FALL CROPS
Lately, we’ve been harvesting parsnips, kale, parsley, upland cress, carrots, swiss chard and celeriac (celery root) from our vegetable garden, and fresh greens and salads from our cold-frame and greenhouse.  Eve will soon be placing bags of leaves over the rows of root crops to keep the soil from freezing, making it possible to harvest throughout the winter.  Our kale has magnetized a large colony of aphids, so when we harvest the leaves to cook, we soak them for about a half hour in a sink-full of cold water with 2 tablespoons of salt and 2 tablespoons of vinegar.  This dislodges most of the critters, and gently rubbing will take care of the rest.

A few days ago, Eve was cleaning up a large ceramic planter where she’d grown annual flowers and foliage plants.  When she pulled on the dried remains of the two chartreuse-leafed ‘Margarita’ ornamental sweet potato plants, a big, fat tuberous root came up with each, and we remembered that it’s an edible sweet potato.  The tubers, sometimes called Cuban Sweet Potato, have a thin pink-red skin and pale yellow flesh.  We baked them last night and found them absolutely delicious – something like a cross between a russet potato and the familiar orange-fleshed sweet potatoes – lightly sweet and aromatic, with a rich, flaky texture.
FALL GARDEN CHORES
Because of the heavy snowstorms and strong wind, many trees and shrubs need corrective pruning. Be very watchful working under any trees if there is wind, as damaged branches can continue to fall for some time.
In April 2012, Mikl will give a class on pruning storm-damaged trees and shrubs.

There are not too many garden chores required at this time of the year.  If your ornamental bulbs haven’t been planted yet, now is a good time to do it, while the soil is not too wet and before the ground freezes.  If your bulbs came without planting instructions or you’ve lost track of them, a good rule of thumb for planting at the proper depth is to set the bulb at the bottom of a hole that’s three times the height of the bulb. If you are planting Anemone blanda (Grecian Windflower), it’s hard to tell the top from the bottom, so you can plant them sideways.  Eve also soaks the hard Anemone tubers in water for a few hours or overnight to assure that they’ll be moist enough to get started.

It’s not too late to fertilize and topdress your perennial and shrub beds.  You can casually sprinkle any organic, low-nitrogen fertilizer (Yum-Yum mix, etc.) and toss a light layer of compost over it, then water thoroughly.

Don’t forget winter watering, especially for evergreens and roses, and most any plant that was planted in September or October. Evergreens continue to transpire (give off water) during the winter, because they have leaves or needles. If these plants cannot take up water, they will dehydrate and suffer, not showing injury until it’s too late. And roses, with their green-skinned canes, are far more likely to perish in winter from dehydration than from cold temperatures. Water once or twice a month, in late morning or early afternoon so that the water has time to sink in before it freezes.  Aside from conifers, some other evergreen
plants that will benefit from some winter watering are Manzanita, Kinnickinnick, Scotch Broom, Spanish Broom, Hardy Jasmine, Oregon Grape Holly, and the evergreen Euonymus selections.  Sagebrush, Curl-leaf and Littleleaf Mountain Mahogany, and Ephedra are probably fine without supplemental winter water, as long as they had adequate time to establish.

FALL & WINTER GARDEN CONSULTATIONS
Mikl and Eve continue to provide consulting services through the winter.  Most years, there are plenty of days that are warm enough and free of snow on the ground to make garden consultations and tree-health consultations practical.  In return for giving us a small trickle of winter income, we offer a coupon for a 15% discount on a purchase of plants in the 2011 season.  Here’s a link to our Consultations page for more information: http://www.harlequinsgardens.com/consultations/.
***  HOLIDAY GIFTS from HARLEQUIN’S  ***
For holiday gifts (or any other reason) this winter, in addition to Harlequin’s Gardens Gift Certificates (see below), we also have a very special, brand new book and a biodynamic planting calendar we can mail to you or the person you are gifting. Please note the prices below, and send us your check or money order (make sure it has your current address and phone number on it) and a note with the recipients’ name(s) and address(es).
Mail it to us at:
Harlequin’s Gardens, 4795 N 26^th St., Boulder CO 80301.

We will also provide a free gift-card with each order sent directly to the gift-recipient; just be sure to let us know what you want the card to say, e.g. Happy Holidays from Mom & Dad.

BUTTERFLIES of the COLORADO FRONT RANGE - Hot off the press!
The perfect gift for anyone who enjoys butterflies or appreciates the natural world.

We are very happy to announce that we have on hand a big stack of signed copies of this wonderful new book by Janet R. Chu and Stephen R. Jones, two of Boulder’s most dedicated naturalists and foremost experts on our local butterflies.

This guidebook offers a page for each of the 80 species covered; each includes superb photographs taken in the field by the authors, and descriptions of the butterfly’s appearance, host plants, life cycle, habitat, behavior, identification tips, and descriptions of similar species.  The first section of the book concisely presents the anatomy, ecology and life-cycle of butterflies, and great advice on watching and photographing butterflies.  Also included in this guide-book are a glossary of terms, an easy-to-use chart of the species, their habitats, their flight seasons, and whether they are abundant, common, uncommon or rare.

This beautiful paperback guidebook is slim enough to slip in the back pocket of your jeans, (or a Christmas Stocking), and has a durable cover and binding.

We can send the book by 1^st class mail for $17.95. For each additional copy mailed in the same envelope, add $14.10. Multiples will be sent by Priority Mail. These prices include sales tax, packaging and postage. We can fit up to 4 books in an envelope.

Chu and Jones say it best: “We watch butterflies because they’re exquisitely beautiful, have magical life cycles, and teach us about intricate and life-sustaining relationships among plants, insects and their host ecosystems.”

view a sample of BUTTERFLIES of the COLORADO FRONT RANGE

2012 Stella Natura  PLANTING CALENDAR
The Stella Natura Wall Calendar is an easy-to-use, informative and beautiful planting and gardening calendar that shows the best times to take advantage of the cosmic influences of the moon, sun and planets. This is a research-based system that is used by Biodynamic farmers and gardeners.  We have been using this calendar for 20 years and believe it has helped with germination of seeds, root development of cuttings, and healthy plant development. More than just a calendar – it’s packed with valuable information and insights for successful growing, from seed to harvest. Mikl will be giving a class in Planting by the Moon in early spring.

We can send the calendar by 1^st class mail for $20.50. For an additional calendar mailed in the same envelope, add $15.66.  We can fit up to 2 calendars in an envelope.  Price includes sales tax, packaging and postage.

GIFT CERTIFICATES
Harlequin’s Gardens may be closed, but Harlequin’s Gardens Gift Certificates are available year-round, so it’s not too late to purchase Gift Certificates with a promise of spring for the gardeners and homeowners on your holiday list – see our Gift Certificate page at http://www.harlequinsgardens.com/gift-certificates for ordering instructions.

***************************************

Wishing you
all a season of peace, community and abundance,

Eve & Mikl
Brawner and the staff at Harlequin’s Gardens

Dear Friends and Fellow Gardeners,

Welcome to Fall, to cooler temperatures, and to Harlequin’s Gardens Fall Plant Sale.

Now is one of the two best times of the year to plant and establish plants. AND Fall is also known to be an excellent time to nourish your gardens with organic fertilizers. Vitality and survival of plants in the spring are linked with strength and storage of nutrients in the fall. This year we have been seeing many fungal diseases and pests, especially grasshoppers. These stresses plus heat and drought stress have weakened plants. So if we fertilize in early September, the plants will be able to make some new leaves, photosynthesize starches and store them in their roots before winter. Topdressing with a half inch of compost is an excellent nutritional support both for plants and  soil microorganisms. To restore stressed plants and establish new ones, it is also important to water deeply once or twice a week if we are not receiving enough precipitation.

Early Fall is also a good time to plant a second round of cool-season veggies: lettuce, spinach, broccoli, kale, chard etc., We offer organic starts. AND now is an ideal time to plant a meadow mix and cover-crops. In September and October we will have hardy and water-thrifty bulbs with an emphasis on shorter and species varieties. AND, of course, we have a very good selection of perennials, shrubs, native wildflowers and shrubs; hardy, sustainable roses, fruit trees, ornamental grasses, vines and herbs. Our great selection of water-wise plants will give your gardens and landscapes endurance and beauty even as the planet warms and water becomes more expensive.

When you shop at Harlequin’s Gardens, you are not only getting successful plants and organic soil amendments, you are supporting a company that for 20 years has made sustainability our bottom line.

So please come to our Fall Sale which begins with the Members Sale:

Members, for your special support, you receive our Fall Sale discount a week earlier at the Members Sale, August 22, 23,24, 25, 26, 27,28 with 20% off all plants and 25% off books. (For info on membership, ask one of our staff, or see our website.)

          The next week, August 29,30,31, September 1,2,3,4 the Fall Sale begins for everybody with 15% off most plants except roses.  10% off books & 10% off soil products in big bags. Also the Deep Discount section will be opened.

          The third week September 5,6,7,8,9,10,11 enjoy 25% off perennials, shrubs & trees and 20% off most roses  And 10% off books and soil products in big bags.

          The fourth week, Sept. 12,13,14,15,16, 17,18 take 30% off all perennials, shrubs and trees and 20% off most roses and10% off books and soil products in big bags.

          The fifth week, Sept. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 take 35% off perennials, shrubs and trees and 20% off roses, and 10% off books and soil products in big bags.

          The sixth week, Sept.26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and Oct.1,2 there will be a 40% discount off perennials and shrubs, 20% off roses and 50% off trees. And 25% off soil products in big bags, 10% off books.

          We will continue to offer these prices every day in October through Oct.30^th

          CLOSED FOR THE SEASON: OCT 31

Special Event: Sept. 10  Love Apple Festival: A Tomato Tasting (see our website

Open:  Daily 9-5 and  Thursday 9-6 ;  October: daily 9-5

           www.harlequinsgardens.com     303-939-9403 

Here is a taste of some of the great plants available at our Fall Sale

 Plumbago- great low-water spreading plant with true blue flowers and red fall color

European Ginger- glossy round leaves, elegant 4” groundcover or edging for shade

Gilia rubra-biennial: 1^st year ferny rosette, 2^nd year- 2’-3’ column of flaming red trumpets

Glaucium acutidentatum-glorious orange “poppies” with 18” bold gray foliage, xeric

Illuminated Periwinkle-vinca with variegated green and yellow evergreen foliage, shade

Zauschneria garrettii-Hummingbird Trumpet 4”x15” mat with summer orange trumpets

Campanulas: elatinoides-shade/sun, low growing, low water with small blue bells, tough

    C.porscharskyana-lavender bells, C. carpatica-sky blue, & C. trogerae, C. pyramidalis

Erodium chrysanthum-Ferny Storksbill, a blue-gray mound of finely dissected foliage and pale yellow flowers, needs very little water, elegant, 4”-10” x 12”-18”, a Harlequin Favorite

Sedum cauticola ‘Lidakense’- let’s call it Blue Cascade Sedum: stunning draping over the edge of a wall, stone or container, in Sept-Oct plum-gray foliage sings with red-pink flowers

Blue Mist Spirea-Caryopteris ‘Longwood Blue’- Great xeriscape favorite for beautiful blue flowers in the dead of summer; 4’x4’, shear in the spring by 30%; the Econo-Shrub

The Thymes are not as drought-tolerant in Colorado as they are in England, but they are good summer-blooming ground covers where they’re watered once a week and some in winter. Reiter Thyme is a favorite, tough, weed-smothering variety; 3”x30”; Ohme Gardens Thyme is a heat-tolerant, mauve-blooming thyme 3”x24”, vigorous; Back Wall Thyme is very low, good between flagstones, more durable than Elfin; Wooly Thyme-vigorous old standby, somewhat shade tolerant, we have two selections, one that blooms

Dianthus simulans-low, very tight foliage makes a large bun in the open or a “starfish” between rocks, very pettable, long-lived; you’ve been asking, it’s finally ready

Penstemon Pikes Peak Purple-purple flowers on 16” stems, long-blooming, Plant Select

Russian Sage-3’-5’ tall, blue-violet flowers in summer, long-blooming, xeric & easy

NATIVES:

Native Gayfeather-Liatris punctata: Totally drought tolerant butterfly magnet, purplish-pink spikes of flowers in the heat of late summer; 12”-16”; great addition for your meadow

Desert Four O’Clock-Mirabilis multiflora: lavender trumpet-flowers with purple throats in profusion late day/morning, very drought tolerant; 12”x36”+; fabulous xeriscape plant

Asclepias tuberosa-striking orange-flowered Butterfly Weed, 24” high, xeric, attracts Butterflies

Lithospermum multiflorum-Bldr Co.native, 6”x10” with yellow bells, from local seed

Linum lewisii-true native Blue Flax collected in Bldr. Co. great, self-sowing blue wildflower

Penstemon virens-low mat of shiny green leaves and rich blue trumpets, from local seed

   Also Grindellia-yellow Gum Weed and Solidago rigida-yellow Goldenrod, xeric: local seed

Zinnia grandiflora-4”x12” mat, deep yellow daisies, likes hot and sunny, truly xeric

Chocolate Flower-yellow daisies with dark eye smell like chocolate, xeric, 12”x24”+

Eriogonum ‘Kannah Creek’-Sulfur Flower, yellow pom-poms, burgundy fall color, xeric

HERBS: all organic

Culinary Sage-Salvia officinalis: gray foliage is good in soups, stuffing etc; two by two, flowers blue, wouldn’t you, like a few? Makes a xeric, deer-proof hedge or specimen

Cilantro-green herb for salsas, Southwest dishes, Mexican food

Lavender- 24” Country Lavender, 16” dark purple Hidcote Lavender: great fragrances

Comfrey-great medicinal for sores, bones, muscles, and great in composts

Greek Oregano-robust flavored oregano for cooking, also a medicinal herb, very xeric

Roman Chamomile-relaxing tea, sleep aid and other medicinal functions

Grapes: 8 cold-hardy varieties including 2 for Front Range wine-making

Our remarkable Clematis selection includes showy, large-flowered vines; lovely, bell-flowered climbers and scramblers; herbaceous perennial varieties and even xeric shrubs

ORNAMENTAL GRASSES: Boulder Blue Fescue, two Little Bluestem varieties, Switch Grasses, Miscanthus, Giant Sacaton & Alkali Sacaton, Blonde Ambition Blue Grama, etc.

ROSES: By now we are known as THE place to go in Colorado for hardy, sustainable roses

We have too many to mention here: Hardy Canadians, Fragrant Austins, Shrub, Heirloom

All are on their own roots, not grafted; therefore longer lived and hardier

VINES: Monkshood and Porcelain Vines, several Honeysuckles, Golden Hops, Wisteria

NATIVES: because sustainability is one of our goals, natives have always been a specialty. At our sale you will find wildflowers and dozens of native shrubs including: New Mexican Privet-not a true privet; a 12’-15’ small tree/shrub with light gray bark and light green leaves and blue berries on the female, good screen or specimen. Fern Bush-a 5’ xeric shrub with finely cut leaves and summer clusters of white flowers that support beneficial insects

Desert Mahonia-M.haematocarpa-blue, evergreen foliage, yellow flowers, red fruit, 6’-8’

TREES

Hackberry, Burr Oak, Western Catalpa, Mt. Ash, Adams Crab, May Day Tree, Honeylocust, Autumn Purple Ash Chokecherry, , Arizona Cypress,  many hawthorns (Apples, Plums and Peaches (Red Haven, Reliance) are available now, but Not Discounted)

SOIL PRODUCTS-We offer high quality organic fertilizers, organic composts & two very good mulches at reasonable prices.

BULBS: Many of you have been interested in the bulbs you’ve seen blooming in our xeriscape display gardens in April and May, so this fall we will offer, small numbers of an interesting selection of bulbs that thrive in our xeriscapes, plus a few more.  Many of them are early, short and naturalizing forms of tulips, daffodils, crocus, iris, and alliums, plus blue Grecian Windflower, Spring Starflower (Ipheion), Colchicum, the fall-blooming Saffron Crocus, and even Paperwhites for indoor fragrance in winter.

For example: Star of Persia-Allium christophii-outrageous 8”-10” diameter silver-lavender globes, often asked about, drought, rabbit and deer resistant. Saffron Crocus-a fall-blooming crocus with violet-purple cups and brilliant orange stigmas (the saffron). Tulipa kaufmanniana ‘Early Harvest’-brilliant orange-scarlet with yellow, Waterlily Tulip draws attention in our xeriscape garden; Tulipa ‘Couleur Cardinal’-a smouldering scarlet-red flushed with plum, 12”, tough, one of Mikl’s favorites; Narcissus ‘Tete-a-Tete’-only 6”-8” tall with fragrant, bright yellow petals and orangey-yellow cups, long-lived in our rock garden; Sicilian Honey Lily-Nectaroscordum bulgaricum-fascinating and subtly beautiful flowering onion with 5”umbrella-shaped inflorescence of plum and green bells full of nectar and eagerly visited by honeybees. 18”-36” tall Look on our website in Plants/Bulbs for a complete listing with full descriptions and pictures.

We have re-stocked our racks of Abbondanza and Botanical Interests seeds for fall planting of cool-weather greens. Most of these can continue to supply fresh greens at least through December with just a little protection We have also produced fall vegetable starts including:  5 kinds of Kale, 5 Chards, 5 Lettuces, Arugula, Broccoli Raab, Spinach, Garlic, Shallots, 2 Cauliflowers, 5 Broccolis, 3 Cabbage varieties . For example: Early Snowball Cauliflower-65days, delicious flavor, very early; De Cico Broccoli-48 day, Italian heirloom, compact, mild; Nutri-Bud-58day, large heads, delicious mild flavor; Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage-heirloom 65 days, compact, tender, crisp; Red Acre Cabbage-60 days, solid red, excellent flavor

We would love to hear from you about your experiences with the vegetable starts and seeds you purchased from Harlequin’s Gardens, what was delicious, productive, healthy, or not. Enter your feedback on our website: on left-hand menu select Plants/Edibles/Vegetable Starts/Speaking of Vegetables

Landscape Consultations: Eve and Mikl are available for consultations year-round.  If you could use a little help deciding which plants to chose for difficult locations, how to begin working on a brand-new homesite, how to adapt your garden to use less water, support wild-life, or produce more food, give us a call.  We can also help identify pest or disease problems, make pruning and maintenance recommendations, or give you a personal tutorial in how to prune your roses, young trees, or fruit trees. Call 303-939-9403 for rates and to schedule with Mikl, Eve or both. If you schedule a consultation to take place between Nov 1 and Feb 28, we’ll give you 15% off a one-time purchase of plants at Harlequin’s Gardens. 

BOULDER GOLD in the Daily Camera:

First, a reminder that we’d love to have you vote us #1 in the Daily Camera’s ‘Boulder Gold’ competition.  Voting ends on July 30^th, so please go right away to: http://www.futureofnews.com/AdEverywhere/SI/PR/RC/?S=dailycamera&B=1040 and cast your ballots for us in the BEST GARDEN CENTER and BEST PLANT NURSERY categories, and a third category of your choice (may we suggest Best Locally-Owned Store, Best Shopping Destination, Best Company that Gives Back to the Community, or Best Tree Nursery). THE RULES ARE AS FOLLOWS: 1) You MUST vote in at least 10 categories, 2) You can vote for the same business in up to 3 categories, but no more, and 3) You MUST fill out the required fields at the end of the ballot and submit your vote, and 4) You must get your ballot in by the end of the day Saturday July 30. Thank you for your support!

IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN (and the kitchen):

We have been checking the vegetable garden, harvesting lettuce, rustic arugula (very heat-tolerant),  radicchio, spring onions, zucchini, swiss chard, kale, broccoli side-shoots, cauliflower, upland cress, fava beans, leaf broccoli (aka Minestra Nera or Spigariello), strawberries, basil, parsley, mint (the latter two for making quinoa tabbouli).  Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, tomatillos, green beans and cucumbers will be ready very soon.  You are welcome to visit the vegetable garden at Harlequin’s and see how we support our tomato plants.  Just ask someone on our staff to show you.

Eve has been making lots of pesto, not only with basil, but she’s also pestifying with parsley, cilantro, arugula and tarragon.  Parsley Pesto (made with pecans, garlic, parsley, olive oil, salt and lemon juice) is fabulous on pasta or potatoes, bruschetta, grilled meat, chicken or fish.  Arugula pesto is made with walnuts, garlic, arugula, olive oil, salt and lemon juice, and is great for all the same uses.  Tarragon Pesto, made with brazil nuts or pignoli, tarragon and olive oil, is particularly good spread on crackers or bruschetta with some soft goat cheese, or on chicken. Eve’s cilantro pesto is made with walnuts, cumin seeds, garlic, cilantro, virgin coconut oil, olive oil, salt and lime juice.  It’s a daily staple in our home, used on avocado, grilled chicken or fish, sweet potato, black beans or bean soup, or anything that’s handy. Did you know that cilantro is known to draw out and cleanse the body of toxic heavy metals, especially mercury?

PESTS and DISEASES:

We have received reports from a few of you that Early Blight is affecting some of your tomato plants.  Early Blight is a fungal disease, and can be organically controlled by spraying with Green Cure, which we have in stock.

This summer also seems to be particularly buggy, and we are well-stocked with effective, non-toxic, organic pest management supplies.

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU LIKE:

We would love to get your feed-back on which vegetable and herb varieties you liked and didn’t like.  Your feedback helps us enormously when it comes time to choose which varieties we should grow for the coming year (we make those selections in December). The best way to let us know what you think is to go to our website and click on PLANTS, then EDIBLES, then VEGETABLES, then SPEAKING OF VEGETABLES.  Or save this link to go directly to it: http://www.harlequinsgardens.com/plants/edibles/vegetables/the-veggie-report/

FRUIT TREES:

Mikl has just brought out a new crop of fruit trees, including Apples (Cortland, Sweet Sixteen, Honeycrisp), Plums (Stanley), Peaches (Red Haven, Reliance) and Apricots (Moorpark).

SEASON EXTENDING in the VEGETABLE GARDEN:

In the midst of the midsummer heat it may be hard to imagine that we really will be seeing cool, short days again in the not-so-distant future. But it is true, and NOW is the time to plan and plant cool-season crops for fall and winter harvests.

With this in mind, we have just re-stocked our supply of seeds from Botanical Interests with many great varieties of Carrots, Beets, Radishes, Kale, Lettuce, Mesclun, Bok Choy, Tat Soi, Arugula, Kohlrabi, Spinach, Cilantro, Swiss Chard, Green Onion, Collards, and more.  We also have lots of Abbondanza Lettuce, Chard, Kale and Tatsoi seeds.

Eve has been planting and potting starts for Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Leaf Broccoli, Kale, Chard, Lettuce, Arugula, etc., and these will soon be ready for sale.  We have SeedGuard row-cover to protect your seed beds and new crops.  And for those of you who are new to season-extending, we have Eliot Coleman’s essential books ‘The Four-Season Harvest’ and Winter Harvest Handbook’.

Rhubarb and Sea-Kale plants in one-gallon pots are still available.

IN THE ORNAMENTAL GARDEN:

We still have lots of wonderful perennials, vines, grasses, groundcovers, roses, shrubs and trees to choose from. New selections continue to come out of our growing houses and ‘fields’ daily.  We have mulches, row-cover fabric, mycorrhizae, compost tea and ‘Super-Thrive’ in stock to help your new plants get established in spite of the heat.

In July, gardens require TWICE AS MUCH WATER than any other month to support them in the stresses of heat, flowering and making seed.  You can also help them through the heat by adding mulch, and by dead-heading (removing) half or more of the spent blooms before a plant has made seed.

LOOKING AHEAD:

This fall, starting in early September, we will again offer a delightful, hand-picked selection of bulbs for spring blooms, with an emphasis on jewel-like beauty, easy naturalizing, drought-resistance and deer-resistance.  We will also offer an expanded selection of organic Garlic and Shallot bulbs.

Stay tuned for details about our TOMATO TASTING event, coming up on September 10^th.

We hope you are having a splendid summer and that we will see you soon!

All the best,

Eve & Mikl Brawner and the Staff at Harlequin’s Gardens

We have put our organic veggie starts on sale!  Our usual price of $2.50 per plant has been reduced to $1.50!  Our starts include tomatoes, summer and winter squashes, eggplants, peppers, cucumbers, leeks, and more.  (Basil excluded from sale.)  So, come on in for a great bargain!

Between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on June 17, 18, and 19, folks from the Pollinator Partnership will have an information table at Harlequin’s Gardens to educate our customers on the harmful effects of pesticides on honeybees and other pollinators.  The goal is to empower us in supporting the pollinators in our area.  Harlequin’s will also share free handouts about plants that provide food and habitat for pollinators.

You can support the Coalition 4 Bees by purchasing a “Honey Bee Haven” sign for $5.00 and sign their pledge to not use pesticides or herbicides in your yard.  They will track the sign locations in an effort to begin mapping pesticide free yards in Boulder County.

We look forward to seeing you at this unique event later this week!

Then John Greenlee, who had written The Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses in 1992, came out recently with The American Meadow Garden. This very inspiring book, by a man who has left the lawn far behind, is a banner for what could be a new movement in western landscape design, and an ecological alternative to the archaic and energy-intensive lawn. Instead of clipped, uniform, controlled, fussed-over but abused turf, think naturalistic, rhythmic, sensual, diverse and relaxed; plus habitat for birds, butterflies, bees and beneficial insects.

A meadow does not have to be expansive, it can be an opening between trees, a secret space to lie in and listen to the sounds of life. Obviously the naturalist in me is aroused by the image of the meadow. It could take many forms depending on individual styles and tastes: more tall grasses, more short grasses, a mowed area amongst unmowed grasses, wildflowers mixed with grasses, shrubs, small trees, a path mowed to meander through the meadow, etc.

But before we get too carried away by romantic pictures, we gardeners want to know if the amount of work to build and maintain a meadow is worth it. Greenlee’s  The American Meadow Garden book devotes just 35 pages to how to make a meadow, and little of his experience is in Colorado. The Kentucky Bluegrass lawn has had decades of time to develop the methods, materials and machinery to install and manage that grass system. And the meadow idea is too new to project clearly how much work and energy might really be required. Greenlee says meadows require less maintenance than lawns; Lauren Springer-Ogden thinks there is more maintenance, but worth it. Part of the unknown is how much wildness we and the neighbors will tolerate.

A big question for me is, Which plants would be appropriate for a Colorado meadow? Which grasses, wildflowers, and adapted native and non-native perennials and shrubs would require little water, little fertilizer, and very little or no pest management? In other words, how can we design a human-made ecosystem for the American West that is largely sustainable?

I talked with Lynn Riedel, passionate plant ecologist at Boulder City Open Space and Mt. Parks, to get some ideas about which plants are already growing sustainably in our area. Her suggestions for native low-water grasses that could function in a Colorado meadow are: Sun Sedge (Carex pennsylvanica), Rocky Mt. Bluegrass (Poa agassiziensis), Sporobolus heterolepis and Alkali Sacaton (Sporobolus airoides) as well as Buffalo Grass, Blue Grama and Muhlenbergia montana. Not all of these are  available yet from local sources. And her suggestions for forbs (herbaceous perennial wildflowers that grow naturally with grasses) are: Native Blue Flax (Linum lewisii), Stiff Sunflower (Helianthus rigida), Dwarf Sunflower (Helianthus pumilus), Mt. Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia), Blanket Flower (Gaillardia aristata), Dotted Gayfeather (Liatris punctata), Mexican Hat ( Ratibida columnifera) as well as Fringed Sage (Artemisia frigida), Artemisia ludoviciana, Yellow Paintbrush (Castelleja sessiliflora), Aster macheranthera, various Eriogonums, Heterotheca villosa, Senecio spartioides and Thelesperma megapotamicum.

I also interviewed David Buckner, renowned grassland ecologist and soils expert, about his suggestions for how to create a naturalistic meadow ecology for this part of Colorado. David’s company ESCO applies plant ecology to practical problems of revegetation and restoration. I asked him what percentage of native land below 6000’ is covered with grasses and he said 90%-95%. He added, “In the arid west, grasses are intensely superior in our shallow soils because grasses have a fine and dense root system that is ready to grab any water that falls on them.” And I asked him if it makes sense to mix both cool-season grasses and warm-season grasses, and he answered, “Definitely, from both a biological standpoint and an aesthetic point of view.”

Cool-season grasses like Kentucky Bluegrass and the fescues start growing in early spring and resume growing in the cool fall, but go dormant in the hot summer unless they are watered a lot. Warm season grasses, like Buffalo Grass and Blue Grama, don’t begin to grow until the soil warms to 60 degrees or so, thrive in the summer and go dormant in the fall. So mixing the two types together could mean a longer season of green without the huge summer water bills.

David Buckner’s suggestions for low-water meadow grasses include: Buffalo Grass, Blue Grama, Sideoats Grama, Carex duriuscula, Festuca rubra, Poa compressa, Russian Wild Rye, Green Needle Grass, Alkali sacaton and Sheep Fescue. He also suggested the importance of mowing as a substitute for grazing or burning which will result in a more dense covering of the ground, more biomass and increased biodiversity. This mowing should be done at least once a year in early spring. Aeration and once-a-year fertilizing could substitute for other activities of the grazing animals that evolved with grasses.

Another excellent local resource is Don Hijar, owner and manager of Pawnee Buttes Seed Company in Greeley. He also thinks a mix of warm and cool season grasses would make a better meadow, and he agreed with Buckner that the vigor of grasses declines without mowing, burning or grazing. He said the healthiest ecosystem is a diverse mix of grasses, forbs and shrubs. He thinks meadows could be a good ecological substitute for lawns, but he is concerned that Kentucky Bluegrass might crowd out seeded native grasses if people water too much or mow too low or too often. Customers at our nursery tried out three meadow mixes that Hijar designed for us, so we look forward to their feedback.

My exploration into the potential of a Sustainable Meadow alternative to the lawn, barely scratched the surface of local knowledge and the specifics of how to remove or convert a lawn area and plant and maintain a meadow. It will need years of development, as did the lawn, with appropriate varieties, machinery and methodology. But certain points do stand out:

1) The current lawn of highly water and fertilized Kentucky Bluegrass (or even fescues) is not sustainable because it requires too much water, fertilizers, weed killers, gasoline-powered machinery, etc.

2) Grasses do have sustainable potential in our landscapes. As Lauren Springer-Ogden has said, “Grasses are the most successful plant group on earth; plus grasses are adapted to steppe regions like we have in Colorado because this land used to be shortgrass prairie.” And Gail Haggard of Plants of the Southwest seed company has written: “Grasses build the foundation for life. They bind the earth, preventing water and wind erosion. They are the base of the land food chain….”

3) The search is on for alternatives to the lawn. Besides Greenlee’s book another book was released in 2010: Urban and Suburban Meadows by Catherine Zimmerman. And The Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center is trialing native grass seed mixes for drought and disease resistance.

4) People are gaining a broader vision of the purposes of landscapes. They are no longer just pretty pictures to be seen, but are appreciated as an environment. Greenlee has said, “A meadow is a habitat for birds, a way to reduce the use of water and herbicides—creating one is giving something back to nature.”

5) A meadow could be an opportunity to express an aesthetic and a view toward nature that is less about tight control than respect for the intelligence and will of nature. Garden writer and grasses expert Rick Darke wrote, “Inviting wildness into our garden doesn’t mean inviting chaos—it means relinquishing sufficient control to allow plants to find their ideal niches and to evolve into real communities sustained by fertile, dynamic relationships

So let’s try some meadows. Take “before and after” photos. Maybe in two years, I will write another article in the Colorado Gardener about Colorado Meadows.

Welcome to Spring, to Harlequin’s Gardens, and to another gardening season of growing food, cultivating beauty, and giving and taking the world’s resources. So far, human beings, with all our tremendous powers to destroy life, have not learned how to create life, nor have we learned how to synthesize matter from sunlight. That is why we need plants more than we need oil. Oil is merely a plant concentrate with a limited supply. In terms of human survival, plants are the real deal, because all land beings are fed by them, directly or indirectly. Plants have the power of photo-synthesis.

So if we are wanting to sustain life at the top (we think that is us), we have to feed life at the bottom, which are plants and the soil organisms that recycle and feed the plants. We gardeners think that makes sense, right? But the petrochemical industry has put all the focus on maximum harvest (maximum profit) and on the products to kill anything that stands in the way of that goal. In 1962 Rachel Carson wrote in Silent Spring, “Man is part of nature, and his war against nature is, inevitably, a war against himself.” So now, 49 years later, we have to acknowledge that our human survival is at risk. This is unpleasant to admit, but as farmer and writer Wendell Berry has said “…the most hopeless thing we can do is ignore it or pretend it is not so bad.”

Many of us, including Harlequin’s Gardens are facing financial difficulties, but we cannot expect big governments bonded with big corporations to see beyond short-term profits and elections to represent our needs. So it is up to us, The People, and our local governments; and there is tremendous progress being made. But we cannot fix just one problem. The environment is connected with our physical health is connected with social justice, our economy and climate change, etc. We have to grow up fast to become conscious of the consequences of our daily actions. Our hope lies in community. “We can and should do what neighbors do when times are good or bad: come together, innovate, create local solutions that allow markets to serve people, restore our environment and nourish health, with some measure of justice.” (Pesticide Action Network)

So what can we gardeners do to save the world? We can feed ourselves and our neighbors and “plant a row for the hungry.” The food and garden writer Michael Pollan has written, “Measured against the problem (of Climate Change) we face, planting a garden sounds pretty benign, I know, but in fact it is one of the most powerful things an individual can do to reduce your carbon footprint, sure, but more important, to reduce your sense of dependence and dividedness: to change the cheap-energy mind.” In addition, one third of the carbon added to the atmosphere since the industrial revolution has come from using up the organic matter in the soil which releases carbon dioxide. Adding compost, using organic fertilizers, not using pesticides and herbicides: all contribute to supporting soil life which holds carbon in the soil and increases soil fertility. Covering soils with mulch or plants  makes soil cooler which reduces carbon dioxide emissions, and conserves water. And of course, conservation of all resources, reuse, recycling, buying local food and goods and weaning ourselves off fossil fuels, all help the planet. We can follow the example of Nature and join with others for our mutual benefit. We all have a lot to contribute. You don’t have to look far to see movements are mounting for sanity, survival and the Greener Good of All.

In that spirit, Harlequin’s Gardens will be opening our doors on April Fool’s Day, to offer the best in plants and soil building products, tools, books and by far the best selection of empowering classes we have ever offered. Also for your convenience and our income, we will now be open on Mondays. Open 7 days a week, 9-5; Thursdays 9-6

We believe that growing our own food and supporting local food production and local businesses is not just a fad.  We think it is a revolution for the common good and we can support your participation with seeds from locals Abbondanza Farm and Botanical

Interests. And we have further expanded our selection and increased our production of organic vegetable starts, including many heirloom and short-season varieties.  There will be more pre-planted lettuce and mesclun boxes, as well as spinach, chard, basil and braising greens in planters. We’ll also have more seed potatoes, onion seedlings, herb plants, and expanded varieties of asparagus roots, rhubarb, strawberry and raspberry plants and fruit trees, all selected for qualities important to the home gardener and cook: superior disease-resistance, cold-tolerance and great flavor.  To see the complete list of our food and medicinal plants on our website, select ‘Plants’, then ‘Edibles’. And please give us feedback about the vegetables you grow – knowing what you liked, or didn’t, will really help us choose well for next year.  Just select ‘Plants’, ‘Edibles’, ‘Vegetable Starts’ and ‘Speaking of Vegetables’ and use our feedback form there.

We are offering a number of compact vegetables suitable for growing in containers, and we will have a greatly expanded selection of containers as well, including Earth Boxes, Smart Pots, and attractive large, light-weight pots.

There are a few other things we’d like you to know about our seeds and plants. We go to great lengths to avoid purchasing seeds that originate from Seminis, a giant seed company that is now a subsidiary of Monsanto. Although these are not genetically modified and are often good home-garden varieties, we would prefer not to support Monsanto in any way; so we have sought out excellent varieties, hybrid and open-pollinated, from more earth-friendly sources.  Also, we want to assure you that we do not knowingly grow or sell any genetically modified seeds or plants. Note that the creation of hybrids has been taking place in nature since plant life arose on the planet, whereas genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are concocted in the laboratory, where genes that could never be naturally introduced are artificially blasted into the DNA of plants causing unknown consequences and mutations.

For the first time, we will be carrying seeds of grasses for low-water lawns and meadows: a Mountain Native Mix, a Foothills Native Mix, a Very Xeric Meadow Mix, plus Crested Wheat for a dry lawn, the annual legume cover-crop ‘Hairy Vetch’ and a Native Wildflower Mix. We think the “New Lawn” could be a water-saving, bird and pollinator-supporting and beautiful MEADOW. See a future article in the CO. Gardener & our blog.

Last year we offered 29 classes at Harlequin’s Gardens, and the response was so positive that we will be giving 42 classes this year ! For the many households new to the area or new to vegetable gardening, we are offering Seed Starting and Vegetable Gardening 101. To expand food-growing skills, we will be teaching Vegetable Gardening in Containers, Composting, Succession Planting, and Chemical-Free Gardening, and Season Extending. And we’re offering introductions to keeping backyard bees and chickens, and classes in organic lawn care, growing the BEST tomatoes, and seed-saving.  Check out our Class Schedule for the complete listing.

.  This year we will again celebrate World Laughter Day, initiated in Mumbai, India in 2008.  Deb Whitaker will guide us in a new form of yoga called Laughter Yoga. Laugh your way to health & happiness, boosting the immune system, relieving depression & supporting world peace. Denver magician Stuart Hayner will amaze and amuse both young and old, and our ducks  will, as usual, remind us to laugh heartily and laugh often!  2011 has been designated as the Year of the Tomato and we WILL host a Tomato Tasting Event along with Boulder County CSU Cooperative Extension on Sept. 10.

We also urge you to help save trees and costs by subscribing to receive our spring and fall newsletters by email. You will also receive our mostly monthly blogs and alerts of special deals and new arrivals of special plants and products. Simply visit our website, click on ‘Subscribe’ and submit your contact and cross-reference information.

Our Soil Food Café will continue to offer organic amendments to help convert our difficult, compacted urban soils into healthy ecosystems to support organic gardening. In addition to the organic fertilizers, organic composts, organic potting soils and great mulches (most from local materials), we are making our own Compost Tea.

This year’s May Day Celebration starts Saturday April 30 when the Plant Sale begins (including a special members-only section) It will continue Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs and Friday May 6th. On Saturday April 30 from 11-12:30 jig and reel to the lively Boulder Irish Session Band , and at 1 pm Kurt Reber will seranade us with his guitar.

Then on Sunday May 1: World Laughter Day- refreshments will be served and from 10:30-11:15 laugh yourself to health with Deb Whittaker who will lead us in Laughter Yoga. Then at 12 noon enjoy folk music with heart & humor from the Pretty Good Folk Band. At 1:30pm Stuart Hayner will use his magic to entertain us with the impossible. Then at 2:30 don’t miss the Maroon Bells Morris Dancers as they perform their lively, colorful ancient May Day dances.

Great Thanks to all of you who became Members last year. The membership fund helps to maintain our growing demonstration gardens, buy engraved plant labels, and supports our development as a community educational resource. See benefits, under Membership.

Our staff, our display gardens, and reference library are at your service, so please come out to visit us and try our Colorado-adapted plants. We think you will enjoy both the visit and the success of our plants.

April through October:

We will be open Every Day 9-5 and Thursdays 9-6

We accept payment in cash or check, but no credit cards, please

Sincerely,

Mikl Brawner

Eve Reshetnik-Brawner

A lot of people have asked us why we named the nursery “Harlequin’s” Gardens? The answers are on our educational website www.HarlequinsGardens.com, under About Us.

THE HARLEQUIN EFFECT AND MEMBERSHIP

At Harlequin’s we are motivated not only to make money but to educate ourselves and you, our friends and clients, by testing and demonstrating sustainable gardening. We now have 7 demonstration gardens. This would not be easy even if we were a large company, because planting, weeding and watering display gardens is expensive and time-consuming.

So it occurred to us that if we used the “Harlequin Effect” to raise money, we could all get our benefits more quickly, and Harlequin’s Gardens wouldn’t have to go into debt. This story about Harlequin explains how this could work:

When Harlequin was young, he was invited to join his friends at the masked Carnival. But his mother was very poor and could not afford a costume for him. His friends were very disappointed that he could not come with them, but one of the mothers had a good idea. She gave Harlequin the scraps that were left over from making her son’s costume, and when the other mothers did the same, he had enough cloth. His mother sewed all the pieces together into the colorful patchwork that became his signature costume, and he was able to join his friends at the Carnival.

All along, Harlequin’s Gardens has depended on recycled materials, trades, word-of-mouth promotion, generosity, kindness, passion, service and other non-corporate building blocks to create our success. So the idea to finance our educational gardens and plant literature is MEMBERSHIP.  Here is our expanded current offer: Members will give us $20 for a one year membership and in direct return will receive these benefits 1) During the May Day Sale, members will get first pick of the unusual and specialty plants Mikl and Eve have propagated, which are often in short supply, for only $2.50 each. The following week these plants will be available to everyone at the regular prices of  $3, $3.50, and $4.  2) During the May Day Sale, members get 10% off roses (except quart size). 3) Members begin the Fall Sale one week earlier. 4) members will get a 25% discount on books all year. 5) members will receive emails of ‘members only sales’, other benefits.

6) This year on Sunday, June 19 at 1:30:  FREE CLASS for Members: Great New Xeriscape Plants with Mikl & Eve Brawner. Come learn about the new and unusual low-water plants we have been testing at Harlequin’s Gardens. Save Water, Have Fun

If you do not become a member, you will continue to get the same excellent plants and the same personal help in selecting the best plants for your particular situation.

However if you do become a member, your $20 will go to a good cause, creating botanic garden-like demonstration areas and educational materials not only for yourself, but for the community. If you like what we’ve been doing so far, help us to do it better.

You can become a member anytime you are at the nursery, or mail a check for $20 to Harlequin’s Gardens, 4795 N.26^th St. Boulder, CO. 80301. We will put you in our Membership Rolodex.

Last year’s membership donations helped to pay for weeding, watering and planting in our gardens. THANK YOU TO ALL OUR MEMBERS!!!

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We will be offering dozens of exciting new plants and vegetable starts this year; over 1,200 varieties of perennials, over 200 varieties of sustainable roses on their own roots, and a great selection of successful  shrubs and trees. Rock gardeners and lovers of natives and ornamental grasses will also be thrilled with plants you won’t find elsewhere.

In late July/early August, come in for vegetable starts for fall and winter crops of broccoli, cauliflower, kale, chard, cabbage etc.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE SPECIALTY PLANTS WE HAVE PROPAGATED THIS YEAR:

Dianthus simulans-perfect pettable hemispheres 6”x12”+, low water, pink flowers, also cool around rocks

Phlox ‘Boothman’s Variety’-tough creeping phlox, beautiful flowers are lavender with black & gold eye

Ohme Garden Thyme-very vigorous, weed-smothering groundcover, 3”x30”, mauve flowers, low water

Provencal Thyme-great flavor, sweeter French culinary thyme, 10” shrublet, rare and wonderful, available this year

Achillea kellereri-wonderful, non-spreading yarrow, white flowers, compact, ferny foliage, low water

Clear Gold Thyme-beautiful golden leaves, 4” mound, 16” wide, low water, best in part shade

Tulip ‘Couleur Cardinal’-early single gorgeous scarlet-red flushed purple, to 12”, from 1845, fragrant

Dianthus ‘Blue Hills’-outstanding very, very blue cushions, fragrant pink flowers, low and tight

Globularia cordifolia-globe-shaped small blue flowers on low evergreen mat with shiny spoon-shaped leaves

Willow-leafed Sunflower-Helianthus salicifolius: western native; 6’clump of willowy foliage, spikes of yellow flowers

‘Norton’s Gold’ Oregano- the best gold-leafed oregano, good culinary herb, beautiful, low-water; part shade/sun

Potentilla neumanniana Nana-at last, 3” low mounding cinquefoil with small yellow flowers, no runners, wonderful

Silver Germander-Teucrium cossonii-Harlequin’s Gardens Exclusive: 4x 24” ever-silver mound, purplish flower, xeric

Dianthus ferrugineus-dark red flowers on wiry 16” stems, narrow tufts of blue-green foliage, xeric (aka D. pinifolius)

Veronica tauricola-silvery green leaves set off bright blue flowers with a white eye, 3”x16”, low water

Jasmine Dianthus-Dianthus petraeus noeanus-rich perfume, grassy mound 6”x24”, filagree white flowers, xeric

California Bluebell- vivid  gentian blue, bell-shaped flowers, long-blooming, takes dry soil, self-sowing annual

Reiter Thyme-Rich green 30” spreading, 2” high steppable ground cover; lavender flowers; for lawn, groundcover

‘Tough As Nails’:Paronychia-1/2” high groundcover looks like thyme but more xeric, lawn substitute?, white bracts

Euonymus minima-wonderful evergreen vine to 10’, small leaves, very tough, low water, beautiful, for part shade

ALSO AVAILABLE

Ajuga ‘Catlin’s Giant’-very large purple leaves, blue flowers, tough for dry shade, 4”high, spreading

Saffron Prince Perennial Snapdragon-orange blend multicolor snapdragon, 18” stems, long blooming, hardy

Baptisia minor-indigo blue pea flowers mid spring, on compact, tidy 15” plant, showy black seed pods, low water

‘Prairie Lode’ selection of our native Calylophus Sundrops; rich yellow flowers, 6”x12”, low-water

‘Gold Nugget’ Iceplant- very cold hardy 2” groundcover, turns red in winter, yellow flowers, low-water in pt. shad

Coral Canyon Twinspur-Diascia i.-coral-colored blossoms May to Frost, 16”x16”, Plant Select

Sedum cauticola ‘Lidakense’-wonderful purplish-gray foliage, intense pink flowers in fall; for rock garden, container

Geranium c. ‘St. Ola’- wine buds open to lovely white flowers, 8”x24”, good in dry shade or sun, tough

Geranium ‘Nana”- dwarf form of  G. sanguineum, 2”x12”, magenta flowers, remains tidy, rock garden form

Lamiastrum ‘Herman’s Pride’-dark green foliage dappled silver, yellow flowers, 12” groundcover, dry shade

Stinging Nettle-excellent herb for medicinal, culinary and biodynamic uses, likes moisture, handle with gloves

Penstemon barbatus ‘Elfin Pink’-a dwarf form to 18” with bright pink flowers, low water

Penstemon pinifolius & ‘Mersea Yellow’- the orange and yellow flowered pine-leaf penstemons; 10”-15”

‘Max Frei’ Soapwort-large flowered, very long blooming in summer/fall, masses of pink, tough

‘Kannah Creek’ Eriogonum-yellow pom-pom flowers, burgundy fall/winter color, xeric, 4”x16”, wonderful !

Clematis: extensive selection of species and large-flowered hybrids, many colors; including

Clematis ligusticifolia-Native; masses of white flowers, ornamental fluffy seed heads, low water, climbs 8’-12’

Sugar Bells Clematis-‘Bergen Park Form’-native, non-climbing, 12” native, nodding small blue flowers

Echinacea: ‘Sundown’, ‘Twilight’, ‘Harvest Moon’, ‘Rubinstern’, ‘Cygnet White’, E. purpurea, E.tennesseensis

Giant Sacaton-Sporobolus wrightii- very ornamental, large native clump grass, 4’-7’,  very low water, Plant Select

Salvia pachyphylla-silver aromatic foliage, blue and mauve flowers all summer, 3’, xeric, Plant Select

Arp Rosemary-hardy outdoors in Colorado, good tasting Rosemary herb, 4’x4’evergreen shrub, can be short-lived

Sedum ‘Angelina’-bright golden foliage, 6”-8” high, orange fall/winter color, very tough, spreading, xeric, shade OK

Chocolate Flower-Berlandiera lyrata-Very chocolate scented yellow daisies, xeric wildflower, 15’x24”

Orange Globe Mallow-Sphaeralcea angustifolius-6’ tall, orange hollyhock-like flowers, very low water, native

A Sampling of Native Plants from Boulder County Seed: Preserve our native gene pool!

Helianthus pumilus-yellow daisies on dwarf yellow sunflower, 12”-20” high, xeric

Stanleya pinnata-Prince’s Plume, showy spikes of yellow flowers, 3’, xeric, tough

Grindellia squarrosa-Gumweed: attractive yellow flowers Aug-Oct., xeric medicinal, 15”

Penstemon virens-2”x6”, short spikes of violet blue  flowers; shiny, dark evergreen leaves

Gaillardia aristata-yellow and red pinwheel flowers all summer, 10”-16” high, very xeric,

Linum lewisii-true native Blue Flax, light blue flowers, 8”-16” high, very xeric

Achillea lanulosa-Native Yarrow: White flowers in clusters, aromatic herb, xeric

Penstemon secundiflorus-bright lavender-pink flowers on 12” stems, bluish foliage, xeric

Ratibida columnifera-Prairie Coneflower; yellow or red daisies all summer, low water

Liatris punctata-purple-pink gayfeather, 12”-16” tall, late summer, xeric, butterflies

Townsendia grandiflora-Showy Easter Daisy: large 2” pinkish daisy flowers, 8”stems

Physaria bellii-low rosette of silvery leaves, yellow flowers early spring, xeric, rare

“And collectively we spend more on Halloween candy than on sustainable energy research.”   Barbara Kingsolver

Organic Vegetable Starts: (See Edibles on our website for complete list)

TOMATOES: New for ‘11: (OP=Open Pollinated; indet indeterminate, det=determinate)

Jubilee-80da, heirloom, sweet, mild,8oz orange fruits, very tasty, disease resist., winner

Honeydrop-62da,OP, indet., early producer, honey-colored cherry fruit, very sweet & fruity

Tiffen Mennonite-86da, indet., large, pink, rich Brandywine flavor, great for slicing

Aunt Ruby’s German Green-85da, indet, heirloom, in top 10 for flavor, lg fruit, green flesh

Bellstar-74da,OP, det, delicious 4oz paste fruits, good in salads too, ripens over long period

Speckled Roman Paste-85da. OP, great sauce flavor, beautiful red 4oz with stripes, yields!!

Mt. Roma-68da, OP, det, very early paste, pear-shape, 2-3oz fruit, for short/cold season

Jet Star-72da,hyb, ind, high yield, 7-8oz, crack-free, low-acid, outstanding flavor; gr.house

Black Truffle-heirloom, ind, pear-shape, dk. burgundy, 6-8” fruit, high sugar & acid flavor!

Tappy’s Heritage-heirloom, ind, red 5oz, thick & meaty, outstanding sweet flavor

Green Zebra-75da,OP, ind, sweet, flavorful, beautiful 3” green & gold striped, crack-free

Black From Tula-Russian heirloom, ind, most delicious, prolific, healthiest in our trials

Persimmon-golden-orange, medium sized tomato, sweet, rich flavor, stores well

Gold Nugget-60da, OP, det, delicious 1” gold fruit, crack-free, prolific, good in containers

Northern Light-58da, heirloom, det, very early 2”-3” red-orange, prolific & flavorful, in pots

Aurora-65da, OP, ind, round,red, 2-3” fruits, five star flavor, from Russia for short seasons

Grushovka-67da, heirloom, det, compact plant, rose-red fruit 7oz, good fresh or canned

Sasha’s Altai-59da, heirloom, ind, 3” bright red, very early; excellent, very sweet flavor

Siberian-64da, heirloom, ind, red, 3-4oz fruit;  Eve grew in large pot: “love at first bite”

Red Siberian-70da, heirloom, ind, perfect crimson fruits, up to 1 lb, outstanding flavor

Old Favorites

Chianti Rose-80days, heirloom, OP, indeterm.Big rosy red, superb flavor,cool summers OK

Black Cherry-75da, OP, indet., red-black cherry tomato; fabulous, complex heirloom flavor

Martino’s Roma-heirloom,deter, 2oz red paste tomatoes, superb sauce, no blossom end rot

Juliet-60da, indeter. hybrid; All American winner, deep red 2”, rich flavor,very disease resis

Kellogg’s Breakfast-85days, heirloom, indeter.; big, meaty,bright golden-orange, rich flavor

Black Krim-70-80days; ½ lb striking dark, delicious, intense flavor; Russian heirloom

Gardener’s Delight-68days, OP; sweet 1” deep red cherry tomato; productive; indeterm.

Amish Paste-85 days, very meaty, rich flavor intensifies in sauces, indeterm. heirloom

Sungold-F1 hybrid, 65 day, orange-gold 1 ¼” fruits, sweet and plentiful, fresh or dried

Pruden’s Purple-OP (Heirloom) 72 day, large, dark pink, wonderful flavor, indeter.

Siletz-OP 70 day, earliest big tomato, excellent flavor, disease resistant, determinate

Rutger’s-OP Heirloom, popular for rich flavor, productivity, wilt, crack & drought resist.

Super Lakotah-OP 75day heirloom; juicy old-fashioned flavor; OK in cool weather

Cherokee Purple-77days, heirloom, delicious deep pink fruits are 3”-4”; indeterminate

Glacier-OP 56 day, best ultra-early variety with rich tomato flavor, 2” fruits

Others: Thessaloniki, Mortgage Lifter, Mexico Midget, Brandywine, Silvery Fir Tree

PEPPERS: New for ‘11 (OP=Open Pollinated)

Chocolate- 80da. OP, a dozen thick-walled 6-8”fruits, from green to chocolate, rich flavor

Orange Sun-75da,OP, Sweet vibrant orange, large, blocky, thick & juicy 4” bells, productive

Early Mt. Wonder-70da.,OP, thick-walled 4”x4” green pepper turning bright red, vigorous

Mini Belle Mixed-70da.,OP, dwarf plants, big crops, small red, orange & chocolate fruits

Sweet Pickle-65da.,OP, 13” plants, big crops of many colored fruits, good in containers

Feherozon-90da.,OP, 3”x4” fruits turn yellow to red; dry & grind for great paprika

Carmen-75da., hyb. Dark red sweet Italian peppers; roast, fry, eat: good in containers

Big Red-75da., OP, 4” thick-walled , crisp, very sweet red peppers, very productive

Felicity Sweet Jalapeno-70da., hyb, rich, smokey flavor, not hot, for salsa, appetizers

Old Favorites

Quadrato d’Asti Giallo-80da,OP, Bright yellow bell, rich sweet flavor, for stuffing, salad

Alma Paprika-70-80day; heirloom, ripens red, sweet, productive, fresh/dried; warm

King of the North-OP 70days, large sweet bells turn red, prolific yields in cooler climate

Gypsy-great bell pepper flavor, long, yellow, very productive, cool temperature tolerant

Other Sweet Peppers:Red Cheese, Baby Belle, Quadrato d’ Asti red, California Wonder

Peppers, hot: New for ‘11

Serrano-85da., heirloom,3”-4” peppers are 5x hotter than Jalapeno, use fresh

Mulato-85da., heirloom, mild/medium hot, green to chocolate brown, 4”x2” fruits

Anaheim ‘M’-85da.,OP, less hot than reg. Anaheim,7”x1” fruit: fresh, dried, roasted

NuMex Sandia Hot-85da.,OP, early maturing, productive, mild hot, 7”x1” fruit, fresh/dried

Cochiti-90da. Heirloom, narrow 2” chilis are med.hot, dry to deep amber; sweet-hot

Big Jim-85da, OP, medium-hot, large 8” fruits, excellent roasted & stuffed for rellenos

Bulgarian Carrot-68da. Heirloom, bright orange, 2”-3” fruit are fruity & hot; compact plant

Bolivian Rainbow-85da. OP, purple leaves, 1.5” upright fruits in rainbow colors, quite hot

Old favorites:

Purple Cayenne-OP 70days, masses of beautiful 3” narrow purple, hot peppers, 2’ plant

Early Jalapeno-OP 75 days, 3”x1” fruits, very hot, early

New Mexico #6-very mild chili, best used green, all purpose, delicious

Espanola Improved-medium hot chili, for short growing season, red, productive

Others: Chimayo, Ancho, Pasilla Bajio, Anaheim, Marbles, New Mexico Joe E. Parker

EGGPLANTS: New for ‘11:   (OP-Open Pollinated, hyb-hybrid; da- days to ripen)

Black Enorma: 75d hybrid, Robust 30” plants, 1 lb+ black, teardrop fruit, trellis

Old Favorites

White Fingers-67da OP early, prolific, slender white fruit, great in containers

Rosita-84da OP, early productive, tasty, 6”-8” pink/lavender fruit; no bitterness

Prosperosa-OP 65days, large round deep violet, prolific, delicious Italian heriloom

Pingtung Long-58day, long, slender light purple 11” fruits, vigorous, sweet flavor

Also: Galine, Applegreen, Parks Whopper, Black King, Rosa Bianca, Slim Jim, Diamond

BROCCOLI:  NEW for‘11

Limba: 70d, OP, Czech variety ,semi-domed heads to 8” across, side-shoots too

Old Favorites:

Arcadia-94da, hyb.very heat tolerant, small heads, cold and disease tolerant

De Cicco-48day; Italian heirloom; mild, compact, productive w/sideshoot; very early

Piracicaba-56day; half broccoli half broccoli raab; tender, productive, tasty raw/cooked

Nutri-Bud-58day OP; nutritious, large heads, many off-shoots; delicious mild flavor

Fiesta-86da,hyb, 6-8” heads, many side-shoots, delicious flavor, heat & cold tolerant

Also Purple Sprouting

CAULIFLOWER:  New for‘11

Amazing: 71d OP, Classic all-purpose cauliflower; big, crisp, dense, delicious

Early Snowball: 65d OP, Excellent early variety for home gardens, fine textured fruit

Also again: Graffiti-delicious, ornamental brilliant purple heads raw & cooked, 80 days

CABBAGE-  Early Jersey Wakefield, Stonehead, Red Express, Savoy, Red Acre, etc.

CUCUMBERS:  New for‘11

Delikatesse:60da heirloom Fruits ~10” long, a lovely lime green, big yields, great flavor

Mountain Pickling: 52da OP, very early,  Superb flavor, 3”, dependable

West India Gherkin: 65da heirloom, loads of very small, spiny, striped fruit, salad/pickle

Muncher: 54d OP, smooth skin, delicious, burpless, never bitter, prolific, for containers

Lemon:58d heirloom, 3” round fruits look like lemons, mild sweet flavor, drought tolerant

Old Favorites: Diva, Suyo Long, Marketmore, Bush Champion, Armenian Burpless, Spacemaster, Homemade Pickles

SUMMER SQUASH: New for‘11

Saffron: 42da OP, High-quality 4-6” yellow semi-crookneck, small bush, large leaves.

Cucuzzi: 65da heirloom Italian Lagenaria; bake with tomato, olive oil, basil & cheese

Green Tiger: 55d hyb, Lovely smaller striped zucchinis, delicate nutty flavor, for big pot

Eight Ball: 42d hyb, unique round dark green zucchinis, great flavor, stuffed or grilled

Old Favorites: Raven, Ronde de Nice, Tromboncino, Costata Romanesco, True Gold,

Coosa, Gentry, Tatume

WINTER SQUASH: New for ‘11

Golden Delicious Hubbard: 95d OP, Beautiful red-orange fruits ~10 lb.Delicious; Stores

Sweet Dumpling: 100da OP, Tender orange flesh, superb sweet, nutty flavor; 4-5”; Stores

Sibley(Pike’s Peak):100da heirloom, banana-type ,8-10 lb, rich, sweet orange flesh; keeps

Thelma Saunders:  heirloom, productive, beautiful small creamy acorn-type, great flavor

Uncle David’s Dakota Dessert: 95da heirloom, Eve’s favorite at a squash tasting event; pie

Cha Cha: 95d hyb, Mid-sized Kabocha-type, 4-5 lb fruits.  Flesh is sweet & delicious, stores

Jet: 85d hyb, Early, large, attractive dark green Acorn squash with excellent flavor.

Also: Sunshine, Carnival, Waltham Butternut, Delicata, Sweet Meat, Burpee Butterbush, Nutty Delica, Tetsukabuto, Hessel Sugar Loaf etc.

MELONS: New ‘11

Athena: 80da hyb, Early-ripening, high-sugar, high-yielding, disease-resistant, 7”, mmm

Halona: 79da hyb, Early, dependable, orange flesh, 6” oval fruits, very sweet, Mid East type Old Favorites:Jenny Lind, Collective Farmwoman, Crane, Hearts of Gold, Petite Gris

de  Rennes, Tigger

WATERMELON: New for ‘11

Crimson Sweet:90d heirloom, 10-12” boldly striped, dk red very sweet flesh, real good

Sunsweet: 85d OP, early and big, delicious sweet red flesh, disease resistant, adaptable

Old Favorites:  Sweet Dakota Rose, Cream of Saskatchewan

PUMPKINS: Winter Luxury, New England Pie, Lady Godiva, etc.

GREENS:

Amaranth: Pink Costa Rican, Polish, Hopi Red Dye

Arugula: Roquette, Rustic (wild) Arugula

Kale: Dwf. Blue Curled, Tuscan (aka Lacinato, Dinosaur), Red Russian, Winterbor, Redbor, White Russian, Red Ursa

Radicchio: Palla Rossa Tardiva, Palla di Fuoco

Spinach: Tyee, Giant Nobel, Monstreux de Viroflay, Lavewa

Swiss Chard: Orange Chiffon, Ruby Red, Argentata, Bright Lights, Fordhook Giant, Seafoam, Pot of Gold

Lettuce & Mesclun: Several mixes

Mustards: Tatsoi, Pak Choi, Sea Kale,

Plus: Celeriac, Celery, Chicory, Collards, Fennel, Upland Cress, Spring Raab

Onions: Purplette, Copra, Ailsa Craig, Red Zeppelin, Welsh Onion, Red Marble Cippolini

Leeks: Lincoln, Bleu de Solaize, American Flag

Basil: Cinnamon-Eve’s favorite for pesto, drying, purple stems, pink flowers, fragrant

Nufar Genovese-first fusarium resist. Basil, 24”, large leaves, delicious Genovese flavor

Finissimo Verde a Palla-perfect 10” globes , very small fragrant leaves; window boxes,

Holy Basil-Tulsi-very aromatic and spicy, for salad garnish, herbal tea and medicinally

Mrs. Burns Lemon Basil-N.Mexico heirloom, 30” vigorous with intense lemon scent

Thai-tall, bushy, perfumed with distinctive basil/licorice/anise; S.E. Asian cooking

Also: Green Gate, Italiano Classico, Sweet Basil

OTHER FOOD:

Blood-veined Sorrel-striking foliage, red-veined,12” perennial sorrel for soups/salads

Sorrel: De Belleville, French

Rhubarb ‘Glaskin’s Perpetual’and Victoria, both classic heirloom varieties

Wild Parsley-great-tasting, self-sowing parsley; companion to roses; saved by one of our customers

Strawberry: Fort Laramie, Tristar, Mara de Bois, Reugen(Alpine)

We have many shrubs, native shrubs, fruiting shrubs; fruit trees, ornamental trees and shade trees with complete root systems in pots

EVENTS AND SALES

April 1(Fools are Welcome)Open for the Season: Open every day 9-5; Thursdays 9-6

April 30, May 1, 2,3, 5,6 Harlequin’s Gardens Annual May Day Celebration and Plant Sale.  Plant Sale Sat, Sun, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri; on Saturday April 30 from 11-12:30 hear the lively Boulder Irish Session Band, then at 1 pm Kurt Reber will seranade us on his guitar.

On Sunday, May 1 World Laughter Day, refreshments will be served and from 10:30-11:15 Deb Whittaker will show us the path to Laughter Yoga, at 12 noon enjoy the heartful good music by The Pretty Good Folk and at 1:30 Magician Stuart Hayner will amaze us. Bring the Kids. Then at 2:30pm don’t miss the Maroon Bells Morris Dancers who will bring us fertility and merriment.

August 22,23,24,25,26,27,28  Members Fall Plant Sale

Aug. 29,30,31,Sept. 1,2,3,4 Harlequin’s Annual Fall Plant Sale for everyone, begins. This sale continues every week in September and October

Sept. 10 Tomato Tasting: Lusting after the best Love Apples; CSU Co-op Extension with Harlequin’s Gardens; Bring your favorites; Carol O’Meara presiding; call in Aug. for details

October: open every day 9-5, the Sale continues. November 1 – Closed for the Season

CLASSES FOR 2011

We are offering classes with excellent teachers so your gardening will be more successful. We are charging $15 for most classes to support our speakers and Harlequin’s educational direction. It is best to pre-register for these classes both in case they fill up (limit to 20 people per class) and in case too few people register and we have to cancel the class. Pre-payment assures your place in the class.

CLASSES:  are $15 (Unless otherwise noted)

April 3, Sunday, Raising Backyard Chickens, with Tracey Parish & Barb Mueser . Learn how to select, purchase and care for a flock of chickens, find out what they need and the benefits they provide.  1:30

April 9, Saturday, Planting by the Moon with Mikl Brawner The moon and planets influence life on earth. Mikl has been planting by the Biodynamic Calendar for 20 years with success. Be in sync with the cosmic rhythms. Biodynamic Calendars available 10 am

April 9, Saturday, Growing Veggies and Herbs in Containers: In her first year Ellen Dart grew $900 worth of food and herbs in containers. She will show the simple methods for success she has learned: baby greens, squash, peppers, tomatoes,  1:30

April 10, Sunday, Veggie Gardening 101 with Niki Hayden. She will present a simple and effective introduction to growing food without chemicals. This is Niki’s passion and specialty. This class will give you the information and confidence to succeed. 10 am

April 10, Sunday, Success with Seed Starting with Sandy Swegel. Learn simple tricks for starting seeds on a budget under various conditions. Sandy says seeds WANT to grow; just give them the right opportunities. Sandy is an experienced gardener. 1:30 pm

April 16, Saturday, How to Grow the BEST Tomatoes, with Carol O’Meara. Not only is Carol an Extension Agent for Boulder Co. Co-op Extension, she knows how to grow the best tomatoes because she is passionate about her “Love Apples”. Learn how to choose, site, feed, support and manage pests for those “home-grown” tomatoes.   10 am

April 16, Saturday, Building Topsoil and Fertility with Mikl Brawner. We will discuss how to support soil life, enrich poor soils and improve plant health and nutrition from the bottom up: composts, fertilizers, mulching, worms, deficiencies and tilth   1:30

April 17, Sunday, Mulch, Mulch: The Lasagna/Sheet Mulch Method with Barbara Miller. This method of organic veggie gardening takes less work, needs no tilling, reduces compaction & uses less water. Barbara grows 8,000 sq. ft. of veggies by herself. 10am

April 17,Sunday, Intro to Grapes (Viticulture) with John Martin. How to grow grapes for wine and for juice & fresh eating, including successful varieties, location, pest magement, pruning and trellising. John grows 60 vines and makes wine at Stonebridge CSA 1:30

April 23, Saturday, Organic Lawn Care with Mikl Brawner. How to support healthy soil and soil life using compost, organic fertilizers, aeration, proper watering and mowing, and how to avoid and deal with weeds. Plus, Freedom Lawn & Meadows 10 am

April 23, Saturday, Succession Planting: Getting more from your space with Rich Pecoraro Co-owner of Abbondanza Farm. Learn the plants, their cycles, characteristics,  culture & sowing windows to maximize veggie output in our short growing season.   1:30

April 24, Sunday, Permaculture for Small Spaces with Adam Brock. Apply permaculture design to containers, side yards, under-the-sink (mushrooms), & other small areas. Adam runs Wild Green Yonder, an urban permaculture design and education company.  10 am

April 24, Sunday, Rose Pruning & Care with rosarian Eve Brawner. Eve will demonstrate and discuss why and how to prune roses. Wear long pants, long sleeves, gloves and a hat. She will also discuss feeding, watering, etc. to maximize your success.   1:30

April 28, Thursday, Container Growing for Beauty & Food with Gail Clarke. Learn how to choose the best containers, soils, plants, fertilizers and learn companion planting, succession planting and watering. Gail does landscaping & is a Master Gardener. 4 pm

May 5, Thursday Wild Edibles and Medicinal Weeds with Ann Drucker. A hands-on herb class in the field: forage, taste, learn, make wild pesto & healing vinegar. Ann has over 20 years experience teaching herbal healing in her joyful, experiential way.  3:30

May 7, Saturday, Berries and Small Fruits with Mikl Brawner. Small fruits are delicious, high in antioxidants, take up less space & bear sooner than trees: strawberries, currants, raspberries, grapes, gooseberries. The best varieties for CO. & how to grow them. 10 am

May 7, Saturday, Success with Clematis: Queen of Vines with Eve Brawner. There are so many different types, colors, sizes etc. Learn which ones succeed here, & how & where to use them. She will also cover planting, fertilizing and appropriate pruning.   1:30

May 14, Saturday, Making Compost with Mikl Brawner. How to turn waste into wealth by cultivating soil microorganisms. Nature does the work if you know how to lend a hand. In this class you will learn how. Mikl has been composting for 30 years.   10 am

May 14 Saturday, Alison Peck: Edible Landscaping Learn how to grow fruits, nuts, vegetables, vines and herbs in your yard, beautifully. Learn which plants are the most successful and how to integrate them into your landscape. Alison has been designing edible landscapes for 25 years; she owns Matrix Gardens landscaping.  1:30

May 15, Sunday, Fruit Trees for CO. with Mikl Brawner. Learn which varieties are successful here, which are not, and which are good flavored: Apples, Cherries, Plums, Pears, Peaches, and learn how to care for them. Mikl’s 1^st orchard was in 1976.  10 am

May 15, Sunday, How to Plant a Rose with rosarian Eve Brawner. Watch & participate in the planting of container-grown roses. Wear long pants & sleeves, gloves, hat & work shoes. Eve will also discuss how to get your roses off to a great start.   1:30

May 21, Saturday, Secrets of Veggie Gardening in the Mountains with Roland Evans. Learn how to amend soils, choose the right varieties, simple plant protection strategies. Roland grows over 50 varieties of veggies at 7500’. CEO of Organic Bountea  1:30

May 22, Sunday, Spring Pruning for Shrubs with Mikl Brawner. When spring-blooming shrubs have flowered, they should be pruned for better bloom, strength, health, beauty & to remove broken, diseased and old wood. Mikl pruned professionally for 35 years. 1:30

June 4, Saturday, Plant a Faerie Garden (for Kids) with Harlequin’s Staff  Deb, Elaine & Michelle They will help children 5-9 create a faerie garden to take home. Please bring small natural objects to include. We will provide a container, plants etc. that will support butterflies, toads, beneficial insects and other fairies. $20 includes materials; 10 am

June 4, Saturday, Gardening with Native Plants with Mikl & Eve Brawner. Native shrubs & wildflowers thrive in CO., support native pollinators & birds, save water & have a Western look. Learn how to choose & grow natives successfully. 20 years experience  1:30

June 5, Sunday, Growing Vegetables without Chemicals with Niki Hayden. Niki will cover soil amendments for fertility, pest barriers and nontoxic methods for insect and weed control.Niki has many years of experience with healthy gardening:Front Range Living.10am

June 11, Saturday, High Altitude Gardening with Diane Badertscher. Gardening above 6000’ has its own challenges. There are certain plants and certain strategies that can improve your successes. Diane lives and gardens at 8000’ and can help you.  1:30

June 12, Sunday: Opportunities and Tricks of Xeriscape with Mikl Brawner There are advantages to gardening with less water, and tricks that will improve your success. Mikl’s xeriscape experience of over 20 years has taught him tricks that will cost you a lot less than it cost him. 1:30

June 16, Thursday, 4:30; Plants for Permaculture, Part 1: Alison Peck will discuss woody plants for food, medicine, habitat and more, based on 25 years experience. And then

June 18, Saturday, Plants for Permaculture, Part 2: Alison will lead a tour of her mature permaculture landscape at Nyland Cohousing 10 am (cost for 2-part class $25)

June 18, Saturday, Making Herbal Preparations with Garima Fairfax. Turn plants into effective herbal teas, infused oils, salves, lotions & tinctures. Hands-on learning: leave with samples. Garima is a certified herbalist; her company: Wild Sage Skin Care. 10 am, $20

June 18, Saturday, Knowing and Supporting Beneficial Insects: Carol O’Meara. If you know the good bugs, you can relax and let them do their work. If you also support them, you will have less to do. Carol is a Coop. Ext Agent and an excellent teacher. 1:30

June 19,Sunday, Free Class for Members: Great New Xeriscape Plants with Mikl & Eve

Brawner: See details in ‘The Harlequin Effect and Membership’     1:30

June 23, Thursday, Back-yard Beekeeping with Julie Finley Learn honeybee culture and the plants that support them. Visit our Top Bar hives to learn a great system for natural and small scale beekeeping. Julie buzzes with 15 years experience. She’s a honey  4 pm

July 9, Saturday, Landscaping without Chemicals with Mikl Brawner. Plants do not need petroleum fertilizers and toxic pesticides. They do just fine with organic products and methods. Learn how. Mikl has been researching and testing this for 35 years. 1:30

July 10, Sunday, Season-Extending for Fall & Winter Harvests with Eric Johnson. Learn how to grow veggies thru the winter w/o extra heat & with low-tech solutions. Eric has studied horticulture and has 20 years experience, gardening & experimenting  1:30

July 16, Saturday, Intro to Rainwater Harvesting with Jason Gerhardt. The focus is on what we can do legally to benefit from rainfall, for water conservation, economy & plants. Jason is a permaculturist and teacher of permaculture design at Naropa & other. 1:30

July 23, Saturday, Saving Your Seed with Janis Kieft. Learn how to save flower and veggie seeds from your garden. Topics include: isolation, selection, harvesting, seed storage, testing & more. Janis is a professional with 30 yrs experience.   1:30

Aug 13, Saturday, Mikl Brawner will give a talk and demonstration “Pruning for Strength, Health and Beauty”. Learn to train young trees, to restructure shrubs  and trees broken by storms, to prune roses. Mikl has 35 years experience in pruning. 1:30

Aug. 21, Sunday, Pruning for Strength, Health and Beauty repeat of Aug 13.     1:30

Aug. 27, Saturday, Making Preserves from Colorado’s Fruits with Engrid Winslow. Engrid makes delectable jams, marmalades & fruit butters etc; Sample & learn techniques & recipes for making these distinctive homemade preserves. $20 materials included 1:30

Sept. 10, Saturday, Harlequin’s/Coop Ext TOMATO TASTING Be prepared to bring tomatoes and taste tomatoes and have some fun. (discover a new Best Tasting Tomato?)See our Fall Newsletter or Blog or call in Aug. for the details of time and place.

Sept. 17, Saturday, Low-Tech Greenhouse Design and Operation with Mikl Brawner. Mikl has been researching, building and using simple greenhouses for 20 years. This class will focus on 5 designs on site at the nursery. 1:30

We are very proud of our staff, so to help you to get to know us and our specialties, here are our portraits.

Elaine Walker is a landscape architect with an emphasis in ecological practices. Her recent work includes designing outdoor living spaces, retaining & boulder walls, water features, native and drought tolerant plantings. Elaine is a landscape designer.

Deb Svoboda is a Master Gardener, and has years of experience with her own xeriscape garden. She has grown a lot of plants from Harlequin’s  Gardens and has enjoyed taking classes from Lauren Springer Ogden.

Linda Taylor specializes in heirloom roses. She started and operated her own rose nursery in Montana and she knows the tough and hardy varieties. She does consulting on Horticultural Therapy and landscaping.

Roses are one of our primary specialties and Sharron Zaun is one of our most knowledgeable people in that area, especially for the David Austin roses. Besides growing 90 roses in her own garden, Sharron has 3000 square feet of growing area to test perennials and shrubs. She has a  passion for working with plants and people. She has been with us for 16 years (can that be possible?).

Diane Badertscher earned a degree in horticulture with honors, and has qualified as a Certified Colorado Nursery Professional.  She specializes in trees and shrubs, especially the natives. Her 11 years of experience gardening at 8,000’ is very valuable to mountain gardeners.

Christina Thomas has been gardening in Boulder for 25 years with particular experience in herbs, Mediterranean plants, xeriscape and vegetables. She has worked as an editor for “Conservation Biology”, for articles and books on climate change, natural sciences and the environment.

Matt Patrick is trained as a CSU Master Gardener and has operated his own landscape business for the past three years. He was raised farming tobacco in Kentucky. He has worked for the Boulder County AIDS Project, Boulder Human Relations Comm., & Foothills United Way.

Engrid Winslow has degree in Urban Horticulture and has taken Master Gardener training, and has experience with gardening at her home and professionally. Engrid works Saturdays in May and June

Michele Bailey worked for 15 years in the landscaping and nursery industries. Her special interests are perennials, natives and vegetables—especially for children.

Marilyn Kakudo has a degree in Biology as well as being a teacher at the Culinary School of the Rockies. She has assisted many small local businesses and is an excellent gardener.

Eve Reshetnik-Brawner has always had a passion for gardening and for studying, growing and drawing plants. She has a degree in landscape architecture and over ten years of experience in that field. She has a special love and knowledge of roses, fragrant flowers, ornamental grasses, clematis and vegetables.  Eve, with Mikl, designed the rose garden at the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House. In her “spare” time she is an artist and musician. Eve is available for garden consultations

Mikl Brawner got his initial training along the creeks and woods of eastern Iowa. Then he studied biology at the University of Iowa, but the  further education he sought to become an ecologist and naturalist was not available, so he went to India with the Peace Corps. Back in America, he managed a small organic apple orchard, and started a tree care business. Studying plants, researching alternatives to pesticides, and developing a xeriscape garden led him from the tree tops to a plant nursery. Now the evolving Harlequin’s Gardens is his life-work, helping the gardening community  to bring nature into their personal lives and homes using sustainable plants, materials and methods. Mikl is available for consultations. Mikl was honored with the 2009 PaceSetter Award for the Environment

Also working at Harlequin’s Gardens is Kurt Reber, our facilities manager, and  Sequoia Van Manen caring for our display gardens. And we’re delighted to have occasional help from: Marty Crigler, Juanita Hakala, Zachary Smith, Sandy Swegel, Gail Clarke

Soil Amendments at Harlequin’s Gardens: visit our Soil Food Café

Compost Tea-enriches soil, prevents disease, supports & inoculates soil life, increases plant growth and flowering. We are making our own this year from Biodynamic Compost. Local fertility: Try it!

Yum Yum Mix- 2-2-2  Vegan/Organic fertilizer for alkaline, nutrient-poor Western soils, feeds plants/microbes.Made from alfalfa, cottonseed meal, kelp meal, rock dust, green sand, humate Biodynamic Compost Starter-speeds decomposition, adds nitrogen bacteria, helps make humus, improves mineral availability, contains 55 microorganisms, long history of success

Biodynamic Field and Garden Spray-speeds the breakdown of cover crops or sheet mulch; planting 2 – 3 weeks after spraying & turning under, or before adding to sheet mulch; 55 microbes

Dairy Cow Manure-organic and well-composted. A big improvement over last year’s. Local fertilizer; reuses waste, builds soil, natural nitrogen

EcoGro-organic compost made from landscape wastes and beer wastes, locally produced, non-burning and mature soil building ingredient, reduces carbon dioxide and non-local shipping

EcoScraps Compost and Potting Soil- made from recycling food wastes, with added trace minerals. Good for soil and saves landfilling and waste of a resource; cuts methane emissions

Western Grow-compost made from Boulder County landscape wastes. Well composted. Good, non-burning soil-builder, great local resource saved from landfilling, reduces carbon dioxide & shipping

Composted Cotton Burrs: premium soil conditioner, loosening clay soils & increasing aeration. Unlike wood products, does not take nitrogen from the soil. Pesticide-free; adds beneficial bacteria & fungi. Also available with soil sulfur to acidify alkaline soils

PlantersII-a rock dust product containing over 30 trace minerals. Best when doing soil prep. or side-dress every 2 years. Great for rock gardens, cacti, natives and vegetables. Colorado source.

Menefee Humate-, natural product; high concentration of trace minerals and humic acid for plant growth, development & uptake of vital nutrients. Gentle but effective

Alpha One: locally made organic fertilizer for Colorado 7-2-2; alfalfa based with high organic matter content, high humic acid value, low pH, non-burning. Great for veggies. Vegan

Soil Pep: a semi-fine mulch of half-composted bark. A rose grower from Denver says “The most important thing in my garden culture is Soil Pep…it keeps my garden almost work free.”

Myke: dependable viability of beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizae (Few sources have live microbes) It supports growth& resistance to stresses like drought, heat and cold; helps establish plants

Fine Woodchip Mulch: looks good, less blowing, quicker to breakdown providing nutrition, local

OTHER PRODUCTS AVAILABLE AT HARLEQUIN’S GARDENS:

Pharm Solutions for safe pest management: this great line of USDA certified products are made from organic essential oils & other non-toxic and good smelling ingredients. Veggie Pharm- is amazingly effective not only for aphids and mites, but even for blister beetles and potato bettles; also acts as a repellent for insects and small animals. Indoor Pharm-controls scale, fungus gnats, mealy bugs, aphids, mites, etc. Fungus Pharm-to manage powdery mildew, blackspot & rusts. Garlic Pharm-strong repellent for insects & small animals; also controls pest fungus & some insects. Weed Pharm-acetic acid is a non-selective & effective herbicide for annual weeds & perennial weeds with retreatment. Rose Pharm-safe insecticide for rose pests like aphids, mites, rose slug; may repel rose weevil. Flower Pharm-controls many insects and fungus pests

Pure Spray Green Horticultural Oil: THE best non-toxic pest management product I know; baby oil grade has no burning on leaves; smothers aphids, mites, sawflies; no harm to lady bugs, birds

Eco Skin Sunscreen: zinc oxide UV protection; no titanium dioxide, non-nano, no fragrances; good moisturizer, ideal for sensitive skin; does not sting eyes; very effective and Now Less Expensive

Solar Caps: Season extending device that’s a big improvement over “Wall-o-Water”. Sturdy wire frames are covered with a water-filled lining, they don’t blow over, light transmission is excellent. They can be left on all season to keep the soil warm at night, which is very beneficial for tomatoes and peppers.  We planted a tomato in one April 11,  it was ripe  July 15.

Green Cure: non toxic cure for powdery mildew & blackspot, tomato blight, proved effective locally

Hydrosource: a water absorbing polymer used as a soil amendment to help establish plants and save water; lasts 8 years in soil. OSHA says nonhazardous; Not OMRI Okd; Plant roots like it.

Quench: organic-based water-absorbing gel made from cornstarch. More costly than Hydrosource but natural; effective for 3 years; said to release water to soil faster; has good value in helping to establish plants, reduce watering in containers; safe for veggie gardens

Mile-Hi Rose Feed: formulated specifically for Colorado soils, mostly organic, contains 12 essential nutrients and trace minerals for roses, adds organic matter, supports microorganisms. We’ve been using this for 12 years at the Boulder-Dushanbe Tea House with great results.

Mile-Hi Alfalfa Meal: also great for roses and gardens; a natural plant-growth stimulant,  producing healthier foliage, better vigor and more profuse flowering, ground not pellets

Bobbex Deer Repellent-both a fertilizer and a repellent; many reports of success with this one, even in Evergreen, Colorado. Best to alternate with Liquid Fence which guarantees success. We will carry products for repelling deer and rabbits. Plantskydd- lasts twice as long as other repellants, for deer, elk, rabbits etc. 6 month dormant, 3 months in growth; rainfast in 24hrs

Excellent Tools: unbendable trowel, sharp hand pruners and loppers, saws, gloves and more

Home-grown Fruit:

One of our specialties is fruiting plants that are adapted to Colorado conditions. All the apples we carry are resistant to fireblight and good-tasting. And the cherries we sell are all proven successful in Colorado. Our grapes are the most hardy of any you will find and delicious fresh, in juice and a couple are good for wine. And we have currants, strawberries, raspberries, etc. See May  classes and see Edibles (under Plants) on our website.

In late July/early August, come in for vegetable starts for fall and winter crops of broccoli, cauliflower, kale, chard, cabbage etc.

“Compassion is the radicalism of our time.” The Dalai Lama

ROSES: we have 200+ varieties of cold-hardy, Sustainable Roses on their own roots

(See our complete 2011 Rose List under ‘Plants’ on our website.

Banshee-tough, alley rose, very fragrant, double pink blooms in spring, 8’-10’

Applejack-vigorous, semi-double pink, repeats, 6’ shrub or 9’ climber, Buck Rose

Burgundy Iceberg-sport of famous Iceberg with real burgundy blooms, great repeat 4’

Dentelle de Bruges-very fragrant, profuse small white double flowers; 5’x5’ shrub

Rosa glauca-small, mauve single flowers in spring, stunning purple/grey foliage, 6’

Abraham Darby-very fragrant salmon pink big flowers, good repeat, 5’x5’ Austin rose

Seafoam-3’x4’ drought tolerant shrub; small white double blooms, good repeat, tough

Champlain-real red Canadian 3’ shrub, great repeat bloomer, tough and compact

Carefree Delight-2 ½’ hardy shrub, pink single flowers; glossy, dark green foliage

Double Knockout-one of the best Knockouts, 3-4’, red flowers, very disease resistant

Henry Kelsey-most cold-hardy red climber, reblooms, tolerates poor soil, low water

Fairmount Proserpine-rich old rose fragrance, found at Fairmount Cemetery, 5’, tough

Complicata-old Gallica, huge single bright pink flowers, climber/shrub 6’-8’, very tough

John Cabot-Canadian Climber to 8’, orchid pink flowers repeat, tolerates some shade, z3

Golden Celebration-gorgeous golden flower with luscious fragrance, Austin, 5’-7’, repeats

Jeanne Lajoie-small flowered climber to 6’, pink flowers with long repeat, glossy foliage

William Baffin-8’ shrub or climber, to zone 2, or 9000’; strawberry pink flowers, repeats

Pompon Blanc Parfait-1876 Alba; small, white fragrant blooms, shade tol, summer bloom

Rosa spinosissima- 5’ arching species rose, very fragrant cream blooms, tough, hardy

The Fairy-2’ shrub with pink sweetheart roses, petite and tough as nails, good repeat

Winnipeg Parks-cherry red flowers in abundance, 3’x3’, zone 3; excellent repeat bloom

We have one of the best selections of native shrubs in Colorado,including

Ribes odoratum ‘Crandall’-Clove Currant;4’-6’, yellow fragrant flowers, large fruit clusters

Amorpha canescens-Lead Plant 3’ shrub with purple spikes late spring, drought tol.

Cercocarpus ledifolius-fabulous broadleaf evergreen 10’-20’ high, light gray bark,very xeric

Cercocarpus intricatus-dwarf evergreen only 5’ high, very xeric, slow-growing, good bonsai

Rhus glabra cismontana-Rocky Mt. Sumac-3’-6’ spreading, red fruit; red fall color, xeric

Tall Blue Rabbitbrush-4’-6’ high and wide, showy yellow flowers Aug-Sept; xeric

Dwarf Blue Rabbitbrush-2’x2’ blue-green foliage, smothered in yellow flowers, xeric gem

Fernbush (Chamaebatiaria)-4’-6’, ferny leaves; clusters of small white flowers, xeric

Paxistima myrsinites-Mt. Lover: broadleaf evergreen, 16” tall, native above 8500’

Amelanchier alnifolia ‘Regent’-selection 4’-6’ with better fruit; white flowers, red fall color

Acer glabrum-Rocky Mt. Maple-10’-15’ upright form, light gray bark, yellow fall color

Amorpha canescens-Lead Plant; 2’-3’ shrub; purple spikes in summer; xeric

Artemisia tridentata-Big Sage-3’-10’, gray very aromatic foliage, evergreen, very xeric

Artemisia filifolia-Sand Sage, silvery fine-leafed shrub, 4’, very xeric, good with grasses

Prunus besseyi (and ‘Pawnee Buttes’) Sand Cherry (Dwarf Sand Cherry) white flowers

Apache Plume(Fallugia)-5’x5’ shrub, white rose-like flowers, pinky plume seed heads, xeric

Forestiera neomexicana-New Mexican Privet-8’-15’, light bark, blue berries, xeric

Philadelphus lewisii-Native Mockorange 6’, white very fragrant flowers, shade tol., xeric

Many of you have helped us grow our business over the years. If you would like to help some more, please hand our card to a friend or neighbor; and vote for us as Best Nursery in the Daily Camera, Boulder Gold awards this summer.

Landscape Consultations: Eve and Mikl are available for consultations. We can help you  1) clarify the use of the space  2) choose plants  3) identify site opportunities & limitations  4)make rough design sketches & plant lists  5)prioritize project steps. 6)reduce water use through water-wise plant choices, etc.  7) plan vegetable, fruit, native & wildlife gardens  8) improve your soil fertility  9)Identify trees, evaluate and make recommendations for tree care. Consultations can be at your property, or less expensive private consultations can take place at the nursery. Mikl is available Mondays & Wednesdays 10-6; Fridays or other times by appt. Eve’s hours may be more flexible. Call to Schedule 303-939-9403

NEWSLETTERS BY EMAIL: Would you like to receive our newsletters by email? As the cost of printing and postage has gone up and as our forests continue to come down, we are hoping some of you will like to receive our mailings by email. Please go to our website @ www.harlequinsgardens.com and click on the Subscribe link in the left margin of the home page, enter your name and addresses and press submit. Or leave your information at the front desk at Harlequin’s Gardens any day except Monday.

Please remember: if your email changes, re-subscribe to remain on our mailing list.

Plants have many important functions, like making leaves, making flowers and seeds, growing, storing starches in the roots etc, but we humans are usually unaware of the vital function of transpiration.

It is estimated that 98% of a plants energy is used in the work of transpiration. How does this process work? and why is it so essential to a plant?

Water moves from the soil into plant roots, up through the sapwood into the leaves. The water, warmed by the sun, turns into vapor (evaporates), and passes out through thousands of tiny pores (stomata) mostly on the underside of the leaf surface. This is transpiration. It has two main functions: cooling the plant and pumping water and minerals to the leaves for photosynthesis.

Plants need to cool themselves for several reasons. When temperatures are too high, energy systems (metabolic functions) slow, and growth and flowering slows or stops. In extreme heat, plants are severely stressed and can die. Sometimes heat will cause bubbles to form that block the flow of water, leading to dehydration. Transpiration is an evaporative cooling system that brings down the temperature of plants, but since it leads to water loss, it must be accurately regulated. The ingenious system that regulates this function consists of a guard cell on each side of the tiny pores (stomata). When water moves into the guard cells, they swell and arch open; as water moves out, the guard cells relax and close. The guard cells are sensitive to light intensity, temperature, wind, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentrations inside the leaf.

The stomata (pores) must open to take in carbon dioxide for photosynthesis (especially important on mornings of sunny days). And the more they are open, the more plants transpire and lose water. So watering plants early in the morning will support plant energy, especially on hot summer days.

What causes water to rise up through a plant (sometimes 100 feet or more) against the force of gravity? This is achieved by the pumping action of transpiration, which is another ingenious system. It depends on the tiny (capillary) xylem water channels, the extremely strong cohesive (bonding) properties of water molecules, and a sucking force created when water at the top of the channels evaporates. Like sucking on a soda straw, transpiration causes a negative pressure which lifts the column of water to the leaf surface.

As plants transpire, the soil becomes dryer. Then in summer, if the soil becomes very dry, plants cannot transpire enough to keep cool. In desperation plants may start losing leaves or completely defoliate as a way to keep transpiration from dehydrating the plant. Here in the West, in order to help our plants keep cool and keep them photosynthesizing, we can give them extra water in the hottest, driest months. We can plant wind breaks and trees and shrubs that will offer a little shade, and we can mulch to keep soil moisture from evaporating. Evergreens, especially broadleaf evergreens, are very vulnerable to the West’s intense winter sun. Because they have leaves, they continue to transpire in the winter, and can dehydrate. This is especially true for any evergreen that is planted in the fall, but critical for fall-planted ball-and-burlap evergreen trees. So water evergreens once or twice a month in winter.

Transpiration is an elegant, sustainable natural design that performs its vital functions without electricity, without fossil fuels and without moving parts. It does not pollute or use excessive resources. It actually adds moisture to the atmosphere and contributes to rainfall.

Other interesting facts about Transpiration:

1. A leaf transpires about 90% of the water evaporated from a water surface of the same area—even though the combined area of stomatal pores is only 1-2% of the total leaf area.
2. Transpiration rates are highest in leaves that are stiff with turgor (water pressure). When leaves wilt, they offer less surface area to sun exposure, and thus will transpire less, saving water. Watch a tough, drought-tolerant plant like lilac when temperatures are high for a demonstration of this water-saving strategy.
3. Succulents save water by opening the stomata pores at night to reduce transpiration and to take in carbon dioxide which is stored in their leaves until the next day when they can photosynthesize.
4. Cacti, since they don’t have leaves, only have a few stomata in their green stems and so transpire very little.
5. Many xeric plants have small leaves, silvery reflective leaves, hairy leaves and/or produce essential oils which are all strategies to reduce transpiration by reducing evaporation.
6. In the summer, a large maple tree can transpire 50-60 gallons of water per hour into the atmosphere. This adds to the humidity which in the West helps us to feel more comfortable, is less drying for our skin and reduces bronchial problems in our lungs. It also helps to cool our environment. Where there are large areas of trees, the combined effect of their transpiration can create a super-saturated condition in the clouds, which can result in rain or snow. The Snows of Kilimanjaro have disappeared primarily because deforestation has reduced local transpiration, resulting in less (or no) snowfall.
7. Anti-transpirant products, like Wilt-Pruf, can reduce transpiration by covering the stomata pores, but that also limits photosynthesis. They can be valuable sprayed on evergreens to get them through their first winter in your landscape.

References: Plant Survival by Brian Capon; Reaching for the Sun by John King; Dictionary of Botany-Ed. Elizabeth Tootill