GardenBook

 My borrowed view is unfortunately the featureless rear stucco walls of the two homes that back up to mine. Mary and Larry Scripter can claim fields, farms and prairies unfolding west to the Rocky Mountains. The peaks are the ultimate  geographic focal point as the backdrop to their Lauren Springer/Scott Ogden designed meadow. The Scripters are native to the prairies of the Midwest-Larry grew up in Kansas and Mary in South Dakota. They began the process of creating this Niwot Colorado  garden in 2011, and in 2012 completed it-planting a mind-boggling 1800 plants in three weeks. The result is a dynamic living theater where birds and insects thrive  and the rhythm of life unfurls with the seasons. The gently triangular shape of the mown fields outside the border of the cultivated garden  points the eye west to the mountains.   Bloggers headed out to the meadow , but there seemed to be an enthusiastic mosquito population to greet us-the Scripters were stationed on the deck to of

Coming home from Fling with a desire to rip out the whole garden and start over is a common though impractical sentiment. Common to me I should add.  Different climate zone, different plants, different soils, different plot size, but still the raw hunger to possess an Eden of sorts where one can grow anything, anytime and have a garden like the one we just saw today or yesterday or the day before persists. My own garden never looks as good when I come home as it did before I ventured forth to visit those of others. Still, after 30years of gardening where I live,  I have learned which envelopes I can push, how much energy I'm willing to ante up to create a faux climate for plants that won't thrive in mine, and how to let go of  the gardens I will never have.  My garden is in USDA 9 , Sunset zone 15 . Denver is in USDA 5b , Sunset zone 2A-defined as 'Warmer Summer Intermountain'.  Because Denver is in the west, and experiences only an average of 15 inches of rainfall pe

 This is actually Bloom Evening-I'm a bit behind schedule . It's still the 15th at May Dreams Gardens , where Carol provides us a platform to share our flowers on the 15th of every month, but I'm right under the wie for midnight on the east coast. Here is a small sample of what I have going on in zone 9, Northern California.  This has become one of my favorite Lilys, Carte Blanche, an Orienpet from the Lily Garden in Vancouver Wa. 6 to 7 ft tall in my garden , which allows for easy viewing of the slightly down turned blooms, unless you are in the NBA. All Fuchsias are in full bloom, but I only took a photo of "Winston Churchill a favorite I have grown for at least 20 years. You can see the damage from one of the few hot days we have had this summer .  One of my fave Sanguisorbas, my un-named seeding from Far Reaches Farm.  This patch of Eucomis is scheduled for removal  this fall-it takes uo way too much space and in a small garden 3 big clumps of

 Garden Bloggers Fling , the annual meet-up of blogging gardeners, took place this year in the Denver Colorado area  encompassing Fort Collins and Boulder as well as Denver. The organizing team put together an outstanding itinerary that was firmly rooted in the unique environment of the mountain west.  In this post we will visit The Gardens on Spring Creek in Fort Collins , which is currently 18 acres and is owned and operated by the city of Fort Collins. I really loved this garden. The sense of place, the attention to detail and the obvious passion of the staff was a perfect circle of excellence. The garden is  at the tail end of  an expansion which includes a renovated visitors center, a butterfly house and a cafe. The grand opening of the newest additions to Spring Creek is expected to take place in fall of this year. We were able to see enticing snippets of the gardens around the visitors center from beyond the caution tape and every bit of the still developing areas of this