Garden Share Bristol

My Sister Knits, Fort Collins, Colorado

Jodi and Tina bringing trellises and signs



Mandy and Vicky assessing



The brussel Sprouts and doing just fine



Garlic!



New signs! Thanks Jodi!



Planting potatoes - yukon golds (an early variety)



New raspberry plants


- marnie

Jim and I have been busy in the garden during the past few weeks doing the annual “Spring Clean-Up.” This included pruning some woody shrubs and trees and cutting back all of our ornamental grasses and perennial flowers. Hopefully, you have been able to take advantage of our few nice weather days this month and have been attending to some of these garden chores as well. (If not, then aim for a deadline of April 10th!) There are some woody plants that I will also cut back severely, but not for a month or so. These include: Russian sage (Perovskia), Powis Castle sage (Artemesia), butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii), leadplant, (Amorpha canescens), and St. Johnswort (Hypericum). Although Hummingbird mints (Agastache sp) are an herbaceous perennial, they should also be cut back a bit later in the spring.

Now, what to do with all of the waste? Please, please, please don't put it out for the trash guy!
There are better alternatives than sending all of this organic matter to the landfill. One option is to compost it. Check out this CSU Extension Service page for complete instructions and troubleshooting tips. I compost garden waste and kitchen scraps on a regular basis, but my spring clean-up overwhelms my system and storage space. Therefore, I’ll go to Plan B…
...Take it to a recycler that will use it for their compost making business. Gather up your branches and bags of debris and head to Mountain States Wood Recyclers at 2300 W. Radcliff Ave (303-789-3356). There is a minimum fee (just like taking it to the dump, but cheaper!), but it’s worth it knowing that all that stuff will be recycled and “reborn” as compost, the gardener’s best friend!

It’s FAC time in The Art Garden! Grab your favorite beverage and pull up a chair. You didn’t really want to work this afternoon anyway, did you? Leave a comment to join the garden party.

Today’s topic:

As a follow-up to my previous post this week, lets talk color! What colors predominate in your landscape, warm or cool? Do you have a signature color that you use throughout your plantings? What's your favorite foliage color? Do you create different color palettes for different seasons?

Hello! Here's what's new:

School Gardens Project

Spring is in full swing! Our new school gardens are ready for planting and Catriona and I are busy helping these schools embark on their new adventure while continuing to support our school gardens from last year.

I had a lovely time this morning in a Kindergarten/grade 1 classroom at l'Ecole Bilingue facilitating a soils and compost lesson with Mandy, a dedicated volunteer. We looked at rocks, algae, sand, bark and other soil components and then set up an in-class worm composter. Pictures on their way soon!

Cambie Communal Garden

We're bringing more soil over this Friday and planting our cool weather crops this Sunday March 18th at 11am. Come join us for this planting work party and see all our new additions to the garden. Here's a picture of our new Mason Bee home!



Rooftop Demonstration Garden

We will be doing some work and planting of the roof containers this Friday at 10:30am. Join us at SPEC to lend a hand. Some planting was done on March 15th by students of the neighbouring Fraser Academy. Potatoes, oriental greens, broad beans and radishes amoung others should be sprouting out of our rooftop containers before long.

Workshops

We held an intro to organic container gardening workshop on March 20th at SPEC. Our next workshop is entitled Bees, Birds and Biodiversity and will be held April 17th from 2-4pm at SPEC. Cost is $10 per participant. Register here

Advocacy

Check out this link www.cban.ca/Take-Action/Support-Bill-C-474 and send an important email by March 29th to protect our seeds!

- marnie

Paeonia suffruticosa

Color is an exciting and dynamic design element that really lures us, hooks us, and reels us in. Creative use of color is one of the easiest ways to personalize and customize gardens of any size. However, you may be overwhelmed - to the point of paralysis - by the vast array of color choices that are now available for both flowers and foliage. Here are a few simple tips to help you "get color" in your garden.

Get a clue. Look to your region's natural environment and the exterior finishes of your home and hardscape. Would you like to echo (repeat) those colors or contrast with them?

Design by owner-gardener

Here, the rich oranges of the flowers and foliage echo the architectural accents of the home. The bright blue of the containers serve as a sharp bit of contrast.


Below, the soft, muted tones of the fence and house siding are echoed in the soft violet-pink colors of Echinacea and Agastache.

Design by owner-gardener


Choose a color palette. The chaotic use of too many different colors can look downright muddy. Consider using one of the following broad color groupings instead; they're practically fool proof!

Warm colors in combination are cheerful, energizing and easy to see even in low-light situations. Warm colors include yellow and any hues that contain yellow such as orange, some reds, and green.


Create depth and complexity by including light, medium, and dark values in this palette.
Below, the warm coral-pinks of Penstemon and Kniphofia set the stage, then are accented with bright yellow and deep red.

Denver Botanic Gardens

Then add some zing by including a few accents of blue or purple. Keep in mind that flowers in bright, warm colors "advance" and give the illusion of being closer and larger than they are.

Denver Botanic Gardens

Washington Park, Denver


Cool colors in combination are very calming and restful. Cool colors are those that contain blue, including purple, green, and some reds. Include light, medium, and dark values of these hues for a more interesting design.


Denver Botanic Gardens
Above, a Phormium provides a welcome jolt of bold burgundy foliage color to a planting of Rosa, Nepeta, and Delphinium.



Below, an accent of yellow flowers, Coreopsis 'Zagreb' brightens up a xeric garden.

Designer unknown

Cool colored flowers and foliage, especially in darker shades, will "recede" and appear smaller and farther away than they are. Don't let them disappear completely!

Above, the deep violet-red of Lysimachia foliage strengthens this soft, cool color combo of Geranium, Iris, Amsonia and Crambe.


Use a signature color. Repetition of a specific color throughout landscape serves to unify the entire property and create a stronger sense of place that is uniquely yours. A signature color (rather than a signature plant) allows you to choose plants that will be successful in different growing conditions (microclimates) around your property and through the year.


Above, silver (foliage) is the signature color for this garden.


Have fun. Choose colors that make you happy. Your garden is all about you!

Please continue to explore the world of color via today's Garden Designers Roundtable. Click on the links below to read more by today's participants...
Susan Cohan, Miss Rumphius' Rules
Andrew Keys, Garden Smackdown
Christina Salwitz, Personal Garden Coach
Genevieve Schmidt, North Coast Gardening
Ivette Soler, The Germanatrix
Rebecca Sweet, Gossip in the Garden
Rochelle Greayer, Studio G
Scott Hokunson, Blue Heron Landscapes
Douglas Owens-Pike, Energy Scapes

It’s FAC time in The Art Garden! Grab your favorite beverage and pull up a chair. You didn’t really want to work this afternoon anyway, did you? Leave a comment to join the garden party.

Today’s topic:

Did you plant any bulbs last fall? What kind? Do you know where they are ;-) ?

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Curtis Jones, founder of Botanical Interests, Inc., the Colorado seed company with the beautiful and informative packets.
Jones chose to use botanical illustrations to "sell the dream" (hope and faith in the future too, I would say) that seeds represent.
The packet design is ingenious. The exterior has all of the immediate information you need as well as an ID label that can be cut out and used to mark seed flats or garden rows.
The interior of the packet includes more growing information including an seedling illustration to help you weed or thin the right stuff! A bit of plant history and cooking tips round things out.

Botanical Interests offers seeds for annual and perennial flowers, vegetables, and herbs --- including some organic certified seed --- nationwide. I love their products; I hope you will give them a try!

PS Curtis is an avid photographer. Check out his photo stream here.

Note: I was not compensated in any way, shape or form for this product endorsement.

It’s FAC time in The Art Garden! Grab your favorite beverage and pull up a chair. You didn’t really want to work this afternoon anyway, did you? Leave a comment to join the garden party.

Today’s topic:

Is water a vital design component in a landscape? Which has more impact, water that is still (reflective), water that is moving, or a water garden environment with plants and fish? What do you have in your garden?

A snakeskin, spruce cones and flicker feathers.

An owl "barf ball" (my term!), animal jaw bone and sand-cast tracks...all part of a "treasure chest in a wagon" that was just the right height for little eyes and hands to explore.

The Audubon Society of Greater Denver participated in the recent gardening showcase "Echxpo"at Echter's Nursery and Garden Center. The ASGD is a non-profit environmental conservation organization founded in 1969. Their primary focus is the birds, wildlife and habitats of the South Platte River basin. They offer filed trips, classes and programs at the Audubon Nature Center at Chatfield State Park.
From my own booth across the isle I observed the Audubon staff engage young (and some very young) children, again and again, with patience and care. For many families this was just one quick stop in a busy weekend, but hopefully it will spark their interest in learning more about the natural world around them.

It’s FAC time in The Art Garden! Grab your favorite beverage and pull up a chair. You didn’t really want to work this afternoon anyway, did you? Leave a comment to join the garden party.

Today’s topic:

Can you identify all of the plants on your property? Do you label them? Do you record them or map them in some way? What is your favorite method?