by Todd Rutherford
Culinary Sage
Many people may think that low-water gardening and edible plants are mutually exclusive. However, some of the tastiest culinary herbs are perennials that can find a home in your water-wise landscaping. So don’t just grow herbs in your vegetable garden, mix them into your perennial beds. While some of the culinary herbs need more water than extremely xeric plants, some of the best and most popular herbs are fairly drought tolerant, thriving in Colorado’s front-range climate.
Thyme is one commonly used herb that is fantastic when fresh. Even if you don’t intend to cook with fresh thyme, just picking a fresh sprig to crush in your hands, releasing the wonderful aroma, is reason enough to grow this versatile and hardy herb. Lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus) is a great addition to cooked fish or chicken.
Lavender is one classic herb that loves Colorado’s growing conditions if you amend the soil to make it well-drained. Lavender is not commonly used in most American kitchens, but can be part of some amazing deserts and drinks. The best varieties for Colorado are Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’, Lavandula angustifolia ‘Munstead’ and Lavandula x intermedia ‘Provence.’
Oregano is perhaps one of the easiest herbs to grow in Colorado. In fact I’ve found that some varieties area so easily grown that they can become invasive due to their ability to re-seed. As with many herbs, some oregano varieties are better suited for cooking than others.
Culinary sage (Salvia officinalis) is more shrub like than the above listed herbs. As with the other herbs (most of which are in the Mint family) culinary sage produces gorgeous flowers that bees and other pollinators go crazy for. Culinary sage’s flowers are a gorgeous purple, blooming profusely in early summer. As with thyme, you may be familiar with its dried version, but fresh sage is much better.
A less drought tolerant group of herbs but that are still hardy and a nice addition to small pockets in flower beds are the chives. Regular chives and garlic chives are easy to grow and provide edible leaves and flowers. Toss in some fresh chive blossoms to your next breakfast egg dish, and you’ve turned an ordinary dish into something extraordinary.
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by Todd Rutherford
This captivating plant lives up to its common name as it produces many small flowers on long arching stems that truly give the impression of whirling white butterflies in the garden. The charming small white flowers last only one day, but are reliably produced from early summer through to late autumn. While it is native to the Texas / Louisiana area, it has shown an ability to survive long dry spells. A distant cousin of Evening Primrose, ‘Whirling Butterflies’ has lance-like leaves more numerous towards the base of the plant, becoming smaller and more sparse above the base. The gradually less leafy and thin flowering stems enhance the soft texture and whirling impression the flowers give. Somewhat attractive to bees, I have not seen many butterflies visiting this plant. ‘Whirling Butterflies’ provides white flowers, while the variety called ‘Siskiyou Pink’ has pink flowers on a slightly shorter plant.
Gaura lindheimeri mixes well with low water plants, especially ornamental grasses with which the flower stems can intermingle in a summer breeze. It doesn’t mind the heat, so it is also great along a wall with southern or western exposure.
PLANT STATS
Scientific Name: Gaura lindheimeri ‘Whirling Butterflies’. Several cultivars such as ‘Siskiyou Pink’, ‘Pink Cloud’, ‘Cloud of Butterflies’, and ‘Summer Breeze’.
Plant Type: Perennial
Mature Height: 24”-48”
Mature Spread: 24”-36”
Cold Hardiness Zone: 5 – 9. Protect roots in colder areas with mulch. Some cultivars may not be as cold hardy as ‘Whirling Butterflies’.
Water Requirement: Moderate water needs, but is drought tolerant. Prefers well-drained soil.
Exposure: Full Sun to light shade.
Flower Color & Bloom Time: Flowers are white in ‘Whirling Butterflies’, pink in some cultivars such as ‘Siskiyou Pink’. Blooms appear in early summer and continue in fall through the first frost.
Winter Interest: The long wispy flower stems remain, peppered with seeds produced from the former flowers.
Best Features: Attractive four petaled flowers that appear over a long period. Flowers are borne on long wispy stems that whirl in the breeze. This plant starts flowering in the middle of summer and continues flowering through late in the fall.
Disadvantages: The flowering stems arch and can flop over onto to neighboring plants. ‘Whirling Butterflies’ reseeds easily; unknown if the cultivars reseed as easily.
Availability and Sizes: This plant seems to be regularly available. The pink cultivars are seen more often. White-flowered ‘Whirling Butterflies’ is propagated easily by seed.
Maintenance Tip: If you’d like the white ‘Whirling Butterflies’ to naturalize, leave the wiry stems through winter so seeds will be dispersed in your garden. If you want to avoid reseeding, cut and remove the stems with seeds. Pinching it back in early summer may thicken the plant, providing more blooming stems.
Wildlife Value: Bees are moderately attracted to this plant. With its long flowering season, it is one of the last flowers available to bees in fall.
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by Matt Corrion
The Colorado Front Range has some of the best fall weather to be had in the United States. When it comes to interesting fall foliage color however, Colorado lacks the abundance of color that can be found in other parts of the country. But with the right choice of trees you can enjoy some wonderful foliage fireworks in your own backyard.
Serviceberry
Serviceberries are beautiful tree-like shrubs. They offer great spring flowers, edible berries that attract birds and beautiful fall color. They are also good choices for water wise landscapes.
Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry – Amalanchier x grandiflora 12’ Ht x 10’ W
Shadblow Serviceberry – Amalanchier canadensis 12’ Ht x 10’ W
Crabbapple
The popular ornamental trees are renowned for their their spring flowers, but these crabapples provide excellent fall interest as well.
Indian Summer – Malus ‘Indian Summer’ Orange-red fall color. 18’ Ht x 18’ W
Lancelot – Malus ‘Lancelot’ Yellow-gold fall color. 10’ Ht x 8’ W
Prairiefire – Malus ‘Prairiefire’ Orange-red fall color. 20’ Ht x 20’ W
Spring Snow – Malus ‘Spring Snow’ Yellow fall color. 20’ Ht x 20’ W
Ash
Autumn Purple – Fraxinus Americana As if it glows from within the center of the tree, this Ash is a sight to behold. The color is a mixture of gold to bronze-purple. 50’ Ht x 30’ W
Fall Gold – Fraxinus nigra The bright yellow gold of this tree is great against a crisp blue Colorado fall sky. 40’ Ht x 25’ W
Ornamental Pear
You can find these often planted along streets and in commercial landscapes. They provide spring flowers and fall color in relatively compact form.
Autumn Blaze – Pyrus calleryana ‘Autumn Blaze’ Orange red fall color. 30’ Ht x 25’ W
Chanticleer – Pyrus calleryana ‘Chanticleer’ Orange red fall color in an upright form. 35’ Ht x 15’ W
Cottonwood
Just like their cousin the Aspen, Cottonwoods are known for their yellow gold leaves. Although they are not recommended for residential yards due to their size and tendency to sucker, they are wonderful in large areas with native planting schemes, especially in wetter areas like drainages and ravines.
Plains – Populus sargentii 60’ Ht x 50’ W
Narrowleaf – Populus angustifolia 75’ Ht x 40’ W
Lanceleaf – Populus acuminate 50’ Ht x 30’ W
Maple
These maple trees will provide great red to orange-red color for your landscape. The Autumn Flame is gorgeous, but it can suffer chlorosis in our alkaline soils. Amur and Tatarian are the most fool-proof choices for our soils and climate.
Amur – Acer ginnala 20’ Ht x 10’ W
Bigtooth – Acer grandidentatum 25’ Ht x 25’ W
Autumn Blaze – Acer x fremanii ‘Autumn Blaze’ 50-40’ Ht x 30-40’ W
Tatarian Maple – Acer tataricum 25’ Ht x 20’ W
Oak
Several of the Oak species are wise choices for Colorado Front Range climate and soils. And a few of these offer nice fall foliage as well.
Chinkapin Oak – Quercus muehlenbergii Yellow fall color. 35-50’ Ht x 35-50’ W
English Oak – Quercus robur Golden yellow fall color. 40-60’ Ht x 30-40’ W
Northern Red Oak – Quercus rubra Bronze to wine red fall color. 40-60’ Ht x 40-60’ W
This is the official blog of Outdoor Design Group, Colorado Landscape Architects. For more information about our business and our services, click here.
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by Matt Corrion
Furman’s Red Sage is wonderful small perennial that blurs the lines between perennial and shrub. It has a small, compact form and retains most of it’s leaves through the winter making it a more of a semi-evergreen shrub. And it’s magenta-red flowers just keep coming throughout summer and fall, making this plant a welcome addition to any dry landscape.
This plant combines well with many western natives, requiring little water and thriving in hot, sunny conditions. The unique bright colored flowers are a favorite of hummingbirds and gardeners alike.
PLANT STATS
Scientific Name: Salvia greggii ‘Furman’s Red’
Plant Type: Perennial or small semi-evergreen shrub
Mature Height: 24″-36″, stays pretty small and compact unlike many larger sages and mints
Mature Spread: 30″-42″
Cold Hardiness Zone: 5 – 9
Water Requirement: Low water needs. Seems to do equally well in dry conditions, or with supplemental irrigation. Follow a regular watering schedule the first growing season, but requires little water once established.
Exposure: Full Sun to light shade. Most of the literature on this plant says that it requires full sun, however I have experimented with it in partial shade and it also does well. In partial shade, flowering seems to start later in the summer/fall.
Flower Color & Bloom Time: Flowers are magenta to red, often exhibiting a unique bright magenta hue that sets this plant apart from other red flowering plants. Blooms appear in early to mid-summer and continue in fall through the first frost.
Winter Interest: Furman’s Red Sage grows into a small evergreen shrub that retains it’s leaves throughout winter, unlike most perennials.
Disadvantages: I have not found any to date. If given too much water or placed in too much shade, plants tend to get a little “leggy”, but since they stay relatively small they tend to still stay pretty compact and do not flop like excessively like larger perennials.
Availability and Sizes: This plant seems to be regularly available and has gotten quite popular. It is typically sold in 4-6″ pots, but may be found in 1 gallon containers as well.
Maintenance Tip: Cut back low to the ground in early spring to promote new growth. Leave evergreen stems and leaves up through the winter, some die-back may occur in cold winters.
Wildlife Value: Hummingbirds are attracted to the red flowers and regularly feed at this plant. Said to be deer resistant.
Best Features: Attractive magenta-red flowers that appear over a long period. This plant starts flowering in the middle of summer and continues flowering through late in the fall- one of the latest flowering plants here in Colorado.
Other: Also known as “Furman’s Red Texas Sage” or “Furman’s Red Autumn Sage”.
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by Matt Corrion
Torch Lilly (Kniphofia uvaria), also sometimes referred to as “Red Hot Poker” is one of my favorite perennials. It is just so unusual. Orange and red are two of my favorite colors, and these plants really stand out in the landscape when in bloom as seen in this photo taken from my garden.
In addition to this plant, I have 3 other types in my garden- a blue leaf variety that is shorter, and gets red and yellow flowers earlier in the summer, one with thinner leaves with bright red flowers that appear in June, and another that gets pale yellow flowers. The one pictured above is the common variety (Kniphofia uvaria). It gets larger than the others and seems to require a little more water.
Aside from the flowers, these plants look great all year round with their grass-like foliage providing texture to the landscape. Torch lily is a awesome addition to any garden!
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