September 11-14
Lima Plaza Pollinator Garden Planting
Call us to find out more!
303-730-1920
September 19
Trees and Woody Plants Care, Hudson Gardens
October 15
Preparing Your Garden For Winter, Hudson Gardens
November 2
Beauty and the Bees: Designing Your Landscape with Native Plants for Pollinators, Hudson Gardens
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Connect with Colorado Master Gardeners working in the community at these events:
Volunteer Office Hours
Now through October 11
M-F, 10 am - 2 pm
Demonstration Gardens
Visit gardens around the county that are maintained by Colorado Master Gardeners. Catch them working on scheduled days!
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Plant Spring Flowering Bulbs in the Fall
By Carol Gilmore, Colorado Master Gardener
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Photo credit: Carol Gilmore
September and October are the time to plant bulbs for beautiful spring blossoms. The bright colors of crocus in early spring, the nodding blooms of yellow daffodils and the vivid-hued tulips at Easter can only be enjoyed if these bulbs are planted in the fall.
PURCHASING
Shop local garden centers now to get the first pick of flowering bulbs. Find the biggest bulb for the variety and hand-select individual bulbs to ensure they are free from defects. Unique, specialty or hard-to-find bulbs can be purchased from mail order bulb catalogs.
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VARIETIES
The large showy Dutch or Darwin tulip may be what first comes to mind when growing bulbs in the garden. These don’t always grow well in the Front Range climate so they may need re-planted every few years. Some bulbs do better than others in terms of naturalizing to become a permanent part of the landscape. Crocus, daffodils, grape hyacinths and species tulips are good for naturalizing and spreading.
Click below for more on varieties, planting, care, and maintenance!
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Volunteer Spotlight: Jeff Cole
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Colorado Master Gardener℠ (CMG) volunteers are a dedicated group of individuals that are knowledgeable and passionate about sharing gardening, landscape and horticulture education. This month, we are highlighting Jeff Cole!
When did you join the Colorado Master Gardener program?
“2012.”
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Why did you join the program?
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I have a degree in Biology and have always been interested in plants. I saw this as an opportunity to learn more about plants and help people learn more about gardening."
What is your favorite activity?
"I enjoy answering people's questions about gardening, whether it be at a garden center, a demonstration garden, on the phone, or online. I also like plant diagnostics where we try to figure out what is ailing a plant."
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Silo Shares the Bounty
By Judy Kunz, CMG
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Give Master Gardeners some open ground, a few seed packets and a job to do and they’ll turn that space into a productive garden.
That’s just what CSU Arapahoe County Master Gardeners have been doing since 2012 at Silo Park vegetable demonstration garden in Greenwood Village.
In partnership with the City of Greenwood Village, Master Gardeners plan, plant and maintain the 2,200 square foot garden and harvest the vegetables, fruit and herbs grown there. They have steadily increased the yield each year and have harvested a total of approximately 8,800 pounds of produce, donating it to feed the hungry.
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The Lima Plaza Pollinator Garden is Underway!
By Lucinda Greene, Colorado Master Gardener℠ Program Coordinator
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The Lima Plaza Pollinator Garden is underway! After several months dedicated to design, planning, development approvals, fundraising, and bidding the Colorado Master
Gardener℠
Volunteers in Arapahoe County are ready to start the planting the garden. Groundbreaking is set for 9/11/2019 at 8:00 a.m.
The Lima Plaza Pollinator Garden is a 2200 square foot space surrounding the CSU Extension office in Arapahoe County. This teaching garden is designed to provide education about the impact of pollinators in our ecosystem, the use of native and low-water plants that can attract pollinators, and alternative uses for non-practical turf areas.
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Part of the land grant university mission is to bring the latest research to our community and part of my job as an Extension Agent is to help facilitate that process. I want to share a recent experience I had on the front lines of research.
In July, I had the privilege of participating in the International Pollinator Conference in Davis, California. Researchers and land managers from all over the world gathered together to discuss the challenges facing pollinators. I was amazed to hear about the great work being done in the United Kingdom, Germany, Thailand, Australia, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Sweden, and France.
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Lisa Mason
CSU Extension Horticulture Agent
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A two-tailed swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata) pollinating a Rocky Mountain penstemon (Penstemon strictus) flower. Photo: Lisa Mason
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While the feeling at times was hopeful and inspiring, I think all attendees recognize that more work still needs to be done to protect pollinators, which are critical to the planet’s ecosystems and human survival.
Here are some of the top areas of research and a few of my take-home messages from the conference. . .
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Fall Lawn Care
To-Do List
By Martha Kirk, CMG
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Mowing
Mow the lawn at the same height (2 ½” to 3”) all year; no need to mow shorter in the fall. Remove just 1/3 of the turf height each mowing.
Core Cultivation
Aerate the lawn early September to mid-October. Water the lawn 2-3 days in advance to soften the ground and achieve deeper plugs. Fertilizer application and overseeding can be done at this time.
Fertilizing
The most important nutrient for lawns is nitrogen. If fertilization is done only once per year, the best time is the fall (October-November) when the grass is still green. Always water well after applying fertilizer.
Overseeding
Fall is a good time to overseed if the lawn has patchy spots. The soil is warm so germination will happen quickly. Prep the area by creating multiple holes in the turf. This can be done manually with a garden fork or with a core cultivator.
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A Closer Look
By Donnetta Wilhelm, CMG
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Damselfly, photo by Martha Kirk
Dragonflies and damselflies belong to the insect order Odonata. Odonata means “toothed one” in Greek which refers to the insect's chewing mouth parts. There are currently 108 species of dragonflies and damselflies known in the state of Colorado. Dragonflies hold their wings horizontally and outstretched when they are resting, while damselflies hold their wings together and above their bodies when at rest.
Dragonflies are the top insect predators of the air and are capable of feeding on dozens of mosquitoes, midges and gnats in a short period of time.
Source: Guide to Colorado Insects by Whitney Cranshaw and Boris Kondratieff
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Arapahoe County Master Gardeners in the Community
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The Master Gardeners have been busy educating the community in a variety of ways including staffing booths at local garden centers, managing the demonstration gardens and working the help desk. Here are a few other events that the Master Gardeners participated in this summer.
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Apprentices Ellen and Renee, and Master Gardener, Deena, staff the Floriculture Open Class competition at the Arapahoe County Fair. The Floriculture and Horticulture Open Class competitions offer a chance for residents to show off their prized flowers and vegetables.
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Master Gardeners Zandy, Sandy, Janet, and Barb enthusiastically hold up a bag of over 5,000 Japanese beetles. They are counting the beetles in research traps twice a week at Hudson Gardens and Sterne Park. The data will contribute to Dr. Cranshaw’s research on Japanese beetles biocontrols.
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Apprentice Colleen educates people about the importance of pollinators at the Parker Honey Festival. The booth featured native bees, honey bees and other pollinator specimens to give attendees a close-up look at bees they can observe in their own gardens.
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Arapahoe County and Douglas County staff and Master Gardeners provide seeds and information at the Gregory Alan Isakov concert at Red Rocks. Gregory Alan Isakov, a musician and local farmer, endorsed the Master Gardener program at the concert by playing a promotional video.
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PHONE
(303) 730-1920
EMAIL
CSU-Extension@ArapahoeGov.com
LOCATION
6934 S. Lima St., Suite B
Centennial, CO 80112
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CSU Extension programs are available to all without discrimination.
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