Photo:  FreeImages  Blooming houseplants are the best during the Winter months!  Gardeners and bulb lovers like to force bulbs to bloom during the winter holidays to brighten the days.  Paperwhite narcissus bulbs are one of the easiest to force for cut flowers or ornamental displays in the home during the Holidays as they don’t need a chilling period to bloom, unlike tulips and hyacinths.   Photo:  Pinterest You can force them to bloom in either soil or water: • fill a bulb pan (or other container) with about one to two inches of pot ..read more

  Utah Juniper All photos by Charlotte Coles The Utah Juniper, Juniperus osteosperma, is one of nature's caretakers. Utah Juniper is a multi-trunked tree or shrub. Roots are vast and shallow growing in gravelly loam or clay alkaline soil (pH 7.4-8.0). The Utah Juniper grows 0.5 inch per year and may live up to 600 years. They are best suited for elevations of 3000-8000 feet. This monoecious tree or shrub is able to reproduce in distant areas by wind or animals. Each berry contains 1-2 seeds and the staminate are small soft cones. The heartwood is durable cedar used for fence p ..read more

"Look Mom!" All photos by D. Alkire In my garden, I can expect to have a child excitedly describing a “weird bug” they just found (if they are not already holding it up to my face) daily. I love to indulge their curiosity, and it is great to have a tool in my pocket that can quickly point me in the right direction with random insect, flower, or mushroom identification.  Sometimes the identification is immediate! There are several phone apps out there for this purpose.  I have the most experience with Seek and iNaturalist. I like that iNaturalist allows me to help scientists ..read more

All photos by Jeffrey Blake Dill weed (Anethum graveolens) is a valuable addition to your garden because of its culinary versatility, its ability to attract beneficial insects and pollinators, its low-maintenance nature, and its potential medicinal uses. Whether you're an avid cook or simply want to enhance your garden's biodiversity and aesthetics, dill is an herb worth considering for your garden space. Culinary Uses: Dill is a flavorful herb commonly used in cooking. Its leaves (dill weed) and seeds are both edible and are known for their distinct, slightly tangy flavo ..read more

  Note nesting tubes that are being plugged with mud. All photos by Cheryl Kaumeyer Wethey Solitary Bees make up 70% of the bee population in Colorado.   Included in this category are Mason Bees, members of Osmia lignaria species.   The Mason Bee gets its name from its characteristic behavior of incorporating mud like a brick mason in building and sealing their nests.  Mason bees are one of the earliest solitary bees to emerge in the springtime.  They are fairly easy to identify.  The Mason Bee is smaller than a honeybee, most have a me ..read more

University of Minnesota Extension While bulbs are available at the nurseries, here is a fun and easy Holiday Gift idea.  You can pot up some favorite spring bulbs and create an indoor garden for winter flowering.   When Choosing the Bulbs: 1. consider that different bulbs bloom at different times 2. bigger is better, so choose good quality, bigger bulbs 3. make sure they are firm and clear of a mold/mildew 4. leave the paper-like covering on the bulbs when planting.  Planting your Bulbs: 1. your pot should be at least 6 inches (or deeper) with drainage holes 2 ..read more

  Photo: Pexels Late last summer, something strange caught my attention while weeding around a Cosmo plant. I noticed a black blob on the plant's main stem. As I got closer to inspect, I realized it was a thick colony of black aphids (family Aphididae), and from my experience, where there are aphids, there will likely be ants. It is no surprise to find ants hanging around with the aphids. The ants purposely corral the aphids under leaves and keep them out of the sight of potential predators like lady beetle larvae, lacewings, and more. Aside from offering the aphids protection ..read more

All photos by the author If you have lived in Colorado for any length of time, you most likely have been in or around a hail storm.   For gardeners in the state these can be very upsetting and traumatic events. Mainly because they can show up with little to no warning, sometimes weather services will show you that there is the threat of a hail storm during a weather incident (usually heavy rain). But in my experience, its usually 30 mins or less (if you happen to be watching the weather). I know several people that have lost most of their crops due to these storms. I am ..read more

  Photo: Pexels: Sippakorn Yamkasikorn When I was in Germany, I watched my family deposit their food waste in special buckets that were collected and used for community composting.  It’s nice to know that food waste is going back into food production.  One convenient method to do this with your own food waste is to have a worm bin in your garage.  It’s easy to do and it’s not even smelly.  Your worms will eat the food and process it into worm castings (poop) you can use to compost your garden.  The garage is a good home for your operation because the ..read more

Black Swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes. All photos by Camille Paige The black swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes, is a large native CO butterfly with distinctive adult and larval (caterpillar) forms. The adults are striking butterflies with yellow spots lining the wings and blue spots and a “tail” on on the hind wing. Females can be distinguished by their more pronounced blue scales and smaller yellow spots.   The adult female lays yellow eggs on plants of the Apiaceae/Umbelliferae family (also sometimes referred to as the parsley or carrot family.) Eggs develop for up to 10 days be ..read more