Denver Fling Preview

A delightful, lush garden awaits us.

This garden was so well-planned with a nice mixture of colors, heights, textures, and bloom times. Every inch has its item. That's a Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) the state tree, on the right.

It's not a large yard, but offers so much to look at, smell, and feel.

Meandering paths offer something new at every turn.

An arch doesn't have to be at a gateway. Here it stands alone as a decorative element. This must be a new garden item, as something is being trained to climb up it. We shall see.

Here's a snippet of one of the crevice gardens; a wonderful contrast to the rest of the yard.

One more week down! The Fling draws closer...                                                    ~Laura

High Plains Environmental Center: Denver Fling preview

On our first Fling adventure day, we will visit the

High Plains Environmental Center (HPEC)

in Fort Collins

HPEC's mission is to "educate communities to become replicable "living laboratories" which demonstrate restorative examples of land-stewardship, native plants, and wildlife habitat."

There are many sections to HPEC. One is the Native Plants Demonstration Garden, which showcases Colorado native plants and emphasizes a regionally appropriate style of horticulture that supports pollinators and water efficiency. 

The over 30 native flowers and shrubs here have evolved to survive, and even thrive in Colorado's extreme climate. HPEC is committed to native plant conservation.

HPEC has a relatively new, and successful nursery. They grow native plants from seed, many of which are valuable for restoration projects. HPEC is an affiliate organization of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin (we were there at the 2018 Fling!) with a shared mission to support native plant preservation, conservation, and use.

Members are overjoyed to be able to buy almost impossible-to-find Colorado native species that they wish to enjoy in their own gardens. Here is a most happy customer!

HPEC did an intensive study to identify all the birds, mammals, insects, reptiles and amphibians that live at, or visit the 275 acres of open space here, which includes 2 reservoirs. 

Adorable barn owl 

A resident mink crosses the path.

We enjoy lots and lots of hummingbirds in Colorado.

A Colorado mountain lion rests in the snow, but is looking very alert.

~Laura

Rob Proctor Garden: Denver Fling sneak peek

A Denver Garden Extraordinaire

Rob Proctor, as mentioned previously on this blog site, is a gardening expert and author with a weekly gardening segment, Proctor's Garden, on Denver’s local channel 9 news. He’s has written 16 gardening books and has an expansive backyard filled to the brim with gorgeous ornamentals, both annuals and perennials, in a beautiful, English-garden style. 

What a variety of colors!

Such a devoted gardener, with tons of potted plants; plants that would never make it in the ground through the Colorado winter. That’s a banana tree in the corner!

A recurring theme, the cobalt blue pots work so well with all the plants.

It will be interesting and fun to see what he has planted in the yard gardens this year. 

It appears that, like me, he is a lover of yellow marigolds.

I can't wait to walk through this garden! ~Laura