Colorado Gardening Journal

The other day I was browsing my favorite plant catalog, High Country Gardens and read they have collaborated with Audobon Rockies and Plant Select to participate in the Habitat Hero project aiming to restore bird habitat and promote wildscaping.

Birdwatcher Garden

Lauren Springer Ogden created a pre-planned garden that provides food for birds.  While this garden has 15 plants and covers 87 square feet.  The garden comes with 15 plants including: 1 each of Agastache rupestris, Helianthus maximiliana Dakota Sunshine, Hesperaloe parviflora, Lavandula angustifolia Munstead Violet, Nepeta faassenii Select Blue, Penstemon mexicali Red Rocks, Penstemon pinifolius Compactum, Salvia Ultra Violet, Zauschneria garrettii Orange Carpet, Schizachyrium scoparium Los Lunas Blues,Sporobolus wrightii Windbreaker, Chrysothamnus Yellow Twig(substitute for Prunus besseyi Pawnee Buttes) , Ribes aureum, and 2 each of Bouteloua gracilis Blonde Ambition. I am considering buying one of these gardens, but would also think it important to provide native species for species needing specific host plants.  So I began investigating what flowers support pollinators specifically in Colorado.

I am wondering if  local open space parks would welcome a bird or pollinator friendly garden in some section.  I have contacted Gabrielle with Foothills Parks and Rec district to determine how one would go about creating a garden in our open space parks.   But to take on such a project I will need to do some evaluation of my own.

To test creating a pollinator’s garden, I’m investigating the following the Native Colorado Seed Mix to see how they work in irrigated vs non-irrigated areas to determine the rate at which it propagates and what kind of  upkeep it will require.   If the goal is to add to green spaces for naturalizing, then none should require additional watering.  Another to consider is the Bird and Butterfly mix.  Some of the shorter plants may also go well in a knot garden I am starting to plan.

Learning about Pollinator and Bird Habitat Garden

There is an upcoming workshop to learn about wildscaping.

Denver, CO: March 29, 2014: 10 a.m. – noon, South High School Auditorium. Free registration; call Merry Weiss, 303-628-6023, for information. Sponsored by Denver Water.

Online Guides

To have a healthy population of bees, butterflies and moths you need plants that not only provide nectar but also food for the caterpillar stage.   Plants that provide this nutrition are called host plants.

A Painted Lady on Echinacea. Photo by Jean-Pol GRANDMONT

Butterflies

If butterflies are what you want to attract, CSU has provided a general list of butterfly host plants for some of the more popular species in Colorado.  These include plants from the mustard family Brassicaceae like cruciferous plants (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, mustard) as well as plants known for their flowers (Iberius, Lobularia, Erysimum), as well as vetch, hollyhocks, sunflowers, and violets.

To search for butterflies in your area and the host plants they feed on see:
Butterflies and Moths of North America

For pollinators in general you can also view http://www.pollinator.org/guides.htm which will give you detailed species for pollinators including bees, hummingbirds, butterflies and moths.

There are also volunteer opportunities to determining Colorado’s butterfly population through the Butterfly Pavillion.  - http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp1609727.jsp

Creating a pollinator garden

My home is in a pollinator habitat called the 311 Rocky Mountain Steppe.

For my garden,  I have chosen to use seed to test the most plants in an economical manner.

Western Tiger Swallowtail

The seeds listed below are from two different seed mixtures at seedland.com.

Bird & Butterfly Mix

Native Colorado Mix

Since each of these mixes are sold only in 1 pound increments and above, I am looking at single varieties within the mixes to review.

Seeds Available for single plant types

Gaillardia

http://www.jungseed.com/dp.asp?pID=08787&c=20&p=Arizona+Apricot+Gaillardia+Seed = moths

http://www.jungseed.com/dp.asp?pID=08779&c=20&p=Arizona+Sun+Gaillardia+Seed

Botanical Common  Color Height Flower Season Sun Soil Visitation by PollinatorHost Plant

Gaillardia aristata common gaillardia yellow/orange 2’ spring full sun moist moths Yes

Penstemon Strictus

http://www.highcountrygardens.com/perennial-plants/penstemon/penstemon-strictus = bees hummingbirds late spring

http://parkseed.com/rocky-mountain-penstemon-flower-seeds/p/01716-PK-P1/

Penstemon strictusRocky Mountain penstemon blue 2’ late spring full sun moist bees, hummingbirds Yes

Orange Butterfly Plant

http://www.jungseed.com/dp.asp?pID=08467&c=20&p=Orange+Butterfly+Plant+Seed =

Seeds Purchased

Park Seed

1. 01716-PK-P1   Rocky Mountain Penstemon Seeds
2. 51460-PK-P1 Bergamo Monarda Bee Balm Seeds
3. 00772-PK-P1 Dill Seeds
4. 01124-PK-P1 Sunrise Lupine Flower Seeds
5. 01022-PK-P1 Peaches ‘n’ Dreams Hollyhock Seeds

To Purchase

Rudbeckia Herta

Linum lewisii