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Issues & Articles
WE'VE GONE DIGITAL!
Our 2023 Harvest issue was our last printed issue. However, don't worry, we're not going away – we'll be adding articles regularly online and will send out our e-magazine to subscribers.
Colorado Gardener provides our readers with the ideas, information, resources, inspiration and sense of humor needed to grow ornamental and edible plants successfully in our fast changing, unpredictable climate. We emphasize waterwise and environmentally sound practices.
Colorado Gardener is an independently owned gardening newsmagazine that went all-digital in 2024.
We do have a limited number of printed back issues that are available for $3 each if desired, contact us if interested in obtaining any copies.
RECENT ARTICLES
September 2026 E-Magazine
Agave lophantha 'Quadricolor' and succulents on Kelly Grummons' deck I was excited to see the first-ever, large maroon bloom on my Stapelia (grandiflora?) plant in the kitchen window last month, but this has not been an exciting summer in the vegetable garden. Despite my inertia and the blistering heat, a few things have done extraordinarily well, especially the lemon cucumbers, purple and red potatoes, and a different kind of pumpkin from seed that a friend from Guyana gave
Sep 1
Saving Seeds
Humans have been savings seeds for thousands of years. Just a century ago our food came from roughly 1,500 plants, plus thousands of different cultivated varieties. The United States is a country of immigrants. Many brought seeds with them from their homelands and passed these heirlooms on through the generations. Pots of planted vegetables even filled the fire escapes of city tenements.
Aug 31
Free Seed
Free seed for everyone! If you grow a garden you have seed - in greater abundance than you can imagine. Right now, hanging in your garden are the seeds of food, fruit, herbs and flowers just waiting for you to come and collect them.
Aug 31
BioBlitz'n
Last month I had the joyful experience of attending a BioBlitz at the Big Gardens in Wash Park in Denver with over 30 other people. BioBlitz is a citizen science project where both beginners and experts make observations of nature using either a smart phone or regular camera, and upload the images to iNaturalist.
Aug 31
When should I stop feeding hummingbirds in Colorado?
When should I stop feeding hummingbirds in Colorado? Should I take my feeder down in September so I don't keep them from migrating?
Aug 31
Do home grown fruits and vegetables need to be washed before eating?
A: Yes! Rinse those garden goodies! With all the recent produce recalls, you may be feeling pretty good about growing your own fruits and vegetables.
Aug 31
How late is too late in the fall for planting trees and shrubs?
A: Fall is a great time to plant—but don't wait too long!
Aug 31
Should I Dig a Square Hole When Planting a Tree?
A: You've probably heard the latest fad that trees and shrubs establish faster when planted in a square hole because the roots supposedly hit the corners and grow outward. Sounds logical(?), but there's not good scientific evidence to support it. What really matters is how you dig the hole and set the plant, not whether it's square or round. Dig the hole wide and shallow—about two to three times the width of the root ball, but no deeper than the root ball itself. Make sure th
Aug 31
August 2026 E-Magazine
Late summer and early fall can be a good time to plant. As we ease into a hopefully cooler part of the summer with the potential for much more moisture later this month–if the super El Niño plays out for us that way–I’m reprinting an enlightening article that Mikl Brawner wrote for us about soil.
Jul 31
Tomato Plants Flowering but are not Fruiting
Q: My tomato plants are blooming but not setting fruit. What’s up with that?
Jul 31
Bindweed Control without Herbicides
Q: Bindweed is taking over my lawn and gardens. What can I do without using synthetic herbicides.
Jul 31
Refreshing Mulch
Q: I can see the soil through my mulch. I believe it’s allowing weeds to come up. Should I be adding fresh mulch this time of year?
Jul 31
Adding Color to Perennial Flower Borders
A: First thing I do is go to the garden center and see what’s blooming there. My go to plants include the newer, dwarf, well behaved varieties of Russian Sage like Blue Jean Baby, Denim and Lace, and Little Spire.
Jul 31
What flowering trees can I plant that don't attract Japanese beetles?
A: Here are some of my favorite flowering trees that Japanese Beetles avoid. Redbud, Yellowhorn, White Fringe Tree, Japanese Tree Lilac, Magnolia, Golden Rain Tree, Pagoda Dogwood, Cornelian Cherry Dogwood, Catalpa, Smokebush, Seven-Son Flower, Russian Hawthorne. Thoughtful selection will provide color from early spring through mid-summer.
Jul 31
Helping Forests to Walk
By R. Gary Raham: Speaking about human beings and the ebb and flow of glaciers over the past million years, writer Loren Eiseley said, “We are things forgotten when the ice withdrew, and meant to perish really, but the ice forgot, and somehow from the ice-streams we survived—a tough, ill-mannered beast, outthinking all the rest.”
Jul 31
Building Topsoil and Soil Fertility
By Mikl Brawner: “Where can I get good topsoil?” is a question I hear frequently at our nursery. I often look wistfully towards the plains and say, half-jokingly, “You can get good topsoil about 800 miles east of here.” That’s where I grew up, in Iowa, where two tomato plants feed a family of six. It’s not that local suppliers are trying to deceive us when they sell Colorado clay as topsoil; it’s just that glaciers didn’t dump three feet of loam on top of our clay.
Jul 31
July 2026 E-Magazine
Petrichor. We had a few rumbles of thunder and a very light rain here last night, but it was enough to notice that relaxing, earthy scent that accompanies the release of aromatic compounds when moisture hits dry soil and rocks.
Jul 1
The Sting of Summer
On a scale of zero to four, zero being barely perceptible and four being agonizing, how would you rate Colorado's stinging insects?
Jul 1
Gardening with Hummingbirds
Experience the joy of seeing hummingbirds up close, busily darting from flower to flower, feeding on the natural nectar provided by your colorful flowers.
Jul 1
Specks on Cucumber Leaves
Q: My cucumber leaves have small silver specks on them. Is this normal or a problem?
Jun 30
Fertilizers: Organic vs. Natural
Q: I see fertilizers labeled as “Organic Based.” What does that mean? What’s the difference between organic and natural? A: Organic fertilizers are made from materials that were once living, such as compost, manure, bone meal, feather meal, kelp, or alfalfa. Organic means the material contains carbon atoms. The nutrients are released slowly as soil microbes break them down, feeding both your plants and the soil. Natural fertilizers simply come from naturally occurring sou
Jun 30
Hackberry “Pimples”
Q: My hackberry tree leaves have strange “pimples” on the underside of many of the leaves. Is this a problem?
Jun 30
Deformed Hollyhock Flowers
Q: My hollyhocks have lovely flower spikes and flower buds, but they fall off or open with deformed flowers. I see small brown little brown bugs among the buds at the tip of the flower spikes. Are they the culprit?
Jun 30
Is it bad to water the leaves of plants in the sun?
Q: I’m told not to get water on the leaves of my plants when the sun is out because the droplets act like a magnifying glass and burn the leaves. Is that true?
Jun 30
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