So I bought this house and I got a great deal because the yard...doesnt exist. It's a completely blank slate. I have dreams of:

• vegetable garden
• raised beds
• rock garden
• floating deck extension to the patio
• pergola?
• chickens?
• Apple tree

If you had a completely blank slate where would you start on making this your backyard paradise?

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Sorry if it's a little off topic but I am hoping y'all might be able to help. There is a giant Schefflera I would LOVE to have in my home but I have no way of transporting it. It's about 6 miles from my house (Centennial west of 25). Does anyone know of any services that could safely do this?

Striped German! Performing this year

Looking to plant a tree in the front lawn (corner lot with good sun exposure and no other trees)

I like the Norwegian Maple and Northern Red Oak - both have a great limb structure that looks to be great for the kids/grandkids to climb someday.

Leaning towards the oak given the high winds where I live.

Any advice or pros/cons for either?

Thanks!

Picked this up from City Floral this spring. I don't have a lot of reference to say if this is standard growth for the first year while it's getting situated.

I'm okay with the results, since fruit won't be until next tear. But maybe y'all know something I don't.

Hello, I've got a few specimens in pots outdoors by my south facing potting shed. What would be best for keeping them alive through the winter. I have an unheated portion of this shed with a small window-I'm thinking of putting them in there (and watered) for the winter season. All help is appreciated!

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We leveled some spots in our lawn and are realizing we'll have to disconnect our hoses around Oct. 4th for a few reasons. I dispersed some seed from Rocky Mountain Bioag (highly recommend) but realized I need thicker coverage and don't have time to wait for shipping.

I prefer a drought tolerant mix to save on water as much as possible, but don't know where I can get a good blend optimized for our climate in person. If all else fails I'll get the tall fescue seed mix from Home Depot but I'm hoping to avoid the big box stores.

Anyone know of a place I can pick up? TIA!

I've seen these guys on my sunflowers, goldenrod, and a few other plants. I can't say they have done any damage but I'm curious. The wasps don't seem to mess with them either. Any ideas as to what they are and if I need to be concerned?

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Hello! We will be out of town for most of October, and trying to decide if we should blowout sprinklers this week or wait till we get back and do it on October 28th. Is there a downside to turning off now and letting plants go without water for the month of October? Thanks!

Anyone here have experience with snowberry and boulder raspberry? I'm considering both for my north-facing front yard but I'm concerned about suckering. How big a headache would I be setting myself up for down the road including these two?

I don't mind removing suckers once or twice a year if that's the issue.

Both would be sited in partial shade which I'm hoping would help to contain them.

Hi everyone! I’m proud to say I successfully raised 1 large tomato plant, 3 baby tomato plants, 1 basil plant, and a bunch of herb plants (rosemary, parsley, thyme, chives, oregano) this summer!! I’m super thrilled.

My tomatoes are in wooden raised beds and my herbs are in plastic, smaller, bucket-like planters - all with drainage.

I’m going to sound so stupid here, but I don’t know if these plants will survive in the winter. I know they’ll die eventually, but if I do nothing to them in the winter, do they ever grow back next year? Or would I get all new seeds/soil? Any help is super appreciated here. Thank you!

I bought a few perennials at the Denver Botanic Gardens during their spring sale but never planted them as we’re still planning out our garden. How to keep them alive through the winter for spring planting? Do I bring them inside and keep caring for them like it’s summer or leave them out and winterize them somehow? I have a bunch of experience growing houseplants but am a new gardener - please help. Thank you!

So I have two gardens. Both with an automatic sprinkler that waters late at night once every 5 days. In one garden I have two new plants (7 days since I planted them) which I have watered once a day for those 7 days (with root stimulator). When should I stop watering everything so it goes dormant?

Thank you for the help.

I recently received a ChipDrop (super happy with that service!) to spread over most of my yard, but I’ve still got a roughly ~400sq ft area left that I need to cover. Another ChipDrop would definitely be too much mulch, so I’m looking to see if anyone has any excess mulch they are looking to get rid of. I’m located in Westminster near Hwy 36/Pecos area.

Anyone know where to buy expanded shale around here, ideally in bulk? I've got 1200sqft of clay soil that I want to amend.

Temps are coming down to 40’s next two days. I have a manzano pepper just starting to fruit. Also black cobra that are ripening from green to black to red. Then bell peppers that are turning red or orange. Not sure if I should cut it all down or leave it since temp are going to come back up. Or should I cover them since peppers don’t like it cold?

Picked from my basil less than an hour ago! I harvested everything that was harvestable. So satisfying!

Trying to decide when, and how to handle this task? I was thinking burlap wrap around the pots? Do I add straw on top of the plant or mulch? How thick of burlap is needed / multiple wraps to achieve? Plants in pots are honeysuckle, clematis, hens and chicks, and lupine. 5b zone near foothills.

Hey everyone, with two little kids who are getting older I'm finally getting the time to garden a bit. The last two years I've done raised beds, which my dad built and then I used a combo of 'fill' (lawn) dirt from a neighbor's landscaping project and raised bed dirt. I boosted the bottom with leaves and twigs, which have started to break down so the beds are sinking. I want to really punch up the soil quality this year - there are spots where it's basically pure clay and little to nothing grows well. I added a bunch of bagged compost this year, which helped. But I have a compost bin and want to use it more effectively to have a bunch of good stuff to add. Suggestions for making a good compost mix over the winter? And suggestions for really punching up the soil? I'm thinking of doing a cover crop and I also mulch with leaves over the winter. I'm from New England, which is where we gardened a fair amount as a kid, and you could literally just spill seeds on the bare soil there and they'd grow so it's a very different experience here. TIA!

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I have that bush tree in my yard, but first year it fruited. Anybody knows what it is? Eatable?

Does anyone use or have thoughts on utilizing an auger drill bit for planting? The clay in my yard is no joke I’m tempted to bring in the big guns

Hello, we live in Lakewood and just got some fruit trees (peach, apple, cherry) and other trees into the ground. What should we do to help them thrive in these conditions...besides going back in time to plant them earlier in the year?! Is there a particular feeding regimen we could use? I've got bottles of fish/kelp fertilizer, miracle-gro, and typical clayey soil. Your help is appreciated! Dave

I am curious about your personal experience with trumpet vine (campsis radicans) over the long term, 5-10+ years especially.

In other climates, I see reports of it taking over yards, destroying foundations, and pulling up fence posts and pergola posts. I've seen people say this is invasive, it's a nightmare, do not plant it.

What I would like know is: how has it behaved here in this climate, in your experience? Does it cause problems, and if so what is needed to mitigate?

Thanks!

(For context I am looking for a vine to provide shade over a pergola. so far, 3-year old honeysuckles haven't progressed more than 1-2 feet on the roof of the pergola; silver lace was fast but created too much litter on the chairs/table/food when in flower; the clematises have been sparse or died back and aren't up to the pergola roof yet; I don't like how the beetles destroy virginia creeper.)