As promised, a follow-up post of closeup shots taken at the Mount Goliath alpine garden. While I had to exclude hundreds of shots to keep this post within reason, I still managed to go overboard with over 30 images. As a result, I have embedded a slideshow so that those of you with a slow …
I was supposed to post a follow up to my journey above the tree line today; however, we are experiencing a heatwave that has made my office uninhabitable. Instead, to give myself a reprieve from this heat, I am posting a few shots of this gorgeous lily that I took in my garden just before …
How cool to be so high I could actually see where the trees stopped. Just like that. No more trees. While in Denver, a friend of ours (thanks Ross!) generously offered to take us up to Mt. Goliath, an alpine area that is managed by the Denver Botanic Gardens. As an alpine plant fan this …
This year I decided to try two new radishes in my newly built raised beds and have had equal success with both. The first is ‘Zlata’ a small radish from Poland that is generously described as soft yellow (and often Photoshopped that way in online seed catalogues), but in my opinion turned out something much …
Stemless Thistle (Onopordum acaulon), hands down the most memorable plant of our trip to Denver. I REALLY want to grow this one in my own garden and am now looking for some seeds to purchase.* I have a soft spot for thistles, so much so that I won’t pull the wild growing ones when they …
This image functions as a good demonstration of just how dry gardening is in Denver without the benefit of a hose. This landscape is nothing more than a random scattering of common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) with a few hot pink-flowered hollyhocks and dry land grasses thrown in. I’m not even sure it qualifies as a …
Davin and I were taken with this flowering cactus (Echinocereus viridiflorus) in the Alpine Garden at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Here’s an in context shot so that you can see how the plant was growing in a stone trough. I looked the genus up on the United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database and was …
Yesterday we drove to Nebraska to see some fields. That was not a difficult task to achieve and is in keeping with what I expected. But what has surprised me on this trip is just how dry it is here. Take this picture, shot in Colorado on the way back from Nebraska. This is High …
This one is a little taste for my friend Barry who really wants to make it to see the alpine garden at the Denver Botanic Garden, someday. I have no idea, but WHAT? The aliens are here. This last shot is of the “Ponderosa Garden” near the entrance. Denver is incredible. I am loving it …
My obsession with oxalis is not undocumented on this site. I’ve got an entire tag dedicated to it. What I haven’t said here is that I’m really not into the large-leaved shamrock-style oxalis you see in stores around St. Patrick’s Day. Just not my thing. So it comes as a bit of a surprise to …
We ate our first tomato of the 2011 growing season on June 24, just days after the Summer Solstice. This isn’t the earliest tomato I’ve grown, but it’s been a cold, slow year so by those standards we are right on target. The winning variety this year is ‘Ditmarsher’ a compact, tumbling determinate variety that …
Another corner of my garden. This is fuzzy ‘Pineapple’ mint growing in a pot. I’ve resolved to grow all of my mint in pots this year. Contrary to reputation, mints behave rather well over at my community garden. The trick to keeping them under control seems to be growing them in less than ideal conditions. …