The Plants of Summer

Posted by: Alison O'Connor, Larimer County Extension

Co-workers and friends often joke about my landscape. By now you realize that I adore my lawn, but the landscape plants don't get much attention. My gardening philosophy is that you have to be tough to survive in my landscape. If you need a lot of attention, water or regular pruning, forget it. I've killed A LOT of plants in my tenure in Colorado, but those that have survived have my greatest respect.

And right now, it's tough to be a plant. It's hot, dry and everyone just feels sluggish--including the gardener. But a few are standing up to neglect and thriving. Let's review them:

False indigo (Baptisia australis)

False indigo: Awesome on every level! This has been planted for about six years and this is the first time I really noticed it bloom. Pale lavender flowers on pea-like foliage. The great thing about this plant is it's right where Maple the beagle stalks the squirrels who are trying to eat from the bird feeder, so it gets a lot of paw traffic and abuse. The flowers fade to hardened chocolate brown "pea pods." I cut it back to the ground in the spring.

Sedum

Sedums: I have many sedums in my garden, but I couldn't tell you any of their names, except for the lime green 'Angelina' (not pictured) and 'Autumn Joy' (not pictured). But ground cover sedums are tough as nails, love it hot and dry and fill in gaps. I call them "gentle creepers" and are not at all invasive. I don't really like the flowers, so sometimes I clip them off.

Above and Beyond rose

Roses: For those who don't grow roses because of the myth they are too much work, you should try them! Roses are one of the easiest garden plants, especially the shrub types--a spring pruning job and occasional clipping in the summer. There are several introductions that you can try. 'Above and Beyond' (pictured) is a climbing rose from the Bailey Nurseries First Editions series. It had incredible blooms just a few weeks ago and is ready for another flush. It also has clean foliage and sparse thorns. Other roses I love are 'Paint the Town' and 'Sunrise Sunset'. Some of the shrub roses have great fragrance, so be sure to stop and smell them!

Hopflower oregano (Origanum libanoticum)

Hopflower oregano: This is a wonderful ornamental that can serve as a ground cover or a trailing plant over a ledge. I love the unique flowers tipped in purple. It's in full bloom right now and the flowers will persist through most of the fall and winter, turning a straw color. The foliage is dainty, held on wiry stems.

Smoketree (Cotinus coggygria)

Smoketree: These large shrubs/small trees are very noticeable when in full bloom (pictured above). The flowers look like plumes of smoke. It's versatile, as it can be left as a multi-stem shrub, pruned to a single-stem tree or cut back to maintain the height you want. The first few seasons it died back almost to the ground in winter. I also love the obovate leaves, which are slightly waxy. The best purple color will occur in full sun. Mine is planted under a honeylocust.

Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia) and threadleaf coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata)

Lavender and coreopsis: I have seen a lot of lavender in landscapes, which is great, since it's a wonderfully fragrant, bee-attracting perennial. It also does very well in dry, high pH soils. Whack it back to the ground in the spring and watch it re-grow. There's a new introduction called 'Wee One' that is pretty much the cutest lavender you've ever seen. As for the threadleaf coreopsis, also called tickseed, it's a reliable bloomer and I love the purple-yellow combination. Tickseed is a no-brainer. After it blooms, cut it back for a second flush.

A world record prickly lettuce plant?

Check out this record-setting prickly lettuce that was growing up through the lilacs! It was nearly five feet tall. It's amazing how I can wear blinders in the garden and not notice these things...

Maple the beagle is off to investigate other summer-blooming plants for the garden!

Get Your Craft On--Hortie Style

Posted by: Alison O'Connor, Larimer County Extension

I recently took this incredible class at the Gardens on Spring Creek. It was taught by volunteer extraordinaire, Nancy Frank, who teaches a number of classes, including one on making holiday wreaths (yep, I'm signed up for that one too).

This class focused on taking miniature pumpkins (or gourds if you prefer) and gluing succulents on them. Now, before you think this is plant torture, look at the result! They are soooooooo cute!

Pumpkin centerpiece with succulents.

The succulents, in fact, will root and grow. Nancy said she had one in her home for nine months before she tossed it. If you keep yours through the winter, she suggested cutting off the top of the pumpkin and planting it outside (when the weather allows) or planting it in a container. Since we used hardy succulents, primarily sedum and hens and chicks, they will do really well in Colorado gardens (and elsewhere).

Here's the thing--you do nothing to the pumpkin except snap off the stem. You don't cut the pumpkin or carve it. You don't fill it with potting media. The pumpkin stays intact. Interested in doing one for yourself? Try it. It's a lot of fun. In fact, I just taught eight of my co-workers to make one and they couldn't get enough.

Here's what you need:

• Hot glue gun (low temp preferred to reduce burning of your fingers)
• Spray adhesive (found at a craft store or office supply store)
• Miniature pumpkins or gourds
• Sheet moss (found at any craft store; I bought a bag that made at least 12 for $3.99)
• Succulents, such as sedum or hen and chicks
• Adornments, such as berries (real or fake), acorns, ornamental grass plumes, seedheads, etc.

Here's how to make it:

Plug in your hot glue gun and let it warm up. Wash your pumpkin if it has any soil or grime. Dry it thoroughly. Then snap off the stem. A well-cured pumpkin will have a straw brown stem and the flesh cannot be punctured by a fingernail. Take a small portion of moss and fit it to the size of your pumpkin. The moss should not be too thick, nor should it cover the entire pumpkin.

Snap off that stem! And size your moss.

Next, spritz a little spray adhesive on top of the pumpkin. It doesn't need to be a lot. Make sure you do this step in a protected area or you'll have spray glue everywhere. Then position the moss on top of the glue. Pull off any moss bits that went astray or that you don't like.

Spray adhesive...just one of many you can buy.

Moss stuck to the spray adhesive.

Now you design. Plan your pumpkin like a landscape and try to pair larger, more visible items, in groups of 3 (or 6 or 9). You can place some of your succulents and other adornments prior to gluing them into place. But trust yourself. It's going to look amazing. I promise. Also think about layering the items...make it three dimensional. For the most part, you will use smaller items and just the tips of succulents. When you're ready to glue, squirt a bit of the hot glue on the end of the succulent and then push it onto the moss. Repeat this until you're happy!

A little glue will do 'ya!

Hen and chicks are fantastic for this project.

The tip of Angelina sedum. Do you know about Angelina? She's amazing. Lime green all summer and then turns orange when cold  temperatures set in. She's awesome and I can't say enough good things. Every garden needs Angelina.

Keep filling in with sedum and other succulents.

Once you get the majority of your succulents added, then pop in a bit of color with berries, acorns, seedpods, ornamental grass plumes...whatever moves you.

Micaela used alder cones, the arils from euonymus, ornamental grass plumes and succulents. Can we say Ah-Maze-Ing? Amazing!

To care for your masterpiece you will spritz it with three squirts of water ONCE A WEEK. Do not put it under a faucet, as the area where the stem was can hold water, which will lead to rot. For those of you who like to water, restrain yourself. Succulents need very little supplemental irrigation to survive. In a few weeks you should see new roots. Place your pumpkin in a bright area, out of direct sunlight. If you put it on a wood surface, consider placing it on a plate. That's it. Super easy and so much fun. I'll leave you with some additional photos to inspire you further.

Various types of sedum, penstemon seedpods and eucalyptus seeds.

How great is the pumpkin coloration on the left?! This one has bittersweet berries.
The one on the right is a cute white pumpkin with sedum with red tips.

This one has acorns and poppy seedpods.

The gourd that looks like a shoe! The stem really makes this one, I think. I made this one and it's my favorite of those I created. 

Shazam! Plants that Shine in Fall

Posted by: Alison O'Connor, Larimer County Extension

It's always around this time of year when I look around the garden and have a hard time finding anything that makes me swoon. Most plants just look a bit....tired. Like their gardener. The iris have flopped. The coneflowers are fading. The annuals are waiting for the first frost. But looking a bit closer, you find certain plants that are just ramping up for the fall.

Here's a (very short) list of some of my favorites, but please share the ones you love.

We have to kick it off with ornamental grasses. These tough, beautiful plants really make you turn your head in the fall with colorful foliage and flowers. There's a great ornamental grass for any landscape and there's a national study where CSU is a partner with numerous other sites across the U.S., looking at various species of ornamental grasses. Fellow CO-Hort Jane Rozum did her Master's work looking at water use of these plants.

Two of my (current) favorite ornamental grasses are Blonde Ambition blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition') and Shenandoah switchgrass (Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah').

Blue grama is a native of Colorado and Blonde Ambition is a selected variety. The dancing "mustaches" (or eyebrows) gently bob on top of delicate foliage. It's so freaking cute, I can barely stand it. I love this grass. I planted three in my yard last year, so they are still pretty small. One worry I have is this is being planted everywhere. Even in the Costco parking lot islands. Will it become the next Karl Forester?

There's a lot going on in this photo, but Blonde Ambition is in the middle with the straw-colored "mustaches". To the left is orange carpet hummingbird trumpet; behind is Paint the Town shrub rose; to the right is  blue fescue.

Shenandoah is stunning. The foliage turns burgundy-purple as cooler weather sets in. The dainty pink flowers sit atop the plant, which will reach about 3-4' tall at maturity. It's fabulous. I adore this grass. It's a great size, tough as nails and is pest-free. I made a "happy accident" (thanks, Bob Ross!) and planted it near a sedum that picks up the pink inflorescences.

Nosy Maple is sniffing out the sedum and Shenandoah switchgrass. The foliage will continue to develop a deeper burgundy color as fall progresses. 

Two vines really shine in the fall. One is Sweet Autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora), which is a vigorous grower and has tiny white flowers that cover the plant, like a blanket of snow. My Sweet Autumn died back to the ground during winter and went nuts this summer, covering the pergola it's planted by. Bonus--it smells nice, too!

Sweet Autumn clematis. This is a nice clematis to plant, since it blooms so late in the summer, unlike some of its cousins. 

The other vine that deserves a nod is silver lace vine (Polygonum aubertii). Now, this plant isn't for everyone. It's very aggressive (borderline invasive) and can quickly cover any territory it's planted near. This one happens to be on our corner fence....but every spring I have to yank, pull, prune and hack to tame the vines. I once peeked through the fence and it's growing a good five feet into my neighbor's back yard. So plant with caution, but if you have the space, you'll enjoy the fall show!

I think it's safe to say that the silver lace vine has pretty much eaten the fence. Pretty though!

Finally, many sedums bloom late in summer and have attractive flowers and foliage that jazz up the fall landscape. Angelina sedum (Sedum rupestre 'Angelina') is lime green during spring and summer and turns copper with cooler weather. What I love about this plant is how it finds pockets of bare earth and gently fills in to form a dense mat. I noticed that the wet spring caused some of the plants to die out, but they will recover next year.

Angelina sedum. The lime green foliage turns copper with crisp fall weather.

A larger, more upright sedum with variegated foliage is Frosty Morn sedum (Sedum erythrostictum 'Frosty Morn'). This plant was covered in honeybees and other pollinators--it was a heyday. Reaching about 18" tall, the stout flowers are so large, you wonder how the plant can stay upright. But the variegated foliage and pink flowers are a wonderful compliment to each other.

Frosty Morn sedum. I love variegated plants...and the color pink. What more could I ask for in a plant?

There are, of course, many other plants that are spectacular in the fall...phlox, mums, Joe-pye weed and more. These are just a few that caught my eye as I looked around my tired garden. Why is it that my good plants are fading, but the weeds are healthier than ever?!

Loving Living Wreaths

Posted by Micaela Truslove, Broomfield County Extension

Make this amazing living wreath using Succulents and Sunshine's easy-to-follow tutorial.

This Thanksgiving weekend when my husband and I take the boxes of Christmas ornaments down from the rafters and dust them off in preparation for our annual holiday decorating ritual, there is one very traditional ornament that will remain in its box in favor of what may be a new tradition in our house.

Wreaths have a long and varied history, from Mycenaean funerary diadems made from gold to the decidedly more modest headgear made of leaves worn by Greeks to symbolize victory or royalty.  Pliny the Elder also mentions wreaths worn on the head as a cure for headaches.  Fast forward to the Victorian Era when elaborate wreaths were woven from the hair of deceased family members.  The practice of creating wreaths from evergreen boughs most likely comes to us from a pagan practice in which the foliage of evergreen plants was woven together to symbolize everlasting life and the coming spring.  This eventually led to the Advent Wreath of Christianity. The custom of hanging a wreath on the front door of a house is a modern twist on the Roman tradition of displaying victory wreaths on their front doors.

Back to our plastic wreath that lives in the garage eleven months out of the year and is, well, very plastic.  This year I decided to create a wreath that is not only constructed of actual plant material, but will be around long after the tree is packed away and relegated to the rafters until next holiday season; a living wreath!

Look no further than your own back yard as many sedums and other succulents commonly found in Colorado gardens are easy to propagate from cuttings. Photo: Micaela Truslove

Living wreaths are incredibly easy to make and for those of us that are gardeners, they offer a chance to dig in the dirt and do a little planting months after the first killing frost has claimed most of our outdoor plants.  These wreaths can be made from herbs, pansies (which are no longer available, but can be obtained from garden centers late in the season – so keep it in mind for next year), and my personal favorite, tiny succulents.

The vast assortment of textures and colors presented by these little plants is staggering.  And they can be made using cuttings from your (or a friend’s) garden and will readily root once in the planting media in the wreath frame.  Brilliant.  There are plenty of tutorials online, and the materials and plants are relatively inexpensive, especially if you pilfer some bits and pieces from the garden.  Since they can be assembled in no time, they are a satisfying afternoon project that will provide a little therapeutic gardening time to relieve holiday stress without eating into your busy holiday preparations.

Move wreaths outdoors once weather has warmed. Photo from Better 

Homes and Gardens' living wreath tutorial, which can be found here.

The best part? Once the holidays have past and spring has sprung, these your creation can be taken outside and enjoyed for the remainder of the year until it is time again for the rest of the decorations to come back down from the rafters.  Oh, are you still sitting there reading?  Go ahead—off with you!  Off to the craft store and the greenhouse to gather your materials and start a new wreath-making tradition this holiday season.