We hope you are all enjoying time in your gardens, smelling the apple blossoms and other flowers that have been blooming weeks ahead of their expected time. The apricot and peach trees may have escaped the dreaded hard frost this early spring, and we are hoping for a great fruit harvest this summer.  Our little apricot tree (‘little’ not because it’s so young, but because it receives no supplemental water) is loaded with tiny green baby fruits for the very first time!

In the ornamental garden, it’s time to get busy cleaning up last year’s dead flower stalks in the perennials bed, digging out unwanted tree seedlings while you can still see where they are, and cutting down warm-season grasses to let in light for the new growth (cool-season grasses have already greened-up, and should have been trimmed back in February).  To keep the grass trimmings from making a mess, before you cut, wrap some twine or a short bungee cord tightly around the mass of dry blades, then cut below where they’re cinched and carry a neat bundle to the compost pile.  Wait another week or two to prune your roses.  If you are uncertain about how to prune your roses, you may want to register for Eve’s class ‘Fearless Pruning in the Rose Garden’, this Saturday at 1:30 pm (if we hear from you soon enough!).  In fact, check the list of classes on our website and sign up now to expand your gardening skills. It’s also a good time to plant new hardy perennials, roses, shrubs and trees, and to lift and transplant perennials that you’d like to move to a new location (such as the progeny of perennials that self-sow).  We are adding to our selection of plants every week now, so check in often!

In the vegetable garden, it’s time to work in your soil amendments (if you haven’t already) and put in your seeds and transplants for cool-weather crops.  Down here in the valley, you can sow seeds directly in the garden for carrots, parsnips, parsley, arugula, spinach, lettuce, beets, onion, scallions, leeks, peas (if you plant right away), cilantro, radish, turnip, kale, swiss chard, rutabaga.  Now is the time to plant potato ‘seed’ (we have organic Bintje, Red Sangre, and All-Blue), onion and leek plants (we have bundles of Walla Walla, Milestone and Red Zeppelin onion plants and Lancelot Leeks, and some other varieties in pots). It’s also high time to transplant starts of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leaf-broccoli, celeriac, and celery.  Harlequin’s Gardens is currently well-stocked with loads of beautiful plants of the best varieties of these veggies and more, as well as pre-planted salad boxes for continual harvests of ‘cut & come again’ lettuces, mesclun, spinach, etc.  And we have plenty of seeds from Abbondanza Farm and Botanical Interests. It’s very helpful to use a light Row Cover fabric over your seed bed to protect it from drying out so fast, and also protect from critters.  And Row Cover fabric is also great for protecting your new transplants from wind and direct sun while they get established.  You can leave it on until harvest if you wish to protect crops from cabbage moths, leaf-miners, and such.  Ask us for pre-packaged or custom-cut pieces

Now is also the time to set up your Solar Caps and warm the soil for a week or so, then begin planting your tomatoes and peppers in them for an early jump on the season.  We have our first tomato and pepper starts ready for you, with a veritable avalanche of them to follow soon after!  Take a look at our annotated list for this year at www.harlequinsgardens.com/plants/edibles/vegetablestarts.

Harlequin’s Gardens’ 20^th Anniversary Sale

Save 20% off Selected Plants, Soil Amendments & Products

on the 20^th of every month this season

Our first 20/20 Sale will be this Friday, April 20^th.  The ‘theme’ of this sale is planting to attract and support bees.  Come in this Friday for 20% off

PLANTS: Limit: 5 sale-priced plants of each kind per customer.

Native Bee-Balm (Monarda fistulosa v menthifolia): Mint-scented foliage and stunning, nectar-rich purple-pink flowers that bring bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Leaves make a delicious tea. 2’ to 5’ tall. Very hardy perennial to zone 3, adaptable to many soils. Needs some moisture.

Native Blanket Flower/Firewheel (Gaillardia aristata): This easy, hardy 2’ perennial bears masses of large red daisies with fringed bright yellow tips. Thrives in hot dry places and blooms all summer.  Keep dead-headed for more flowers and a neater look. A favorite of bees and butterflies.

Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia): Vigorous, tall and super-drought-tolerant, Russian Sage thrives in lean, dry soil, full sun, and heat.  The smoky violet-blue flowers are a favorite with bees. Hardy to Zone 5.

‘Golden Baby’ Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis): A superb, compact upright native Goldenrod to 2’ tall, with golden-yellow sprays in fall.  Drought-tolerant hardy perennial. Supports bees and many other beneficial insects.

Winter Savory (Satureja montana): Highly aromatic Mediterranean ‘sub-shrub’, not only great for culinary use, but its high thymol content helps bees fight off mites and diseases.  Thrives on very low water and the white flowers provide late-season bee forage.  Hardy perennial to 1’.

Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum & A. ‘Blue Fortune’): A great drought-tolerant, native summer bloomer that supports bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Hardy perennial to 3’ tall. The flower spikes of the species are lavender, and ‘Blue Fortune’ is powder blue. The leaves make a lovely tea.

Blue Flax (Linum perenne & L. lewisii): Everybody knows this one already, yes?  L. perenne is the European blue flax, with deeper blue flowers. L. lewisii is the native, with sky-blue flowers. Both very blue, very xeric. Local botanists have found that the two do not cross-pollinate.

Honeywort (Cerinthe major ‘Kiwi Blue’): This unusual annual is an excellent nectar source for bees.  Very attractive foliage is a light blue-green, sprinkled with white polkadots.  The clump of stems usually reaches about 1’ high and arches over with graceful nodding flower scapes that sport conspicuous blue bracts. Honeywort can self-sow moderately and make a nice colony.

SEEDS: ‘Bee Rescue’ and ‘Honey Source’ flower seed mixes from BBB Seeds, a local, Boulder-based seed company specializing in wildflower seeds and seed mixes. Limit: 2 bags of sale-priced seeds per customer.

BOOKS:

‘Attracting Native Pollinators’ by the Xerces Society

SOIL AMENDMENTS:

Composted Dairy Cow Manure: this diary cow manure is from a local farm that is managed organically, and is thoroughly composted.  A great locally-sourced amendment for nitrogen and carbon.  Spread a layer 1” thick and work into your soil.  Don’t over-do it; 1” is enough. Limit: 5 bags per customer at discounted price.

The above selected items are discounted only on Friday April 20, while supplies last.

Don’t miss our MAY DAY Festival, May 6 & 7, featuring live music, magic, Morris Dancers, Laughter Yoga, and more!

Member’s Plant Sale begins Monday 4/30 and continues through Sunday 5/6.

Please check our Spring 2012 Newsletter for the complete schedule and details of our May Day festival and Members Plant Sale.

A newer science that’s not tied to petroleum profits is emerging to challenge the industrial approach to agriculture and gardening. Enormously powerful, politically connected giants like Monsanto, Bayer, and Dupont will continue to make money, but after 60 years of dominance, the “Better Living Through Chemistry” model can no longer hide its fatal flaws. Mountains of evidence now point to the downside of chemical agriculture: poisoning the earth, driving global climate change, causing major health problems, killing pollinators, destroying the life of the soil. The good news is that a more long-range, wholistic view called Biological Agriculture and Gardening is starting to take its place.

This “new” method is based on an entirely different paradigm or model of plant culture. Instead of the bellicose mentality that birthed the pesticide-fungicide-herbicide and chemical fertilizer approach, the biological approach taps the same cooperative relationships that Nature herself has long employed successfully for survival and sustainability. Instead of seeing bacteria as germs, fungi as diseases, and insects and weeds as pests, the biological model sees Nature as brilliantly creative and diverse, and basically good. The scientific truth is that few insects, bacteria and fungi are harmful; most are beneficial or essential to plant development, plant health, and subsequently for human health.

Instead of blaming Nature for symptoms of poor plant health that result from bad management, and instead of looking at soil, plants, and human health as separate, the biological approach sees the soil as a living ecosystem interconnected with the lives of plants – chemically, biologically and systematically.  Whereas the chemical approach regards soil as the dirt that holds the plant up so chemical fertilizers can deliver NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) nutrients, the biological view is that soil is actually billions of living beings that have evolved with plants to function as their digestive and immune system.  Long absent from the chemical equation is the vital role of micronutrients which, although not needed in large quantities, are critical in helping plants to produce complete compounds and essential oils that are important for natural defense.

In order to better understand this biological method and the soil science upon which it depends, I attended the Acres USA Conference in Columbus, OH in December. Founded 40 years ago by the late Charles Walters, Acres USA magazine has been an education vehicle for farmers, ranchers, and orchardists who have rejected the chemical method, and who seek practical solutions and products to succeed with a non-toxic, more realistic approach.

I attended talks taught by farmers and consultants to farmers who are applying these ideas to hundreds of acres, so they have to be economically sustainable as well as ecological. If some of these principles sound airy-fairy, know that they are grounded in practical application and science.  Great strides have been made in the last 10-15 years in the study of soil biology and the soil food web. Many of us in horticulture consider it common sense that plants evolved with soil organisms and microorganisms over millions of years. Their natural intelligence to survive has developed a complex system of mutual benefit.

Soil functions as plants’ digestive system by breaking down raw and complex materials, both organic and mineral, into simpler forms that can be absorbed and metabolized by the plants. The mere presence of a nutrient like phosphorus does not mean that it exists in a form plants can use.  Because this digestive process is carried out by diverse populations of soil organisms, the biological method includes introducing naturally occurring soil bacteria and beneficial fungi that have been propagated in a laboratory, and providing organic matter and minerals that support and increase the microorganisms already present in soil.  As they break down materials, beneficial bacteria and beneficial fungi also release various acids, which are by-products of their metabolism. These acids dissolve minerals and chelate them (make them available).

Beneficial fungi known as mycorrhizae function as extensions of a plant’s root system, increasing the absorbing area up to 700 times to bring in more water and nutrients. In exchange, plants are very generous with the nutrients they produce during photosynthesis, sending them out through their roots for their partner fungi.  Some fungi produce antibiotic substances to protect plants from diseases, while others out-compete pathogenic fungi on the leaf surfaces.

These symbiotic relationships profit both the above- and below-ground populations of what can be viewed as a single ecosystem, almost like the diverse organs of a single organism.

John Kempf, a young rising star in the biological movement, referred to the soil as the digestive system of plants. Like other speakers at the Acres conference, John is focused on soil chemistry. He uses various instruments and soil-testing labs to understand specific soils and to measure the effects of various soil treatments. His investigations show clearly that there is a direct relationship between the organic content and mineral balance in the soil and the vitality of the microbial populations. And further, they show that the health of these soil life populations is directly connected to the nutrition and health of the plants, which is directly connected to the nutrition and health of humans and animals eating those plants.

BIOLOGICAL  THINKING

Soil Building Reduces the Need for Pest Management • Insects and plant disease organisms have simple digestive systems that cannot break down complex carbohydrates, proteins, and plant oils. If a plant is sufficiently well-nourished to store complete carbohydrates, it will not be attacked by pathogens like fusarium blight; when plants are healthy enough to store complete proteins, insects like aphids, corn earworm and cabbage looper will no longer be able to eat them; when plants can store complete lipids (plant oils), powdery mildew, late blight and fireblight cease to attack them; and when plants are able to build complex essential oils, they have a high level of tolerance to environmental stresses and cannot be attacked by beetles.

This is not a theory; it is based on field experience. It means pest resistance or immunity can be achieved through nutrition. Plant nutrition depends on a proper balance of nutrients and a strong microbial community to digest the nutrients and make them plant-available.  Over time, soil building could replace or reduce other forms of pest management.

Compost Teas Greatly Increase Soil Microbes • Compost tea is a method for rapidly increasing populations of beneficial soil microorganisms, and for digesting organic fertilizers like fish hydrolase into a more valuable plant food. The process requires a high level of aeration to support the soil microbes, and offers a local source for soil innoculant and plant fertilizer.

Compost & Worm Teas Prevent Plant Damage • Worm casting and compost teas sprayed on the foliage of plants have been found to prevent fungus problems and even some insect damage.

Plants & Soil Are One, Don’t Compete • Plants send as much as 60%-80% of the nutrients they produce during photosynthesis to the community of beneficial bacteria and beneficial fungi in the neighborhood of their root zones. To human thinking, this is “giving away the farm,” but plants and their soil community are so interconnected and interdependent, they do not see themselves as competing or separate. It is how they have adapted to survive.

Plants Communicate Through Fungal Networks • As insects hatch and begin to feed on plants, the plant chemistry changes. A “wound signal” moves into the root zone with the normal nutrient “leakage.” This chemical signal is then carried through the vast network of fungal mycelium to hundreds or thousands of other plants that “read” the signal and begin to change their chemistry to be offensive or even lethal to the insects. This natural defense system works best when there is a strong microbial population, and when plants have enough nutrition to build their defense chemicals.

Microbes R Us • The idea that soil microbes are the digestive system of plants is not unique. Termites can’t digest cellulose in the wood they eat, but bacteria in their guts can. Plant roots of legumes cannot “fix” or capture nitrogen from the air, but the bacteria in their roots can. Animals also have beneficial bacteria and fungi living in our digestive systems, which are essential to our well-being. Interspecies cohabitation is common in nature. Paul Hawkin once said, there are so many microorganisms living in and on our human bodies, we should refer to ourselves as We, not I.

Distinct Bacteria Types in Humans • German researchers recently discovered three separate “families” of bacteria living in human guts. These “enterotypes” are as distinct as blood types and may explain why medicines and nutrients affect people differently.

Compost Benefits are Biological, not Chemical • Chemists have never been able to explain why compost, which is usually less than 1% NPK, has such a strong beneficial effect on plants. The answer is biological, not chemical. Compost feeds the soil life, dynamically increasing the availability of nutrients in the soil, and the microorganisms. New patents for non-toxic biological fungicides and insecticides that can replace petrochemical products are on the rise.

Invest in Long Blooming Flowers for Pest Control • An investment in seeds of flowers that bloom through the summer will provide more pest control (attracting beneficial insects) than the same investment in pesticides.

“Push-Pull” with Repellant and Trap Plants • Push-pull technology developed in Kenya and adopted by 46,000 small farmers, uses biological thinking. Maize is intercropped with repellant plants and surrounded by an attractive trap plant in the border. A destructive pest is “pushed” by the repellant plant and “pulled” by the attractant plant. which together protects the maize.

The system also reduces a prevalent weed, reduces erosion, increases soil organic matter, fixes nitrogen, conserves soil moisture and supports beneficial insects.

Brilliant solutions to problems of survival have been selected by Nature over time. These solutions follow basic principles: life creates conditions that support life; life changes and adapts. Following these principles naturally leads to sustainability and efficiency. Especially now, with the leverage of petroleum becoming less reliable, we can learn to support our farming and gardening with biological solutions.  However, this is still a new science and work needs to be done to learn about and apply it in the most practical, economical, and local ways.

Thank goodness we have been blessed with snow this winter on our plants; and if the snow pack increases, we will have water for our reservoirs. Water will always be an issue for us in Colorado, and the predictions are that in 20 years, demand will exceed supply by 30%. So we need to learn how to grow landscapes and food with less water. The right plants and soil development are essential. In addition we need to defend the quality of the water we have from agricultural chemicals, endocrine disruptors and from fracking chemicals.

Getting our hands in the soil, smelling the flowers, watching new life emerge and develop, seeing the bees and butterflies and birds in our gardens: these experiences give us such joy and peace. It would be nice if we didn’t have to think about all the dangers that threaten our modern lives. An aphid infestation is so minor compared to the new Monsanto sweet corn that is genetically modified and is not labeled. And we dare not ignore these issues.

However we are so bombarded with bad news that, for now, we would like to tell you some good news.

This year Harlequin’s Gardens will be celebrating our 20th Anniversary of being a sustainable garden center in Boulder County. We started from scratch without a prominent location and with an unproductive well. We had little money and a big vision to grow plants organically and supply plants that would thrive in Colorado conditions without copious amounts of water, and without chemical fertilizers and  toxic pesticides. We wanted to provide organic fertilizers and composts and we wanted to grow demonstration gardens and teach people how to garden sustainably.

Little by little we grew, while Mikl operated a tree care business to pay the mortgage. And you, our wonderful customers, saw what we were trying to do and supported us. You encouraged us and bought our plants and products. And we studied and learned and were helped by many knowledgeable people. And when we could no longer afford to maintain our extensive display gardens (we now have 8) we asked people to join our membership program, and through the generous support of our members we have enough money to pay for plants, water and maintenance.

A drought in 2002 helped promote one of our specialties: xeriscape. Native plants became popular, and we were already specializing in natives. Own-root hardy roses drew customers from great distances because they were so successful and beautiful. We predicted the increased interest in home-grown food and we had stepped up our production of organic vegetable starts by the time the big wave hit. And our classes have become so popular that we are going to have to build a bigger classroom.

So, thanks to our dedication to what is good for you and the planet, and thanks to your love and support for us and telling your friends, we are 20 years old and doing better every year.

We are planning some special events and will be bringing in some new and helpful products. Right now we are busy getting things ready.

One more piece of good news for now: Mikl indulged his passion for soil science by attending an Acres USA Ecological Agriculture Conference in December, and learned some great new information about growing food without chemicals. The overall idea is that the soil life (micro-organisms, etc.) function as the digestive system of the plants. When plants become so healthy that they start storing complex carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and essential oils, fungal and bacterial pathogens and pest insects cannot digest these complex foods and so they cease to be pests. So soil health becomes plant health and plant defense system. What is very interesting is that the nutrients in these healthy plants then become nutritious food for animals and humans and in turn protect us from diseases. So let’s build healthy soil.

We are also building our staff this year. Harlequin’s Gardens is looking for a couple of good people to join us. The positions available are part-time seasonal, requiring a commitment from late March through September or October. If you are knowledgeable and experienced with plants and gardening in this region, are eager to learn more about well-adapted plants for Colorado, like to work with people, are dedicated to the organic approach and would like to work hard in a pleasant, non-toxic environment, please let us know as soon as possible by calling Eve at 720-291-7826.

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!