Create a Western Flower Garden You Love
Hi there, I’m Ann. I help western flower gardeners create more beauty with less effort, so they can enjoy outdoor spaces that have friends saying, “Wowww!”
If you’ve ever admired your neighbors’ gardens and thought, “I wish I could do that,”
you’re in the right place. 🌻
Find inspiration for your western garden
Enjoy MONTHS of color with these 10 long-blooming perennials for the semi-arid West.
Find out 7 ways that gardening in Colorado is dramatically different than other regions.
Enjoy gorgeous flowerpots with 12 annuals that can actually handle the afternoon heat!
It’s not you …
It’s flower gardening in the West
You know those parts of the country where you dig a few holes, plop in plants and watch them grow into a lush jungle?
All the while, you sip chilled beverages and laugh about how easy flower gardening is.
That isn’t Colorado or the interior west. 🙂
Located in the semi-arid, high steppe of North America, we have unique conditions for growing flowers. Throw in the Rocky Mountains, and well, it’s an adventure!
More like Patagonia than Pittsburgh
Did you know that our growing conditions are often more like parts of Patagonia, South Africa and Central Asia than other parts of the U.S.?
(Explains a few things, doesn’t it?)
Here’s the good news …
You CAN grow colorful flowers in western states like Colorado even if:
- You’re just getting the hang of gardening at elevation … in a semi-arid climate … with 60-degree temperature swings … and wait, is that an ELK in your yard?
- You don’t have endless hours to spend in your garden
- You don’t have a mind like Martha Stewart (nor should you have to!)
But when learning how to garden, it helps to have a guide to skip over the bumps that surprise many gardeners here. 🌻
If we haven’t said hello on a Colorado hiking trail …
Hi there, I’m Ann
Professional garden writer. Master gardener. Colorado girl.
I grew up in a family of gardeners, but when I moved west, I quickly discovered that gardening in our high-altitude, dry conditions is an adventure!
So, I became a master gardener and a professional garden writer. And I’ve learned a ton through 20 years of practice too.
When flower gardening clicks, it’s such a fun way to relax and reconnect with nature. I created Go West Gardener to help western gardeners navigate our tricky growing conditions, so you can create a flower garden you love.
“Growing flowers is so much more rewarding”
“Because of Ann’s awesome gardening tips, my annuals are lasting much longer, and my flowers are thriving. Growing flowers is so much more rewarding.”
Ana Zellars | Golden, Colorado
Western flower gardening is an adventure
Where would you like to begin? Click a category below.
Go from, “I hope this grows,” to, “I’ve totally got this”
Get my latest flower gardening tips
“What Do I Do With Tulips After They’ve Flowered?”
The tulips in your spring garden have given you gorgeous color. But what do you do with tulips after they've flowered? They're done blooming, and now your tulip leaves are turning yellow and flopping on the ground. They don't look so great. (This is normal, BTW! You...
“Why Aren’t My Ornamental Grasses Growing?”
Have you noticed... ... that some of your plants are overachievers in the spring—eager to emerge from the ground in all their leafy glory? Meanwhile, other plants don't seem to be doing much AT ALL. As plant lovers, it’s natural for us to look at the latter and...
12 Waterwise, Blue Flowers: Perennials for Western Gardens
Confession: I love blue flowers. There’s something about them that makes my heart sing. In Colorado, Utah, and similar states, we’re lucky to have a variety of waterwise, blue flowers available to us as perennials (plants that return for multiple years). Here are 12...