Winter Interest

Mahonia repens

Or, just interesting because it is winter and it is cold and almost everything else is a dreary brown, except for the snow.

On the Dry Hillside

Ratibida columnifera

Sunny, hot and dry. The south facing slope down to the road is brutal to plants. The soil is crushed granite, once disturbed by the grading for the road cut. Elk traverse along it in the fall and early spring, browsing as they go. Moose, too. Seeding in early winter is the way to go - I try to time it with the first snow. However, the most creative and fun way to go is to let children throw mud balls made of topsoil and seed down the slopes. We did this with my willing niece and nephew, a bucket of damp soil with native wild flower seed mixed in and the thing that tosses tennis balls for dogs. The Mexican Hats above sprouted from that activity the following summer. It did take a few years for the plants to really show themselves, but we have Penstemon, Gilia, Rudbeckia, and lots of flax now. And, of course, no water but rain.

The Dog and the Meadow

Helenium hoopesii

Vines in the High Country

Clematis columbiana

Tumbling down a rock ledge along the roadside, this clematis doesn't really climb, but rambles and leans on its neighbors. Cascading down a rock retaining wall would be a fun place to try this in the landscape.

Fairy-Slipper Orchids in the Gore Range

Calypso bulbosa var. americana

Local Flora

Jeeping up the road along Haystack Mountain near Green Mountain Reservoir this spring found the most splendid dry meadows in the draws between the ridges.

The perfect combination where Lupine and Arrowleaf Balsamroot were prevalent. In some areas, Serviceberry rounded out the mix, gradually giving way to the ridges that were dominated by sage and grassland.