Landscaping Ideas for a Colorado Gardener

Mixed Garden

• Growing a wide array of bulbs, perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees within a landscape is visually striking and perfect for a gardener who loves many different plants, or collects rare plants. Various themes can overlay the mixed garden, such as the "long-blooming garden" that Sally Cogdill discusses on the Colorado Gardening website. Fill various borders or island-like planting areas in a lawn with collections of plants displayed and arranged according to your personal tastes. Mixing plant types extends seasonal interest, too. Shrubs and trees with evergreen needles, berries or exfoliating bark look great in fall and winter, and a wide selection of flowering plants can be grown to provide blossoms anytime from late winter to fall's first killing frost. Contact your local Colorado State University Cooperative Extension office for a list of plants recommended for the growing conditions in your particular county.

Xeriscape Design

• Don't assume "xeriscape" simply means a landscape that conserves water by growing cacti in a bed of gravel. In Colorado, xeriscaping is much more dynamic: it entails intensive planning to group plants by similar water, soil and sunlight needs. Use irrigation only where the plants need it. Colorado State University Extension horticulturists recommend reducing the carpet of water-loving lawn to create larger, curving planting beds filled with various ornamental plants that tolerate the natural climate and rainfall in your area of Colorado. You can apply xeriscape design principles to any landscape design theme or composition you use.

Natural Habitat Garden

• Be inspired by the natural plant ecosystems in Colorado to develop a landscape design. Your property can mimic the look and flora of a shortgrass prairie meadow, mountain forest or a rock garden filled with dwarf alpine plants. Alternatively, have smaller, designated areas within your larger property that evoke the feeling of these natural ecosystems. You can choose plants only native to Colorado, or mix in various exotic (non-native) plants that naturally fit in with the design aesthetic. For inspiration on alpine or rock gardens, visit the Betty Ford Alpine Garden in Vail, or the rock garden at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Rather than a green lawn, a small patch of ornamental grasses, seasonal bulbs and wildflowers can create a flowering meadow garden.