Do you miss your June garden? Wishing you could turn back the clock and enjoy all your lovely flower faves again? Well, you can! All you need to do is head up to Colorado's high country. Last weekend we took a day-trip from Denver to Fairplay / South Park (yes, that South Park), on through Breckenridge, and home via Frisco.
In Fairplay (elevation 9,953 feet), a tiny unpaved corner of the old stone county building has a spunky display of delphinium, alpine poppy (Papaver nudicale), columbine, Campanula spp., and snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum). The discovery of this little pocket garden was almost as exciting as the llama races!
The historic district of Breckenridge (elevation 9,600 feet) puts on a beautiful show for the summer tourists with gorgeous hanging baskets and flower boxes dripping with color (I was too stunned to take photos? Doh!) Cottage style gardens are tucked into any little space available. This garden includes blooms of cat mint (Nepeta spp.), larkspur, globe flower (Trollius spp.), foxglove, Veronica spp. and Dianthus spp.
Delphinium, lady's mantle (Alchmilla mollis), and Lilium spp. as well.
Gardening at high elevations is challenging: the growing season is very short, the nights are cool, and the sun is intense with a capital I ... but the rewards are huge.
(Frisco is on the shore of beautiful Lake Dillon, an important reservoir for metro Denver and the home of one of our favorite BBQ joints: Q4U.)
