33 great gardening tips

Have you ever walked by a beautiful garden and wondered how the owners do it? Here are tips from amateur and professional gardeners on everything from growing carrots in clay soils and storing garlic to soil preparation and life lessons. So let your garden grow.

By Joyanna Laughlin

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plant choices
	“To enjoy something beautiful and interesting on your patio year-round, plant hens and chicks and sedums in colorful, high-fired containers from southeast Asia. These indestructible succulents thrive in our cold winters and hot summers, and the containers are durable in our changeable climate. Presto! Instant garden.” —Panayoti Kelaidis, outreach director, Denver Botanic Gardens Photo by Donald Sawvel
	“Sow fast-growing, heat-loving annual seeds, such as nasturtiums or California poppies, to create same-season ground cover and crowd out weeds. These brilliantly colored low-water flowers have wonderful foliage and they’ll self-sow next season.” —Anne Clark, master gardener, Loveland Photo by Dee Hunter
	“To add texture to your garden, consider artemisia for its silver color and low-water needs. The Powis Castle variety forms a 2-foot mound of finely cut leaves; Valarie Finnis forms 2-foot stems of lobed leaves; Silver Brocade forms 1-foot stems with deeply lobed leaves; and Seafoam has silvery curlicues. Ornamental grasses are also good texture plants. Consider Big Bluestem, Karl Foerster and Elijah Blue, and miscanthus grasses like Maiden Grass, Morning Light, Silver Feather and Zebra.” —Lawrie Wilson, owner, Garden Nurse Design, Boulder Photo by Bonnie Watton
	“Neighborhood plant swaps are a wonderful way to acquire new perennials. It’s a good way to share plants that need dividing and add plants to your garden that you don’t already have. Plus, it’s a great way to meet people in your neighborhood.” —Judy Berndt, amateur gardener, Fort Collins Photo by Scott Dressel-Martin
	“Our wind and rapid temperature changes damage roses, so I purchase only own-root roses that are able to spring back after a difficult winter.” —Judy Lavezzi, writer and amateur gardener, Boulder Photo by Scott Dressel-Martin
	“If you don’t love what’s in your garden, pull it out and make room for something you do love.” —Connie Arcement, amateur gardener, Frederick Photo by Tischenko Irina
	“Be careful about planting Elfin thyme among other plants. It grows into a thick, dense mat and blocks moisture from other plants. However, it does make a sturdy ground cover for walking on, so it’s good for planting between steppingstones and along pathways.” —Nancy Arndt, amateur gardener, Loveland Photo by Colin Stitt
	“Consider planting Hesperaloe parviflora, also known as red flowering yucca. It’s a beautiful, hardy evergreen with red or yellow flowers that’s dramatic and sculptural.” —Alison Peck and Vicke Batzner, sustainable landscape designers, Matrix Gardens, Boulder Photo by Steve Shoup
	“People often worry about ‘killing’ a plant, but I always remember that every plant eventually becomes compost and helps other things to grow.” —Melody Vielbig, amateur gardener, Boulder Photo by Oleg Kozlov
	“Big, little and colorful is the key to turning little hands into helping hands. Tending to tiny cherry tomatoes, helping bumpy purple string beans (that turn green when you cook them) to climb up a tepee trellis, and coaxing pumpkins to grow bigger and bigger throughout the season are just the sorts of gardening fun to keep kids involved.” —Karen Brock, writer and amateur gardener, Loveland Photo by C. Paquin

garden design
	“Work with the different microclimates around your home. For example, place a summer retreat on the cooler north side, and create a naturally warmer sitting area on the southeast side to use during cooler seasons.” —Alison Peck and Vicke Batzner, sustainable landscape designers, Matrix Gardens, Boulder Photo by Laura Stone
	“Use natural flagstone retainers to divide up sloping areas and create corner and side garden treatments. Flagstone is available in several colors and can be ‘dry stacked,’ where the flagstone’s weight holds it in place.” —Jordan Oliver, president, Garden Art Landscaping, Boulder Photo by Bonnie Watton

growing veggies
	“Don’t forget the fall season—our ‘second spring.’ You can plant spinach, lettuce, other greens, beets, carrots and much more in August, and enjoy fall vegetables well into October and possibly November. Plan ahead; seeds can be hard to find in late summer.” —Peter Volz, gardener who works with Growing Gardens, the nonprofit that manages Boulder’s community gardens Photo by Laurin Rinder
	“To grow carrots successfully in our clay soils, plant a ‘breaker crop,’ such as radish seeds, that germinates quickly and breaks through the soil crust so that carrots can germinate and reach the surface.” —John Cretti, Rocky Mountain and high plains horticulturist, SCIEN-TURF-IC Sod Farms, Henderson Photo by Vishal Shah
	“Plant hot peppers on the south side of your house where it’s warmer. Once they’re full grown, harvest them, along with homegrown tomatoes, and make your own delicious salsa.” —Joyanna Laughlin, writer and amateur gardener, Longmont Photo by Jason Smith
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