THE DIRT: News from 
Colorado Alpines & Wildflower Farm  
May, 2016
 
 
 
May Hours

Beginning Mother's Day, this Sunday, May 8, we'll be open 7 days a week for your summer gardening and landscaping needs! 
These hours become effective beginning this Sunday through mid-July:

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK:
Monday - Saturday, 9:00a.m. - 5:30p.m.
Sunday, 11:00a.m. - 5:00p.m.

 
PLANT NOW: 
ONION SETS & SEED POTATOES

Stop by for new arrivals to plant in our garden: onion sets and seed potatoes! These beauties can be planted now in the Vail area, so here are a few planting tips to help you out.

Tips for planting onion sets:
*Plant onions as soon as the ground can be worked in the spring, usually late March or April. 
*Make sure temperature doesn't go below 20 degrees F. Cover with a frost cloth or thick blanket if anticipated temperature drop.
*Plant the smaller onion sets 1 inch deep, with 4 to 5 inches between each plant and in rows 12 to 18 inches apart.
*Think of onions as a leaf crop, not a root crop. When planting onion sets, don't bury them more than one inch under the soil; if more than the bottom third of the bulb is underground, bulb growth can be restricted.
Tips for planting seed potatoes:
*Plant seed potatoes (pieces of whole potato or a small whole potato, with at least 2 eyes per piece) 0-2 weeks after last spring frost.
*If you are cutting up potato pieces for planting, do so a 1-2 days ahead of time. This will give them the chance to form a protective layer, both for moisture retention and rot resistance.
*You may start planting earlier, as soon as soil can be worked, but be aware that some crops will be ruined by a frost. As with onion sets, cover with a frost cloth or thick blanket if anticipated temperature drop.
*Spread and mix in rotted manure or organic compost in the bottom of the trench before planting.
*Plant seed potatoes one foot apart in a 4-inch deep trench, eye side up.

Tips adapted from The Old Farmer's Almanac, www.almanac.com
 
Landscape Design: Key Principles & Tips
 
May is the time to create a plan for your achieving your dream landscape this summer while also focusing on important early-season activities such as amending soil to get it ready for planting. Grab a copy of the current issue of Vail Valley HOME magazine, and get inspired in reading the article by our owner Marty Jones titled "Landscape Design," which offers an overview of key design principles as well as tips for achieving each. A few highlights include:



BALANCE involves arranging items in a landscape to achieve equilibrium. Choose, for example, to arrange plants in groups of threes or fives.

EMPHASIS involves the domination and subordination of elements in a landscape, and it can be achieved by arranging items so that some stand out from others. An anchor, or a focal point, such as a well-placed juniper snag can hold attention and create visual interest in a landscape.

SCALE, sometimes referred to as proportion, refers to the size of landscape elements in relation to each other. Begin with bigger plans such as trees and shrubs in the background and then work down to smaller plants such as perennials and annuals in the foreground.

TEXTURE ranges from coarse to fine or heavy to light. Coarser textured plants often work better in the background of a design, as the perspective keeps large textures in balance with proportions in the wider view. Place plants with fine textures, such as ferns, in the foreground and in areas where they can be enjoyed up close.    

COLOR is one of the most important landscape design considerations, as it is often thought to affect both mood and feeling. Plants can be grouped together in cool or warm colors to create a cohesive feel, or they can be mingled together for a more eclectic experience.







Vail Valley HOME magazine is available at Vail-area newsstands, and you can also check out the current issue from wherever you are at the magazine's online portal: www.vvhmag.com . The May article is on pages 26-29 of the online version. 
 
JOB OPPORTUNITIES 
at Wildflower Farm

Do you love plants or know someone who does? We're hiring and would love to have more plant-loving folks join our team this summer.  

We're currently looking for inspired part-time and full-time associates to work at the Wildflower Farm garden center in Edwards.

Current open positions include:
-garden center plant enthusiasts
-experienced garden center experts
-retail shop sales associates
-receiving/inventory specialists




For all positions, please email
info@thewildflowerfarm.com  to express interest and gather more details. 
 
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Howdy! 
May is an exciting month for us here at Wildflower Farm. Our annual flowers begin arriving this month, and we enjoy seeing you as you come in for all of the garden-planting supplies, seeds, and tools you need to get your gardens growing. We also have many early bloomers, alpine plants, and hardened-off perennials ready for planting as well as many beautiful perennials still growing in our greenhouse, soon to be ready for your landscapes throughout the Vail Valley. 

We're now open 7 days a week, so come on by for advice, inspiration, and everything you need to turn your gardening and landscaping dreams into a reality this summer.
 
Sincerely,
Marty Jones and The Colorado Alpines & Wildflower Farm Team
Coming Soon: Annuals and More Perennials

Annuals Update: Annual flowers bursting with color normally begin arriving toward the end of May so that they're ready for planting when our local temperatures allow. Call in your custom planting orders now if you haven't already (970.926.5504), and have a look at our custom planting services to decide what's best for your space: www.thewildflowerfarm.com/custom-planting

Perennials Update: Every winter, we grow harder-to-find perennials, and this winter we grew almost 3,000 plants, including 22 new-to-us varieties. These plants are currently growing in our west greenhouse and will become available for purchase around mid-May.








A few highlights to look for include new varieties of plants with stunning leaf colors. Be on the lookout for these three red- or pink-leaved Heucheras that are new to us:

Heuchera 'Berry Smoothie'
Characteristics: rose pink (changing to rose purple) foliage, vigorous, white flowers

Heuchera 'Fire Alarm'
Characteristics: fiery red foliage, long-blooming, pink flowers

Heuchera 'Georgia Peach' (pictured above)
Characteristics: peach foliage, popular choice, creamy white flowers

We're also excited about these dark-hued perennial varieties known for their unique black or dark colored leaves:

Astilbe 'Chocolate Shogun'
Characteristics: chocolate purple foliage, darkest Astilbe yet, soft pink flowers

Cimicifuga ramosa 'James Compton'
Characteristics: deep purplish-black foliage, very popular, compact, fragrant, white bottlebrush-like flowers




Clematis recta Serious Black (pictured above)
Characteristics: dark purple foliage (matures to olive green), clump-forming (non-vining), rare, fragrant, white flowers

Heuchera 'Cassis'
Characteristics: deep purple-black foliage, floriferous, long-blooming, pink flowers
Hardening Perennials: Why and How

The bare root perennials we grow here in the Wildflower Farm greenhouse should be introduced to the outdoors in a process called "hardening off" before they're ready to be planted. Plants that have been grown in a controlled greenhouse environment need to be gradually acclimated to the colder temperatures outside, along with other variables including wind.

When buying new perennial plants grown from root, take the time to harden them off in the early season before planting. Plants can be placed outside for a few hours each day, with increasing outdoor exposure until their foliage tissue toughens up to prevent plants from going into shock when planting. 

Garden Centers of Colorado recommends a 7-10 day adjustment period for plants in the month of May, along with the following tips:

1. Put new plants outside in a place that is protected from bright sun and wind. Make sure  they get watered as needed.
2. If nights will be cooler than mid-30s, bring plants indoors. Vulnerable plants can be stressed at 36 and damaged at 34 degrees.  
3. After a couple of days, start moving the plants out a little farther each day into the  type of conditions in which they will be growing.
4. Leave the plants out at night unless there will be a hard freeze. They still might  need covering at night if the weather is severe.
5. Plant on a on a cloudy day for best results, and consider using a root stimulator to promote growth.
CREEK-FRIENDLY  LANDSCAPING

Landscaping practices affect the health of our area's creeks, and the Town of Vail's Restore the Gore initiative is sharing how creek-friendly landscaping, among other practices, can help protect water quality in our community. Aquatic bugs called macroinvertebrates are especially sensitive to changes in water quality, and over the past 10 years, there has been a noticeable decline in the bug community of Gore Creek, which affects fish (the feeders) and others on up the food chain. 
Photo courtesy of vailgov.com

Use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers is cited as one cause of the problem. When sprayed in windy conditions or close to the creek, they end up in the creek, killing aquatic bugs. Herbicides are engineered to kill weeds. When used inappropriately, they end up in the creek, killing aquatic vegetation. Fertilizers are meant to give extra food to our lawns or gardens to encourage growth. When we use fertilizers on our lawn and it rains, extra fertilizers run off into the creek and fertilize the algae, making it grow in excess, which can be very bad!

The riparian habitat, the land and plants alongside the banks of a creek or river that provides critical functions related to habitat and water quality, is also in danger. These plants stabilize the stream bank, filter sediment, and provide food, cover and reproductive habitat for a variety of birds, insects and other animals.

Creek-friendly landscaping practices involve choosing plants to restore the riparian habitat as well as making choices to protect water quality such as fertilizing with natural fertilizers like compost, bone meal and kelp.

Find out more about the Restore the Gore project here [www.vailgov.com/projects/restore-the-gore], and be mindful of how you can incorporate these tips into your creek-friendly lifestyle:

What you can to do save Gore Creek:
  1. Be aware of your input into the land and the creek and ask questions if you think something may impact the creek negatively.
  2. Save water and save money!
  3. Keep pollution out of the storm drains! All lead directly to the creek!
  4. Use earth friendly landscaping. Fertilize with natural fertilizers like compost, bone meal and kelp.
  5. Don't spray pesticides or herbicides when it's windy, and keep 50 feet back from the creek's edge.
  6. Keep your car properly maintained, check your emissions regularly.
  7. Wash your car at a commercial car wash where water is treated and recycled.
  8. Clean up after your pet! Bacteria like E. coli can end up in the stream if not picked up and disposed of properly.
  9. Carpool, walk, bike to places when possible. Sign up for the Sole Power Challenge at www.solepower.org
Stop by Wildflower Farm for a Riparian Zone Plant List, and shop our selection of creek-friendly plants. We also carry natural and organic fertilizers, soils, and other products.
Mother's Day Gift Ideas
Mother's Day is this Sunday, May 8, and we'll be open 11:00am - 5:00pm. Stop on by for great gifts and cute cards to show your love.


GREAT GIFT IDEAS:
Fun birdhouses, unique jewelry, tiny plants, bright blooming houseplants, garden seeds, gardening tools, gloves, succulents, attractive planters, beautiful glazed ceramic pots, terrariums, books, art, antiques, and other fantastic finds!