If a yard or garden looks like it has been transplanted from the desert, does that make it a “water-smart garden?” One might make the assumption that the plants do not need much supplemental water and, therefore, the homeowner is being frugal with his or her water application. This may actually be an incorrect notion.
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Standing as testimony that gardening in Colorado does not have to be dull and boring is the Roads Water-Smart Garden, which is currently bursting in color. Bursts of yellow, purple, pink, orange and white are dotted throughout this garden. Meticulously cared for by our Curator of Native Plants, Dan Johnson, this garden is a showcase of what a garden could look like in Colorado with the selection of the right plants for our semi-arid climate.
Featuring drought tolerant plants from around the world, the Water-Smart Garden is typically watered only twice per month in the summer, and also only if conditions become extremely dry. Plants currently in bloom include various penstemons, delosperma, thyme, horned and California poppies, yucca, prickly pear cactus, gaillardia, salvia and yarrow among others.
Wow! That was a fantastic Earth Day. About 6,000 people passed through the Gardens, seeing, learning and enjoying. It’s a chance for the Gardens to show its special strengths, like the Water-Smart Garden (above). The Mayor visited to launch the Denver Daisy (Rudbeckia ‘Denver Daisy’) and many people took notice, including the Denver Post. 300,000 seed packets could mean that the city is covered in them by the end of summer. I also can’t wait to see the different ways people use them in their landscape. What will they be combined with?
Posted in: Conservation & Ecology, Education, Green Living, Rocky Mountain Gardening - Comments(2)