Western Flower Gardening
Let’s up your flower game!
Hi there, I’m Ann. I help budding western gardeners learn western flower gardening without all the guessing and overwhelm, so they can create 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. 🌻
Create a western flower garden you love
Dig into these free tools to grow long-lasting flowers
What’s your flowerpot personality? Find out here! You’ll get flower suggestions that match.
Discover 10 of the best long-blooming flowers for the semi-arid West, and enjoy months of color!
Find out 7 ways that gardening in Colorado is dramatically different than other regions.
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 cocktails and laugh about how easy flower gardening is.
That isn’t Colorado, Utah 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 & Utah even if:
- You’re new to 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 rookie gardeners here. 🌻
If we haven’t said hello on a Colorado hiking trail …
Hi there, I’m Ann
Certified Colorado Gardener, Freelance Garden Writer and Dog Mama
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.
I became a Certified Colorado Gardener through the Colorado State University Extension, and God knows, I’ve learned A LOT through 19 years of hands-on 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?
Go from, “I hope this grows,” to, “I’ve totally got this”
Get my latest flower gardening tips
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Is It Better to Empty Your Flowerpots in the Spring or Fall?
I used to leave everything in my flowerpots until spring. The whole shebang. Dead flowers, old potting soil, all of it. And for a few years, everything was fine. But then, I started to notice problems when I planted my flowers in the spring. Some of my newly-planted...
5 Drought-Tolerant Spring Flowers for Sunny, Dry Gardens (That Get Planted in Fall)
Most of these spring flowers are low maintenance too! Let’s say you want to add a splash of color to your spring garden, but you live someplace dry, like Colorado or Utah. It would be nice to find spring flowers that don’t need a lot of watering, right? (Less work for...