Harvest Helpers By Janine Frank   Last fall, Boulder County experienced a bumper crop of fruit, a true bonanza that overflowed bushel baskets everywhere. Instead of leaving all those apples to rot, Community Fruit Rescue stepped in. The nonprofit organization has been helping Boulder County property owners reduce food waste, protect wildlife and get edible food to those in need since 2014. They work mostly with apples but also harvest plums, pears and peaches. “We recover fruit that would otherwise be sent to the compost facility or landfill, or that would attract bears and other wildlife ..read more

In hot, dry climates like Colorado’s, where back yards bake in the high heat and abundant sun, self-watering planters are an answer to gardeners’ prayers. By Lisa Muschinski   Colorado is tough on outdoor container plants. They dry up before you can get around to watering them, and they often need water multiple times a day. Unless you have a neighbor or friend willing to swing by and water, you’re forced to choose between tending to your garden and taking the kids camping. Keeping plants hydrated and happy can feel like a full-time job. There’s a solution. Self-watering planters have a w ..read more

Fermenting your kitchen scraps before composting them can prevent waste, sequester carbon and give your garden a boost. By Sara Bruskin   We already appreciate fermentation for giving us sourdough bread, kimchi, beer and wine. It can also help us compost more effectively. Bokashi composting has been practiced for centuries, but the first commercial system is generally attributed to Teruo Higa, a Japanese horticulture professor who developed it in 1982. Because the bokashi process ferments food scraps before they’re composted, you can include previously verboten items like meat, dairy and ..read more

Grow Your Own Meal and four other nonprofits making a difference locally By Lisa Truesdale   After fleeing from New York City following 9/11, Marion Murphy was inspired to make a difference in the world. Once she landed in Boulder County, she knew it would be easier to do so in a small community rather than in a huge city. She just wasn’t sure how to do it until she read journalist Michael Pollan’s now-famous essay from October 2008, asserting that if the U.S. didn’t make the reform of the entire food system a high priority, we would never be able to “make significant progress on the heal ..read more

Red sandstone inserts adorn this concrete paver walkway that winds past granite boulders A Stone’s Throw to a Beautiful Yard By Kate Jonuska   While plants demand the bulk of our attention and maintenance in a landscape, stunning yards and gardens are often created from stronger stuff—namely, rocks, stones and pavers. Stones can retain and control earth, build lasting paths and plant beds, and of course, create more outdoor living spaces for which Colorado is so renowned. As lovely as they are durable, stones serve many purposes in a landscape. Some are quarried right here in Boulder Coun ..read more

This Longmont yard is big on pollinators and flower dances Story by Lisa Truesdale  Photos by Linda Grimes   Linda Grimes is a “bee whisperer.” It’s not a formal designation, like when she earned Master Gardener status several years ago. Her husband bestowed the informal title upon her because of the great care she takes to ensure the bees in their garden are happy, healthy and hydrated. “Trickling water is so peaceful to listen to,” Linda says, “but all of our water features are really for bees and all the pollinators, not for us. I don’t want them to be thirsty.” Linda lovingly greets t ..read more

Bill Melvin was grateful he installed this fire pit in his yard in 2020, just when the pandemic was starting to sweep the country. Fire pits add instant warmth and ambience to outdoor spaces By Carol Brock   There’s something comforting—and innately human—about sitting around a fire with family and friends. Especially during the pandemic, as fire pits provide a sorely needed social balm in a safe environment. “Our fire pit has been a lifesaver during COVID,” says Bill Melvin, owner of Ecoscape Environmental Design in Boulder, which installed a 2-ton granite-slab fire pit in his backyard w ..read more

Edible flowers are not only pretty, they’re pretty enough to eat By Lisa Truesdale   Picking summer flowers is always a delight. Although most of these beautiful blossoms are destined for vases, don’t overlook another, tastier possibility: “Eat them!” says Boulder herbalist and author Brigitte Mars. Edible flowers make any meal feel like a special occasion. Like most plants, flowers contain phytochemicals that may protect human cells from damage when ingested, while others have proven therapeutic uses or are trusted folk remedies. “Each flower has its own story,” Mars says. Calendula, for ..read more

Plant these bulbs in fall for spectacular spring blooms By Carol Brock   “Tall and elegant” is how Brian Wheat of Lafayette Florist describes alliums. Indeed, the globe-shaped flowers are often regal shades of purple floating atop sturdy stems. Most alliums are tall—one variety grows up to 5 feet—but some are just inches in height. The majority of alliums are bulbs, and all are members of the onion family. Their spherical flowers are actually clusters of individual blooms in shades of purple, blue, red, pink, yellow and white. With so many colors and heights to choose from, alliums are ch ..read more

Andrea Montoya gardening in the Goss-Grove pollinator pocket parks she founded. She recently spotted a rare pollinator there—the American Bumblebee (Bombus pensylvanicus), whose geographic distribution has fiercely declined. “That little bee sent up a flurry of encouragement across our small community!” she says.   Public and residential gardens form a pollinator-friendly urban corridor in the Goss-Grove neighborhood Story by Deborah Foy, Andrea Montoya & Dave SutherlandPhotos courtesy Dave Sutherland   “We can do so much better,” thought Andrea Montoya, while surveying two small ..read more