Western Gardening Blog

Inspiring western gardeners to grow beautiful flowers with less effort in Colorado, Utah & the intermountain west

The latest flower tips

“Hardening” Flowers: How to Get Flowers Ready to Plant Outside

You’re at the store this spring, and colorful flowers catch your eye. It’s natural to want to drive straight home and plant them. Bring on the curb appeal! But hold up... Before you plant your flowers, it's a good idea to help them adjust to outdoor conditions first....

Pansies: A Colorful Flower for Your Spring Flowerpots in Colorado

Are you feeling adventurous this spring? Want to add a splash of color to your flowerpots? Get to know pansies — a type of viola! These early spring flowers can add a BIG pop of color to your Colorado garden, especially if you're ready to kiss winter goodbye. You may...

3 Popular Spring Gardening Questions (for Colorado & the West)

This article was first published in March 2023. Enjoy! We’ve entered that time of the year in Colorado and the intermountain west when we tend to bounce between seasons, like animated 5-year-olds jumping around wildly in an inflatable bounce house. Winter! Spring!...

How Can You Tell If a Perennial Is ‘Marginally Cold Hardy?’

It was a winter week to make a gardener shudder. In February 2021, an arctic blast covered the western United States like a frosty ice pack from the kitchen freezer. Where I live in Colorado, the high temperature for several days was a not-so-balmy zero degrees. The...

VIDEO: What Are the Best Flowers to Grow in Containers for Showy Color?

You want to add a big splash of color to your front porch or back deck this summer (“heyyy, neighbors!”), but you’re just getting the hang of flower gardening. You may find yourself with a lot of questions swirling around your brain. This is normal! In this week’s...

Where to Buy Flower Plants (That Last) for Your Western Garden

Buying flower plants at your local home improvement store is definitely convenient. But did you know you have other options on where to buy flowers for your garden in western states like Colorado, Utah and Wyoming? Let's say you'd like to find unusual flowers in...

Garden Lingo Bingo: Understanding Annuals vs Perennials

As you start to learn more about gardening, you'll likely find yourself playing a game of, "garden lingo bingo." And you will definitely see the garden terms, "annual" and perennial," somewhere on your bingo card. In this week's tip, you'll get the scoop on: What's an...

“Why Should I Plant Flower Pots This Summer?”

If you’re wondering, "Why should I plant flower pots this summer?", here are 8 reasons to dig into this awesome hobby this year. #1: Planting flowers reduces stress and makes you feel better. Studies show that getting out in nature calms us and makes us feel better....

Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia): An Easy-to-Grow Flower for Late Summer

Looking for an easy-to-grow flower that gives you big, pretty color in the late summer? I'd like to introduce you to Black-Eyed Susan (officially, Rudbeckia — Rude-bek-ee-uh). It also goes by the name: Gloriosa Daisy. There are many reasons to love this flower. In...

Where to Buy Plants That Are Safe for Bees in Colorado and the West

Did you know that flowers and plants from the garden center often have a pesticide in them that can be toxic to bees? "What, whaaaaaaaat?" That pretty much sums up my reaction when I realized that my last impulse purchase was harmful to bees. If you want to create a...

Find a Botanical Garden Near You in Colorado, Utah & the Intermountain West

Walk among the flowers and feel your stress lift away! Visiting a local botanical garden is a wonderful way to relax in nature and find inspiration for your own garden. Many local botanical gardens feature beautiful flowers, shrubs and trees that grow well in our...

A Simple Hack for a Beautiful Western Garden (to Do in Winter)

I’d like to interrupt the depths of winter to bring you visions of summer. And flowers. And things that are green. (Remember the color green?) Let’s say you want to add gorgeous perennials to your yard for this coming summer, so your neighbors stop to look… flowers...