Conifers for REAL Colorado Gardens

This has really been a brutal winter in my northern Colorado garden. We hit 22º below F on February 2, the coldest we’ve ever recorded in the 13 years we’ve lived at this location. On top of that, it was incredibly dry all fall and winter, with little to no snow cover to insulate the plants from the severe temperature changes.  In spite of these intense climatic challenges, our gardens overall managed to look quite pretty all winter long simply because of the number of hardy dwarf and unusual conifers we’ve incorporated over the years.

My husband and I have about an acre of gardens, ranging from rock gardens, perennial borders, “wild” areas, and more. We have no means to irrigate other than dragging hoses and sprinklers, so in reality there’s very little supplemental water given to our gardens (I mean really, who wants to drag hoses around an acre of gardens?) As avid conifer enthusiasts (both of us), we’ve now experimented with hundreds of conifer species and varieties, looking for the most adaptable, hardiest, and attractive choices. Of course, the more fragile plants haven’t survived, but those that now grace our gardens are absolute stalwarts!

Come to the Gardens’ class, Conifers for Colorado Gardeners, to learn about the many beautiful conifers that really do well here in Colorado on Saturday, April 16 at 9 a.m.  It’s a very full day, but I love teaching the class and know that you’ll be amazed at the wonderful conifer choices available to you.

Guest Blogger: Pat Hayward

After 27 years in the Colorado nursery industry and four years with Iseli Nursery (Oregon), she is now recognized as a local conifer and tree expert. Pat has published pieces on conifers in the American Conifer Society bulletin, American Nurseryman Magazine and was a guest editor for “Growing Conifers,” published by the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Pat is currently Executive Director of Plant Select®.