Nature’s Blueprint

Expert tips for winterizing your garden from Wild Heritage Gardens

By Christopher C. Wuensch

Wild Heritage Gardens believes your yard should shine beyond spring and summer. The natural landscapers from Louisville are dedicated to creating stunning outdoor spaces that bring you beauty in every season—and they do so just like nature intended.

“The way nature does it is the way it should be done,” says Jody Ash, owner of Wild Heritage Gardens. Ash first got her thumbs green as a child helping to tend her grandmother’s island garden, which was as lush and diverse as it was enormous. She carried that affinity for working outdoors with her for her entire life, mostly as a hobby and a helping hand on projects for friends and family.

She then turned that hobby into a career in 2018, driven by the lack of satisfactory landscaping options in the Boulder County area. As Ash, a former chef and estate manager, puts it, “We felt we could do it better ourselves.” And thus, Wild Heritage Gardens began to blossom.

Approach Au Natural

Since its inception, Wild Heritage Gardens has been rethinking industry standards, particularly with its no-chemical approach and “back to nature” thinking. This is especially important within Colorado and a greater Boulder-area that’s increasingly adopting an anti-chemical mindset. “We’re talking about all fresh and natural gardening,” Ash says. “We understand the importance and value it brings to your life.”

Among the ways Wild Heritage Gardens accomplishes this is with its “right plant, right place” philosophy that utilizes native and select plants. This approach also involves replacing old lawns with low-water grass and pollinator gardens, as well as water-wise, responsible measures to keep Colorado’s rivers and lakes free from landscaping chemicals—one of the state’s biggest water pollutants.

As a result, Wild Heritage Gardens has saved millions of gallons of water in Boulder County.

Year-Round Style

Wild Heritage Gardens offers a variety of options from design services to permaculture-based maintenance and full-service landscape work, save for mowing. The idea is to create an environment that looks great throughout the year, even after the frost has blanketed the Boulder Valley. “An important part of design is landscape that looks good all year,” says Ash, a self-professed “landscape disruptor.”

The key to tackling the winter months? Keep your eye on the weather and the plants. They’ll tell you when it’s time to winterize your system. Ash recommends leaving a little length on your grass entering the autumn months and waiting until the plants are down prior to shutting off your irrigation for the season.

Shrubs with berries, such as candy coralberry, can give a yard a great all-season look. Also consider planting cone flowers and other perennials, which Ash admits look amazing in the snow. Evergreens thrive in the colder conditions, but still need to be properly watered, heeds Ash. 

As for common yard items such as weed cloth or decorative rocks? Well, they need to go. It’s all part of Wild Heritage Gardens’ multi-layered approach to keep seasonal plants blooming year-round and your yard looking alive. To further enrich your lawn in the colder months, make sure to feed wildlife and birds, who can create comfortable nesting areas. 

Getting Started with WHG

Wild Heritage Gardens’ 2D and 3D design services can help you envision your yard by planning flow, plant placement and the potential installation of features. These features can range from sitting boulders and raised planters to water fountains, fire pits and pergolas, as well as patios, pathways and more.

With their Garden Manager program, Wild Heritage Gardens will manage all aspects of your home garden. The team assesses the health of your plants by treating or removing any weeds or diseases, tends to any irrigation matters and lots more to make your property sparkle year-round. That also includes mulching, feeding/watering and seasonal cleanup services.

Wild Heritage Gardens isn’t just your one-stop shop for all things yard-related; they also offer expert guidance to help you dive deeper into the art of garden care and outdoor beautification. Plenty of tips, ideas, images and more can be found via the Wild Heritage Gardens blog. It’s all part of its blueprint to become Boulder County’s premier boutique landscape and project management company—all while keeping a protective eye on the environment and wildlife. 

Get a jump on building your outdoor sanctuary before the winter months by visiting wildheritagegardens.com or calling 720.705.3151.