplates and stakes made of quality galvanized wire; weather resistant to retain legibility and presentation year after year.


Esschert Design:   Specializing in developing collections related to gardening and nature,  creating leading concepts in the industry focused at wild birds and animals, outdoor fireplaces, kids gardening and working in the garden. All products are designed and developed in-house.


Hang-a-Pot  The hidden flower pot hanger! Makes vertical gardening easy. Securely hangs 4 to 10-inch clay, terracotta, and glazed pots with a standard lip and shape. Made of durable polypropylene that is UV protected and won't get brittle. 

Tagawa Gardens  Denver area's garden store and so much more! Since 1982, Tagawa Gardens' vision has been "To provide an enjoyable experience for our community, as well as the highest quality service, products, and education, and respect for our environment".



Garden sneak: Enjoy a few pretty pics from Keith Funk's garden














Friday, May 10, 2019

Full Itinerary



Only 5 weeks 'til the Fling!! 
There's still room for a few more, and there is 
lots of fun to be had!

Thursday, June 13. 

3:30pm to 4:30pm: Stop by our table in the Hyatt hotel lobby to pick up your ID badge and get your swag bag. Wear your badge every day; it is your ticket to board the bus.
If you miss the pick-up window, contact Laura or Leigh at the reception and we'll find a time after the reception to get you your things.


                     Welcome Reception


At 5:30 PM we'll board the buses at the Hyatt hotel and depart promptly at 5:40 
 for a short ride to the GrowHaus, a non-profit, indoor farm, marketplace, and educational center where we'll have dinner, welcome past flingers, and introduce first-time flingers, as well as next year’s hosts. 


We'll also raffle off a few items here that can be used on the tours!






Friday, June 14, 2019, tours in Loveland and Fort Collins

We start off our tour in Loveland at The High Plains Environmental Center (HPEC), a 76-acre living laboratory and urban environmental park. The director, Jim Tolstrup, who is a registered attendee, will be joining us to answer any questions. Their nursery, where they grow native plants from seed, will be well stocked and we'll have some time to shop.


Then we arrive at The Gardens on Spring Creek, an 18-acre world-class botanic garden grounded in community, education, and sustainability. We'll take the group photo upon arrival. Gardens include: A children’s garden, food garden, rock garden, sustainable backyard garden, xeric garden, demonstration garden, an outdoor music venue, an outdoor kitchen, and Lauren Springer Ogden’s “Undaunted Garden”. Lauren will be joining us! 
We’ll tour the gardens and have lunch in their outdoor kitchen.

After lunch we visit two private gardens. Janice deVore’s garden is canopied with tall, mature pines and dotted with several crevice gardens and trough gardens. Jan hand-made the troughs and is also a painter. Her property contains a large collection of plant material and many hidden gems. 


 At Carol and Randy Shinn’s garden we will see several distinct crevice gardens along with a water feature with wildlife in mind, and a vegetable garden. 




The buses will be divided between deVore and Shinn, and both have graciously agreed that we can serve wine and cheese there, before our drive back to the hotel!

Dinner this night is on your own.




Saturday, June 15, 2019, tours in Boulder and Niwot



On our way up to Boulder, we’ll actually start the day in Broomfield, just north of Denver  at Botanical Interests seed company warehouse, where we’ll take a short tour of the facility. You’ll learn how seeds get from the grower to the packet and see the machinery involved in weighing and packing. 

We'll have a grab-n-go breakfast here.


The rest of the day is filled with private gardens! Jean Morgan packs a lot of mostly native plants (no lawn) into her small space which is a pollinator haven. The next house called Red Renaissance features indigenous plants to attract butterflies and create a pollination haven for bees including low water plants specifically selected to provide food, shelter, and interest for local and migrating birds. 

In downtown Boulder we visit Linda Boley and her “botanical zoo” with flowering rock gardens and a sanctuary for wildlife. In her garden, you’ll see some colorful ornamentals and lots of little crevices and homes for birds and bees.

Lunch will be at the very special,    Dushanbe Teahouse in Boulder,        which was built by hand in Dushanbe, Tajikistan as a gift to their sister city, Boulder. Colorful and cultural décor includes lots of indoor greenery, and beautifully sculpted pillars throughout.  


Tatiana Maxwell’s garden is an "urban oasis" with 600-ton stone walls, a pond and waterfall, flowers, vegetables, fruit trees, and grape arbor.

Then we’ll head over to Niwot outside of Boulder to visit Scott Deemer’s home, where he has cultivated a garden that is the epitome of Colorado – very Alpine-inspired with lots of evergreen trees and rock gardens.

River willow stump carving of Chief Niwot

Side note: In case you are wondering about the unusual name, Niwot. It is an Arapahoe word meaning “left hand(ed)”. Chief Niwot and his tribe lived in the area over 100 years ago.  







Next, over to Mary and Larry Scripter’s garden, designed by Lauren Springer Ogden. The garden mimics the surrounding landscape and backs up to a huge open space, blending into a prairie meadow, including many various species of native grasses.



Seaborn back yard


We’ll end the day at Judy Seaborn’s home garden for appetizers and wine under her giant willow tree, while touring her 1-acre garden of perennials and dozens of vegetable garden beds. 

There will also be a raffle drawing at her house! 


Dinner (if you didn’t fill up on the apps!) will be on your own this night.



Sunday, June 16, 2019, Denver

The Denver day of the Fling is jam-packed with high-profile, who’s who of Colorado gardeners that we are so excited to share with you.


Rob Proctor is a gardening expert and author with a weekly gardening segment, Proctor's Garden, on Denver’s local channel 9 news. His expansive backyard is filled to the brim with gorgeous ornamentals, both annuals and perennials, in a beautiful, English-garden style.




The Hamling garden, designed by 
Ivy Street Design Landscape and Architecture, combines formal architecture with billowing plantings including a significant number of natives, a pond, and an outdoor dining area. 


We’ll be touring both gardens of Jim Borland and Keith Funk, the co-hosts of local radio show Ask the Garden Pros for 25 years. Jim Borland’s garden is an impressive Colorado native xeriscape, which he proudly states he “hasn’t watered in years”. The Funk garden will be in the afternoon.


Sculpture at DBG

We’ll have lunch at the Denver Botanic Gardens 
in their Annuals Garden and Pavilion surrounded by an abundance of stunning flowers of North America. 
We'll have plenty of time to tour the wide range of gardens and collections on 24 acres that illustrate a diversity of plants from all corners of the world. 



After lunch, it’s off to Panayoti Kelaidis’ home garden in north Denver, which is a mix of cottage, alpine, desert, and veggie! Panayoti is the Director of Outreach for the Denver Botanic Gardens, and a traveled lecturer and a spokesman for the regional Green Industry.



Dan Johnson is the Curator of Native Plants and Associate Director of Horticulture at the Denver Botanic Gardens since 1996. His garden delights with xeric and native plants, cacti and succulents, conifers, annuals, perennials, temperate trees and shrubs, tropicals from the traditional to the rare, and up-cycled artifacts “just for fun”.   

On to Keith Funk's home; Keith is also a horticulture specialist whose garden is full of gorgeous ornamentals and evergreens.

Historic home at Chatfield


The Denver Garden Blogger’s Fling wraps up in style with a 
bar-b-que dinner with music and dancing at Chatfield Farms, an extension of Denver Botanic Gardens. Chatfield is a 700-acre plant refuge and working farm. There will be plenty of time to walk the gardens of Chatfield.



If you plan to stay for a couple of extra days, check out the private tour of Pat Hayward's garden AM tour in Fort Collins on Monday, June 17. 



Friday, May 3, 2019

More of our sponsors, and a cool Niwot garden!

THANK YOU Sponsors; you're the best!

Fort Collins Nursery Year-round, locally owned, Colorado garden center with the region's best selection of quality plants and gardening supplies since 1932.

Potted "Indoor style for outdoor living" featuring planters, firepits, outdoor furniture, garden decor, sculptures, lighting, and more!


Timber Press  Sharing the wonders of the natural world by publishing books from experts in the fields of gardening, horticulture, and natural history.


Teak Closeouts  Your online, teak furniture discount store, offering benches, tables, patio sets, functional art and accessories and more; 100% genuine teak from Indonesia.


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Watch next week's post for the full itinerary!

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Fling teaser

This garden was created by the homeowner who owns a landscape architecture, design, and installation business called Outdoor Craftsmen.


Here is the overseer; making sure everything is trimmed and tidy for us


Lots of stones and stonework in this landscape; used as retaining walls to divide the sloping property into different levels


The back pond-style pool is too gorgeous and inviting!


Veggies too, right next to Colorado spruce



This is truly a "crafted" landscape. Crafted, but with the natural feeling.

I'm not sure, but my guess is that this is one awesome outdoor fireplace.