2025 Gardening Resolutions

Jan. is the time to sign up for a garden class or two from local, independent garden centers and botanic gardens, like this Rose Symposium at Denver Botanic Gardens. (G.Holmes, via Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)

By Betty Cahill | Special to The Denver Post

PUBLISHED: January 5, 2025

Some people greet January with the post-holiday blues and are a pound or two heavier — or both. Not gardeners! (Well, maybe the weight gain part, but that will easily be worked off as the garden muscles get back into action.)

Turn any blues into New Year garden resolutions that can recharge your attitude and set January in motion — think and plan ahead to an abundant harvest and colorful landscape. Dreaming of spring is officially here.

Where to start? We all know the basics — what parts of the garden worked well and to your liking last year and what needs improvement. You can go as far as sketching out the current layout using internet tools to draw it to scale or do as I have done: winging it with lines and curves here and there along with x’s and o’s to distinguish trees from perennials. A visual blueprint helps you formulate an upcoming season game plan where you can make notes and play around with plant ideas and design.

If your budget permits, consider hiring a professional designer or contractor to plan out your gardens and landscape. (Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)

If your budget permits, consider hiring a professional landscape designer or contractor, which I’ve also done with success over the years. They will see your outdoor digs with fresh ideas and help tremendously, especially if your goals include major plant conversions such as incorporating less water-thirsty plants, replacing turf areas or any other ideas you have. Always keep in mind when trying to conserve seasonal outdoor water that trees, shrubs and new plantings will always need water and your attention.

Now the fun begins (the dreaming of spring part,) whether you’re a DIY or working with a designer: deciding what plants are in the wrong place, need to be divided or, dare I say, moved on to the green pasture compost heap. Do the homework involved in researching new plants and suggested landscape facelifts or entire re-dos. This serves to confirm your choices and the final sign-off on proposals.

My plant homework includes reaching for my small library of garden books for plant and landscape ideas because they are regionally applicable, along with the help of my trusty computer search engine that often sends me on a three-hour plant thrill ride. Inevitably I find plants that shouldn’t be planted in a Zone 5 landscape. I eventually conclude that I can’t move to Arizona just so I can grow a Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) and Organ Pipe Cactus (Stenocereus thurberi), two of my favorite plants that remind me of visiting my parents. who spent their retired winters living in their motor home parked in some of the most beautiful Arizona state parks.

To help with your research, don’t overlook the excellent garden education resources available locally. January is the time to sign up for a garden class or two from local, independent garden centers and botanic gardens. Check their websites for the latest class listings. Day-long garden seminars and symposiums are very popular up and down the Front Range through the winter months. Refer to the resources below for a list of workshops, events and more.

One of my often-used computer bookmarks takes me to the listings for CSU Extension free webinars, ranging in topics from seed starting, unique annuals and fire-resilient landscapes. Find the link under Planttalk below for recent past programs and new ones for 2025.

Jan. is the perfect window to take stock of your seed-starting supplies and equipment and refresh your cache as needed. (Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)

January is the perfect window to take stock of your seed-starting supplies and equipment and refresh your cache as needed. Outdoor seed starting for popular vegetables like tomatoes and peppers, and many annuals including zinnia, cosmos and sunflowers, won’t need to be started until March or later. If you’re using early planting equipment like cold frames, then getting seeds started sooner makes sense. Also, there are some plant seeds that need 10 or more weeks to germinate and be ready for planting outside. The short list includes artichokes, feverfew, chamomile, celery, angelonia, and bee balm. Planting charts which include annuals, herbs and vegetables timing and more information are under resources below.

Moisture has been very scarce along the Front Range. Our landscapes are dry. We need to act on behalf of our plants. Hook up hoses and sprinklers and deep water the newest landscape plants from last year, followed by trees, shrubs and perennials.

As you clear out and pack away past holiday decorations, do the planet a solid by recycling Christmas trees. Check with your local municipality if your county isn’t listed. Artificial tree recycling is doable, or consider donating or reusing, check the link for more tips.

Happy New Gardening Year!

Recycling Resources

Arvada Christmas tree recycling: arvadaco.gov/717/Christmas-Tree-Recycling

Boulder County Christmas tree recycling: westerndisposal.com/materials-management-center/#!/yard-waste

Broomfield Christmas tree recycling: broomfield.org/1031/Tree-Branch-Recycling-Facility

Denver Christmas tree recycling: https://www.denvergov.org

Fort Collins Christmas tree recycling: fcgov.com/recycling/atoz/items/?item=136

Greeley Christmas tree recycling: greeleygov.com/government

Lafayette Christmas tree recycling: lafayetteco.gov/2612/Christmas-Tree-Disposal

Littleton Christmas tree recycling: littletonco.gov/Community/City-Calendars/Events

Longmont Christmas tree recycling: longmontcolorado.gov/waste-services-trash-recycling-composting

Gardening resources

Colorado Gardener calendar: coloradogardener.com/calendar

How to recycle, reuse, or donate an artificial Christmas tree: marthastewart.com

Regional and timely garden information, including helpful online garden webinars: planttalk.colostate.edu/

Seeding and planting charts by Betty Cahill: https://gardenpunchlist.blogspot.com/2019/02/seeding-and-planting-charts-all-of-them.html

Winter watering: planttalk.colostate.edu

Betty Cahill speaks and writes about gardening in the Rocky Mountain Region.

Happy New Gardening Year 2025!!

 

Need a Gardening Fix? Try these Podcasts

The podcast world is dynamic, with many offering accompanying videos to stream on social media sites. (Getty Images)

By Betty Cahill | Special to The Denver Post

PUBLISHED: December 8, 2024

Winter for many gardeners is a necessary quiet season and period of rest after the active outdoor spring-summer-fall months. December, although busy with shopping and holiday celebrations, is the perfect month to dream about spring gardening and enjoy the respite.

One of the ways I gather information and inspiration is to listen to garden podcasts. It is an easy and relaxing way to pass the time while cleaning seed trays or watering house plants.

Listening to podcasts is an easy and relaxing way to pass the time while cleaning seed trays or watering house plants. (Provided by Betty Cahill)

The podcast world is dynamic, with many offering accompanying videos to view (stream) on social media sites. They can be almost as useful for some gardeners as a trowel.

The same rules apply to podcasts as any online gardening tips: There can be anything from exceptionally credible, science-based facts to opinionated, untested, “advice.” Regional garden podcasts often focus on plants and soil conditions that are specific to their locations; However, most of the nationally recognized garden personalities often include Western U.S. plant-related information.

Podcast hosts are generally funded by companies that sell products and services, so expect brief commercial breaks. A tip: Download the podcast to your phone and listen while wearing portable headphones or hands-free ear buds.

The list of garden podcast topics is extensive. Some podcast personalities take gardening questions and may have topic-specific expert guests. Other podcasts cover seasonal topics, including everything from rock gardening to birding (the sky is literally the limit).

Some of the most popular garden podcasts in 2024 were “The Joe Gardener Show” with Joe Lamp’l; “Let’s Argue about Plants” from Fine Gardening Magazine, with editors Danielle Sherry and Carol Collins; “A Way to Garden,” with Margaret Roach; “Garden Basics” with Farmer Fred (Fred Hoffman);  and “The Beet: The Podcast for Plant Lovers,” with Kevin Espiritu.

Some of my favorites are the British podcasts, even though our growing conditions and plant choices can differ. You’d be surprised at how often they have similar plant ailments and garden pests to our region of the country. The Brits not only have great accents, but also their pet names for certain plants like “veg” instead of vegetables is endearing. My two favorites, which are also in many of the top garden podcast lists, are BBC Radio Ulster’s  “Gardener’s Corner” with David Maxwell and BBC Radio 4’s “Gardener’s Question Time” with Peter Gibbs.

Wishing everyone a merry and bright holiday season and splendid New Gardening Year. Thank you for “tuning in” to my garden articles all these years. More to come in the New Year.

Betty Cahill speaks and writes about gardening in the Rocky Mountain Region.

NEW Denver Rose Society Website 2024

 

Denver Rose Society Homepage

 

If you're like me you take your online internet searches with a grain of salt and have been since dial up replaced high speed. Clicking, navigating and moving a mouse to find a garden related website or "surf the web" are as common and easy today as putting on your garden clogs. Thank goodness.

What makes the internet more fun and educational for a gardener is when a new website is found that covers the soup to nuts about your love of fill in the blank plant or garden topic. Perusing garden websites will never replace the action and satisfaction of being in the garden planting and toiling, but it sure can help pass the winter months. 

Rose shrubs are one of my favorite fill in the blank plants. Recently the Denver Rose Society introduced their brand new, much improved website. Find it HERE. 

Wow was all I could say when I first opened the link and began scrolling and clicking on articles and information faster than downing a cool glass of water on a hot August day. 

The site is beautiful (it would have to be wouldn't it with the subject of roses ...  yea baby).  What I especially like is finding everything needed on the homepage and easily being able to pick and choose where to click next. You will find out exactly who, what, where and why in one convenient scroll.

Find out for yourself right now, here's the link again - the Denver Rose Society.

Congratulations and great job Kelly S. and all the member volunteers who made it happen.

Final Fall 2024 Outdoor To Dos

Mulch can guard against soil heaving (rising up from the roots), from temperature fluctuations, and prevent soil erosion where there is open soil like the vegetable garden. (Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)

By Betty Cahill | Special to The Denver Post

PUBLISHED: November 5, 2024

In a gardener’s mind, going back to standard time means getting the outdoor chores finished earlier in the day, before the sun goes down. That’s typically not a problem, unless snow gets in the way.

Here are a couple of November ideas that will help your trees and other plants get through the winter with less stress, plus an easy outdoor container planting idea that you will thank me for next spring.

Tree wrap warmth

Giving trees a leg up with an insulation wrap of protection around the trunk each fall is worth the 10 or so minutes it takes to do. (Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)

The Denver area has well over 200 sunny to partly sunny days all year — with few complaints from Coloradans. Trees, on the other hand, from fall to spring can experience sunscald and frost cracks from sunny days with warm daytime temperatures followed by cold nights. This condition can be damaging for young and newly planted deciduous trees, including oak, maple, linden, willow, honey locust and fruit trees. Thicker bark insulates older trees so they are less prone to winter sun and temperature-related issues.

Over the winter months, sunscald can result from the cells in the young tree tissue warming up during the day, usually on the south and southwest side of trees. At night, or with quick, cold temperature changes, the cells can freeze and die, resulting in tree injury. Frost cracks can happen when the tender bark freezes and thaws with temperature changes, leading to bark cracks and splitting. These conditions may harm the tree’s future health and its ability to ward off disease and pest insects.

Giving trees a leg up with an insulation wrap of protection around the trunk each fall is worth the 10 or so minutes it takes to do. Keep this up for the first three or four years of a tree’s new life.

Use a wrap designed for trees available at your local garden center and online. Start wrapping at the base of the tree, overlapping 33% with each turn, so there aren’t gaps that can cause it to sag and fall away over the winter. Wrap up to the lowest branches of the tree. Secure the top with flexible ties or tape, avoid attaching the tape to the actual tree bark.

Remove the wrap in April, keeping it on longer than that may contribute to harboring insects or disease. (Wrap left on too long can also girdle the tree, which is never good.)

Mulch matters

Another plant protection and insulation recommendation over the winter is using mulch around new perennial plants, trees and shrub roots, and bulb plantings. Mulch can guard against soil heaving (rising up from the roots), from temperature fluctuations, and prevent soil erosion where there is open soil like the vegetable garden. The best time to apply winter mulch is after the ground has frozen in the fall, or if the ground doesn’t freeze then after several nights of temperatures below freezing.

There are many options for mulch: grass clippings, chopped leaves, weed free straw, wood mulch, arborist wood chips and pine needles. Apply to a depth of 2 to 4 inches. Keep all mulch materials a few inches away from the base of woody plants to prevent moisture from being too close to the trunk. Mulch can be removed once consistent warmer temperatures remain in spring.

Hyacinth heaven scent

Place an arrangement of hyacinth bulbs (or other bulbs of your choosing) on top of the potting soil pointy side up. (Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)

For indoor hyacinth color and fragrance next year, use one of your favorite outdoor, easy-to-move decorative containers, or a soft-sided fabric one that fits inside a container. Fill the container with fresh potting soil, leaving a few inches at the top. Place an arrangement of hyacinth bulbs (or other bulbs of your choosing) on top of the potting soil pointy side up. Add more potting soil to cover the bulbs and water the container well.

Sink the container in a raised bed or ground-level soil. (Squirrels generally do not go for hyacinth bulbs.) Use critter repellent or an old window screen or wire over other bulbs they do like, such as tulips, for anti-squirrel insurance.

Sinking the container in soil protects it all winter from being exposed to freeze/thaw cycles, which can damage the bulbs. In 16 to 18 weeks after the required cold temperatures that hyacinths need, remove the container, brush back a bit of the topsoil, clean the sides and bring it indoors, where the bulbs will bloom in a couple of weeks and pleasantly waft the house with fragrance and joy. Keep the soil moist, not soggy, when the container is indoors.

If you prefer not planting the bulbs outside in a container, keep them consistently chilled at 40 degrees for three months. After that time, pot them up and enjoy spring’s arrival in your home.

Betty Cahill speaks and writes about gardening in the Rocky Mountain Region.