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Dealing with the Wicked Old Weeds of the West

April 5th, 2014|Blog, Garden & Lawn Care, Gardening|

Faster than a controversial Twitter chain, more powerful than a Political Action Committee—Look! Down on the ground. It's a lawn, it's a garden, it's weeding time again! Yep. Weeds. Those persistent party crashers of everyone's yard are beginning to pop up once again. Before you run for your shovel or your sprays, let's make a plan for weeding that will have you enjoying your yard this year, instead of cursing the amount of work you have to do in it. What is a Weed? It's always good to start with a definition. A botany college professor once said that a rose planted in the wrong place could be called a weed. Any plant growing where you don't want it, is a weed. But seriously, here in Colorado we have a selection of nearly 100 species of wild plants growing in competition with our lawns and gardens. Dandelions, bindweed, thistles and [...]

Seeding Your Vision

March 8th, 2014|Blog, Garden & Lawn Care, Gardening|

As the last vestiges of winter cling about our yards, tiny rays of hope for a bright spring emerge. Crocuses have begun to dot the landscape, and buds are starting to show when you step close to trees and bushes. It feels as though gardeners are beginning to line up at the starting gate in a race for plantings to begin. Why not put your enthusiasm on a fast track by indulging in a trip to your local garden center and splurging on a few packets of seeds? Although we are still early in the planting season, believe it or not, now is the time to plan your garden, especially if you want to grow vegetables and flowers from seed. We talked to Chris Ibsen of O'Toole's Garden Center for some great tips on working with seeds. Chris is part of O'Toole's University, a set of classes for gardeners of [...]

Winter Care for the Denver Garden

February 1st, 2014|Blog, Garden & Lawn Care, Gardening|

On one day, temperatures skyrocket into the sixties, and the next, they plummet to zero. The sun blazes away for weeks, and then suddenly hides behind a wall of grey clouds. Welcome to a Denver winter season. And with climate change, no stable temperatures or weather conditions are likely for some time to come. What's a gardener to do with this situation? Are there ways to ensure that your yard survives the roller coaster of temperatures and precipitation? Recently, we had a chance to check in with local landscape designer, Annie Houston, of Columbine Design, Inc., a sister company to Birdsall & Co. She helped level out what good gardeners should do to keep a healthy yard and garden throughout the winter. "The most important thing to remember," said Annie, "is that gardeners need to trust their own green thumbs, and then, of course, to water even in the [...]