Lawn and Garden

What happened to my lawn?
A common issue we’re hearing about in the Colorado State University Extension office this spring is dead turf. Here’s strategies to help.

The Buzz on Beekeeping
Beekeeping is intriguing, exciting and challenging – and is an important way to support the environment

How to start small with xeriscaping
Xeriscaping is becoming more popular along Colorado’s Front Range due to many factors such as a need to be good stewards of our water resources, attracting pollinators to the landscape or saving time and money spent on a typical lawn.

Charles (Chuck) Bliss Trial Garden dedication and open house highlight history of CSU Extension
The Charles (Chuck) Bliss Trial Garden will be dedicated Monday, May 16, at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont.

The beauty of increasing home value with hummingbird gardens
With outdoor living at its height of desirability, homes with beautiful flowers attract prospective home buyers as well as Colorado’s winged wonders that dart into view sometime in late April – hummingbirds.

April is lawn care month
By Shane Markham Rocky Mountain Sod Growers LONGMONT – Lack of education and understanding concerning the true water needs of turfgrass is contributing to continued water conservation issues, wasteful watering practices, and the unnecessary removal of grass from the...

Plant sales promote gardening and community
Whether you’re looking for herb and vegetable starts, or annuals and perennials to beautify your yard and create wildlife habitat, you are in luck; it’s plant sale season!

High Plains Environmental Center offers water-saving strategies using native plants
A dynamic and practical example of truly Colorado-specific native plants can be found at the High Plains Environmental Center (HPEC), located on the western edge of the Centerra development at I-25 and U.S. 34 in Loveland.

Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Conference
What’s the buzz about native plants? Find out at the 7th Annual Landscaping with Colorado Native Plants Conference!

Colorado had hottest six months in history, new data shows
The average temperature for the last six months is the hottest recorded in Colorado and the country as a whole, according to data released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Boulder County Marshall Fire Recovery
Boulder County and Colorado State University Extension Boulder County are available to help affected homeowners with the recovery process.

Winter climate and snowpack: You get what you get
If you are new to Colorado, you will soon learn that snow is the source of most the hydrology in the state. Therefore everyone – commercial and residential users, farmers and ranchers, rafters and fishermen – keep an eye to the snowpack as we enter a water year, Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.

Drought in Colorado
We need to be planning how we can help plants survive the drought conditions while conserving water. Here are some suggestions.

Care of holiday plants
Small pines, aromatic mini-trees, and flowering cacti are the perfect touch for your décor. Try these care tips:

It’s time to wrap your trees
There are some simple things you can do now to winterize your trees. One such task is tree wrapping.

Winter bird feeding with native plants
Here are some trees, shrubs and perennials you might consider adding to your landscape. They not only provide food and shelter for birds and wildlife but also provide winter interest in your landscape.

Halloween mythconceptions
Halloween horrors aren’t always connected to the spirits of the dead, even though the ancient holiday is. Some of the spookiest creatures on the planet are products of human imagination trying to explain the workings of Mother Nature, or using Mother Nature to...

All fired up about fall
We all need to muse more, and fall is the perfect time for sitting, pondering and reflecting, particularly in front of a fire.

Gardening is exercise
I recently underwent a health assessment which involved a lengthy questionnaire on how I care for myself. Things went smoothly until the interviewer asked about any exercise I routinely do. I said “gardening.”

Why does gutter cleaning matter?
It can be easy to forget to keep them clean, but gutter cleaning is a vital step in home maintenance.

The Lighter Side: It’s fall! Time to winterize your home and yard!
Ah, fall in Colorado! Sunny days with cool, crisp air, blue skies and colorful foliage. Unfortunately we never know how long this weather will last. Thus now is the time to winterize your home and yard.

What makes weeds so successful?
What characteristics make weeds so successful and able to annoy us and resist our attempts to eliminate them from our properties?

Home gardening takes off during coronavirus pandemic years
Home gardening surged in interest over the past two summers, largely because people were looking for distraction during our home-bound time.

The apple is the harbinger of autumn
Along with all the garden bounty that comes this time of year is one of my favorites, the apple.

Lawns browning from heat
When the heat switched on, lawns stressed, with Kentucky Bluegrass going dormant to escape the near-hundred degree temperatures. Brown spots in yards are blooming faster than the roses.

Artificial turf and how it has evolved
We’re getting more proficient at making artificial things appear like the real thing. From plant-based Impossible Burgers to porcelain tiles that are the spitting image of marble, reproductions sometimes offer benefits that improve upon the real deal. Artificial grass has improved over time, too.

Turf benefits environment and increases property values
Turf often gets a bad rap. Because people do not really understand the water requirements of their lawns, or newly established sod, it is often mischaracterized as a water guzzler. However, grass doesn’t waste water, people do.

Plant a low maintenance garden to increase your Colorado property’s value
When it comes to gardens, your piece of paradise can look like another person’s maintenance nightmare. This is especially true if you’re selling your home. You’ll want to do all you can to increase your property value, and planting a low-maintenance garden can help.

The annual weeds of summer
With the recent moisture and the heat of summer, summer annual weeds have sprouted and are growing in Colorado.

Help plants beat the summer heat
Summer heated up in a hurry in Colorado, and yards, vegetables and trees are showing the price of the record heat in between the rains.