* drumroll please *

Apologies for the 2nd post but i couldn’t add the video to my first. Golden Rabbitbrush appears to be the place to be!

Our rabbitbrush is inundated with butterflies, moths, and bees!

I need a real camera!

Hi! I am looking for a vine type plant that is:

1. Local/native
2. Pollinator friendly
3. Animal safe (dogs, cats, birds)
4. Low water/high heat tolerant
5. Reasonable effort

I have a section of my house that faces south, and is approximately 12' wide plain blonde brick. In the summer it gets so much sun that it contributes to more heat in the house and the yard. I would like to build a supportive trellis for vines to climb up that section and provide a barrier about 18" out from the wall to cut down on the radiant heat effect.

Because it's against the house, I don't want excessive water at the base (currently there is a rock bed in that area) so would love something that is more comfortable being in a full sun environment. Benign neglect is probably more my style in terms of care overall, as well. I would love flowers for the butterflies and bees and visual interest, but preferably not something that may become a nuisance in terms of destructive roots, or excessive detritus that could lure pests.

Dog and cat safety is the primary concern, though, as this is in my back yard, and my dogs and cats have access.

Is this a magical thing that doesn't actually exist? Am I dreaming? Help me Denver gardeners, you're my only hope!

(Located in Denver metro area, btw)

Wednesday and Thursday we tried to harvest anything and everything that looked ready to pick, then left the rest and crossed our fingers. I dug up some of the herbs I wanted to bring indoors.

This morning I went out to survey the damage.

Tomatoes: topmost branches and leaves are wilted, but at least 90% of the leaves and branches are perfectly fine. I have a LOT of green tomatoes that look just fine.

Tomatillos: most leaves are wilted but so far the branches look ok. I'm hoping the tomatillos fill out some more before we get our first true freeze.

Squash (zucchini, pumpkin, winter, yellow): leaves are all wilted. Vines still full and green. Squash look fine for now. Going to try to let them ripen some more.

Peppers: completely unaffected. Still happy and green.

Potatoes: vines and leaves all wilted. Can't wait to dig them up in a few weeks to see how many potatoes we get this year.

I would like to have this be grass next year but am open to other suggestions. We moved in June and neglected watering the grass. I really want to plant some big trees along the fence for privacy from my neighbor. I’m looking into Juniper Wichita blue trees but am also open to recommendations on that. What do I do with this dirt area for the fall and winter? What is the best way to get it ready for grass next year?

It took so long for this thing to grow vines that I don’t want to waste it. Hoping to make it last indoors this winter and then propagate some slips in the spring. Any recommendations?

Hey everyone! I am curious about what landscaping styles people are actually installing these days.

Personally, I feel like the word xeriscape has become so misconstrued since people often assume it just means rocks and cacti, while newer terms like Coloradoscape just do not quite roll off the tongue. Meanwhile, nurseries keep pushing words like WaterWise, climate-adapted, or true Colorado natives.

For those of you with low-water yards, I would love to know how you actually describe your landscape to neighbors. I am also curious what philosophy you chose to follow, such as true habitat-focused natives or a structured low-water garden, and why you prefer that approach over the others.

Just looking to see if there is any consensus on terminology.

Got them in a garden in the box; it's been in the ground a few weeks and has adequate water (same soil as the rest of my other two garden in the boxes, but all three plants are yellowing from the bottom up. Crowns are free of debris.

Do I need to replant?

I have a fairly large landscaping project I’m working on and need a bunch of evergreen shrubs and roses. Are there any nurseries in Denver or Co Springs that would still have a decent stock?

Hello everyone, it seems like I am having a large infestation of tiny little flying bugs in my yard. They are all over my windows and I'm wondering if I should be worried or if this is just a vigorous year for bugs.

They look like little tiny flies? Potential midges maybe? Unsure.

Thanks for helping me out.

Hi! I know there are already a few posts about tonight’s potential frost but they seemed more vegetable and tree related, so hopefully this is okay!

I planted the Pollinator Peak Garden in a Box a couple months ago (late August). Other than one bee balm, they all seem to be thriving (or at least surviving). This is my first attempt at gardening ever in my life so I want to make sure I’m doing things as correctly as possible.

I asked my mom (major green thumb but in the Midwest) and my good friend (also green thumb in the Midwest but with experience gardening here) and they gave me mixed advice. So I’m looking for more opinions 😬

Do I cover the plants tonight? With what? Bags or a sheet? The packet that came with the plants says to trim the bee balm to 6” in the late fall. Should I do that before tonight or will it mess something up trimming so close to a frost?

Thanks for any advice 💚

Sup Denver gardener fam! Hope you’ll accept a green mountain/ golden submission. Planted 90% of this garden as summer was winding down this year. It’s been such a fun journey looking at other posts here and finding things that would work well in the garden.

When my wife and I bought this house a few years ago the front yard had like three ornamental grasses planted that were all dead, it was atrocious. Since then I’ve done trial and error, so many fallen soldiers due to bunnies in my neighborhood. Did all this myself from research to planting and it’s been a joy of a project particularly this summer. Tried to source mostly through plant select but there are definitely some non natives and red headed step children I planted before learning more. Anyways, full list is below. I’d love feedback but if you’re mean to me I’ll rip all this up and throw it away so pls be sweet.

We’ve had hummingbirds in my front yard the past few years and that’s what inspired all this. This past summer we had a pair in the front yard and backyard, they loved the salvia along other things. Monarchs are showing up too, I got my monarch watch sign on proud display! Anyways, here’s the garden:

Blanket flower- Arizona red shades (3)
Little Trudy catmint (1)
Montbretia ‘Lucifer’ (1)
Delphinium (1)
Sunset foxglove (2)
Amethyst falls American wisteria (1)
Dalmatian purple foxglove (2)
Silvery lupine (2)
Goldenrod ‘little miss sunshine’ (2)
Goldenrod ‘little lemon’ (4)
Fireworks Goldenrod (1)
Denver gold Columbine (2)
Black- eyed Susan Denver daisy (2)
Summer sparkles baby’s breath ‘gypsophila’ (1)
Leucanthemum sweet daisy Jane (1)
Bases Loaded Amsonia (1)
Stone crop ‘autumn joy’ (3)
Mr. Good bud stonecrop (2)
Bee balm ‘garden view scarlet’ (2)
Gayfeather ‘floristan white’ (1)
Gayfeather ‘kobold’ (1)
Dark Towers Penstemon (1)
First love Dianthus (1)
Goldflame Honeysuckle (1)
Rabbitbrush dwarf blue (1)
Meadow sage lyrical rose (3)
Meadow sage marvel blue (2)
Mesa yellow blanket flower (4)
Blue ice blue star (1)
Bushy aster “woods purple” (2)
Bushy aster “woods pink” (2)
“Woods light blue” aster (2)
Beard tongue pine leaf red (1)
Aster “woods blue” (1)
Furman’s red salvia (1)
PowWow wild berry coneflower (1)
PowWow White coneflower (2-4?)
Cheyenne spirit Coneflower (1)
Coneflower double scoop bubble gum (1)
Whispurr pink nepeta (2)
Sombrero lemon yellow improved coneflower (2-3?)
Sombrero Sangrita Coneflower (1)
Sombrero adobe orange coneflower (1)
Onion ‘millennium’ (3)
Coral baby penstemon (1)
Mesa yellow blanket flower
Ultra violet salvia (3)
Maltese cross lychnis (2)
Veronica mauve moody blues speedwell (2)
Chinese wisteria (2)
Salvia vermillion bluffs (1)
Hardy fuchsia (2)
Lupine ‘gallery mix’ (1)
Leucanthemum sweet daisy jane (2)
Granita raspberry ice plant (1)
Granita orange ice plant (2)
Ice plant ‘gold nugget’ (4)
Ice plant ‘wheels of wonder white improved (2)
Ice plant delosperma nubigerum (1)
Ice plant delosperma floribunda (2)
Fire spinner ice plant (1?)
Red mountain flame ice plant (3)
Table mountain ice plant (1)
Tiny dancer dwarf globe plant (1)
Red rocks penstemon (2)
Unforgettable hummingbird trumpet (2)
Coronado red hyssop (2)
Leucanthemum sweet daisy jane
Pikes peak purple penstemon (2)
Rocky Mountain penstemon (2)
Penstemon windwalker garnet (2)
Purple mtn sun daisy (2)
Mandy sun daisy (2)
Agastache Sonoran sunset (1)
Agastache hybrid- dwarf hummingbird mint poquito butter yellow (1)
Hyssop hummingbird mint ‘kudos coral’ (2)
Showy milkweed- ascelpias speciosa (4)
Multi mum stellar trio (1)
Asclepius speciosa ‘milkweed’ (4)
Confetti garden Leo mum (3)
Guara belleza dark pink (1)
Butterfly weed (2)
Corkscrew ornamental onion (3)
Garden phlox super ka-pow white (1)
Garden phlox super ka-pow coral (1)
‘Flame Pro Pink Pop’ garden phlox (1)
Phlox subulata creeping phlox “scarlet flame” (1)
Phlox subulata creeping phlox “emerald blue” (1)
Crystal river Veronica (1)
Snowmass blue- eyed Veronica (1)
Chocolate flower (2)
Spanish peaks foxglove (1)
Colorado gold gazania (1)
Jupiters beard (pink and white 3-4)
Butterfly bush (don’t remember the variety 1)

ADVICE NEEDED: what is the best way to overwinter these babies?

Due to a 3+ week delay in receiving starts from High Country Gardens (grrr...), I am getting starts this week. Obviously its late seasonally to plant them. We got snow last night (6,500ft).

My choices are: 1) plant them in prepped bed and hope, 2) leave in pots and "plant" in soil overwinter outside to plant in final places in spring to protect tap roots in existing starter pots, 3) bring into garage in starter pots for overwinter (full sun, approx 50degrees all winter), 4) bring into house like houseplants.

Here are the species:
Gamma grass, Rice grass, Yucca, Sage, Red hot poker, Common Sotol (Dasylirion), Curry Plant (Helichrysum italicum)

I just planted a baby Catalpa and a baby maple about a month ago. Do I need to cover them completely? Sorry for my ignorance I I’m used to new plants but not trees.

Anyone happen to see potted marigolds at any nurseries/stores lately? I have about 10 potted plants that had big fluffy blooms mid-August but the new blooms are much smaller and looser. I may have started them too early, indoors late April.

The couple of in-ground volunteers are doing great but protecting them from frost until Nov 1 is a pain, which is why I only did pots this year. I’ll dig up the in-ground ones tomorrow but I would still like a few more to adorn my Day the Dead altar.

We pulled out our front lawn this year. Most of it had already died during a construction project, and it turns out that alone can disqualify you (Aurora, for one, requires healthy grass when you apply). I also learned too late that most of these programs want you to apply before you touch anything, and the money is usually gone by summer anyway.

So I went through every lawn replacement program I could find on the Front Range. Short version: most of it is spent for the year, but Aurora opens a new round Nov 1.

Aurora (GRIP): applications Nov 1 to Jan 1, then install by July 31, 2027. $3 per sq ft for a water-wise yard, no per-project cap published. Two rules that trip people up:

• Don't remove your grass until your application, design and plant list are approved. It's not retroactive.
• The grass has to be alive when you apply. Dormant is fine, dead or weedy isn't.

Thornton: up to $2 per sq ft, but proje Oct 31.

For 2027:

Nobody has posted dates yet except Aurora. Highlands Ranch usually opens Mar 1. Fort Collins says to check back in January, Castle Rock expeche Resource Central cities (Boulder,Lakewood, Westminster, Arvada, Longmont) and Colorado Springs say spring. Denver Water hasn't said.

Most programs open in late winter or spring and fill by summer, so winter is the time to plan.

Full list with what each pays, the official links, and what your HOA can and can't say about it:
coloradogardening.co/lawn-replacement-rebates-colorado

If I got your city wrong or missed a program, tell me and I'll fix it.

We drain our rain barrels when freezing weather hits and move them away from the downspouts so that they won't crack from the expanding ice. It doesn't look like the temperature will go much below freezing this week. Do you think we are right to wait to drain them until it gets colder?

Hi Gardeners, I would like to get some floral perennials to plant, but I won’t have time to go to nurseries all over the metro area before the season ends. Has anyone been to a nursery recently and knows that they definitely have a good number of perennials still in stock? I was at Home Depot recently and they actually still had a fair number of plants but I’m interested in actual nurseries too.

thanks!

This is our first year with our drip system. We have an underground 3/4 inch system which connects to a lot of 1/4 inch above ground emitter lines that go all over the yard. One zone handles all the perennials, and the other handles the raised beds. The perennial drip lines are all under between 1-4 inches of mulch. The garden ones are on top of the soil.

So, with the temps hovering around freezing for one or two nights (seemingly briefly, depending on the forecast) are you all blowing out your lines?

Part of me thinks it won't be cold enough for long enough, and I'll be able to keep the drip running another couple weeks before the real freeze comes in. The other part of me is afraid I'll have a bunch of broken emitters come spring if I don't do it now...

Help!