Plum, gray and metallic are the top beauty hues this summer. In the fashion epicenters of Paris, London and New York, city sidewalks are a veritable runway of the latest designer clothes and accessories. In Boulder County, however, the sidewalks are full of pub patios and we dress for the outdoors rather than catwalks. So […]
A potting station can be a creative project that pays off in terms of gardening ease. It’s hard not to covet the potting stations we see at nurseries, especially when we drive home with soil and flowers and ponder the project ahead: lugging pots and garden tools from the garage, mixing soil and compost, filling […]
Dear Reader: Summer is such a glorious season, full of growth and promise. But before one can grow, one must sow a seed. I want all of us to sow seeds of kindness and compassion. I’ve noticed a lot of people in not-so-charitable moods lately, and it’s making me wonder why. Could it be the […]
Repurposed K-Cups K-Cups have taken over the home-coffee market because of their convenience and ease of use. Just pop in a plastic cup, press a button and you have a mug of fresh-brewed java. But that cup isn’t recyclable and unless you use refillable off-brand cups (which don’t jive with the Keurig 2.0 brewers), you’re […]
Dear Reader: Spring at last! Every year, we wait for this bountiful season to roll our way. The crocuses and daffodils make us dizzy with delight as they pop through the brown, snow-covered ground we’ve endured all winter long. What are your spring plans and pledges? I need to clean out the garden, clean up […]
The color wheel is a good tool for helping you pick colors for your garden. By Arna Cohen The world is full of spectacular gardens: Pierre du Pont’s sprawling Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. Frederick Law Olmsted’s Biltmore Gardens in North Carolina. British Columbia’s magnificent Butchart Gardens. And then there’s Versailles, the crown jewel of gardens. […]
Fracking is a divisive issue, and properly regulating it is difficult until conclusive data are available. By Tanya Ishikawa At least two truths about fracking are indisputable: It’s controversial and the risks to human health and the environment are not clearly known. The fracking process is becoming better understood, but experts agree that more data and […]
A whole host of creatures inhabit leaf litter, helping to keep the soil healthy and the cycle of life intact. By Ruthanne Johnson Illustrations by Patricia J. Wynne, www.patriciawynne.com For those of us who grew up reading Dr. Seuss’ children’s stories, who can forget the lovable elephant Horton, with his gigantic, sonar-like ears that pick […]
It’s easy to grow from seed if you follow these tips. By Carol O’Meara Do seed packets on store shelves have you thinking about planting? Concerns over big agriculture, food safety and the environment, along with an interest in heirloom plants, are driving a robust seed industry. “More people are gardening, and there’s a resurgence […]
As long as you water regularly, most plants can exist on what Mother Nature provides. Some may need a little assist, though, particularly houseplants and flowers. By Diana Maranhao Other than watering, Mother Nature can usually provide for our plants. Healthy green plants with new growth never need fertilizing. Native plants and most trees don’t […]
Got spring fever? Here are a few of Colorado’s more offbeat getaways. By Ruthanne Johnson You’ve been holed up all winter. Now the trees are budding, the birds are twittering and you’ve got a serious case of spring fever. If you’ve got the itch to roam, Colorado has your balm. But why stick to the […]
As improbable as it seems, Boulder County is home to many ferns, some of which could grow in your garden. By Panayoti Kelaidis It would be entirely possible for someone to grow up in Colorado and never notice a wild fern growing anywhere in the state. Unlike maritime climates, where whole hillsides and woodlands are […]
This yard morphed from a pile of ugly mulch to the site of a wedding and a garden tour. By Lisa Truesdale Photos by Kate Zari Roberts and Richard Gillies When Kirsten Gillies first saw her future husband’s home in northeast Longmont, she was amazed. As one of the neighborhood’s former model homes, it had elegant, […]
This couple polished their north Boulder home to brilliance after it fell into utter disrepair. By Lisa Marshall photos by www.weinrauchphotography.com Tiffany Myers and Steffan Knapp were definitely not in the market for a fixer-upper. After remodeling their ’70s-era Wonderland Lake home and plunging headlong into their work, taking on anything else would be overwhelming. […]
From sunny to shady, a spot exists somewhere in your garden for these native plants. Native shrubs often lack appeal when viewed at the nursery. Compared with the fancy flowers of azaleas, hydrangeas and peonies—all tricked out as if they’re heading to a gala—it’s easy to overlook the scraggly vegetation in the native-plants corner. In […]
Farm-to-table dining is not only festive, it enriches the community and the spirit. By Ainslee Kellogg Mac Naughton To skeptics of farm-to-table dining, Eric Skokan offers this challenge: Eat a spring pea harvested in early June at his farm and then eat a spring pea bought at the grocery store. “You can really taste the […]
We all put a few spring-cleaning chores into the “out of sight, out of mind” category, but some tasks are vital to a healthy household. Here are ones we often overlook. By Rebecca Schneider Spring is the time to tackle all the chores we’ve turned a blind eye to all winter. But some items we […]
The folks at LifeSoap, a small, family-owned Denver company, have a skin-soothing formula for helping others. When you purchase their bath and body products—all made with natural and organic ingredients, including lavender, citrus, shea butter and mint—you’ll help the global community, because LifeSoap donates 10 percent of every purchase to clean-water projects in developing countries. […]
And the award goes to…Outdoor Craftsmen! The newest trophy for Erie-based Outdoor Craftsmen is the prestigious ELITE (Elevating the Landscape Industry Through Excellence) Sustainability Award from the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC). The landscape design firm renovated a tired, 3-acre Gunbarrel Ranch landscape that consisted of turf and overgrown shrubs with inefficient irrigation. The […]
If you love eating food fresh from the garden but find growing vegetables intimidating, you should join The Urban Farm Co.’s “Garden Club.” The club wants to reach people who say growing food is too difficult, time-consuming or stressful, says company founder Bryant Mason. The Garden Club sends out free weekly emails and texts to […]
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