<p>This is a great time of year for gathering ideas for the upcoming planting season.</p>
<p>One of the great ways is to take advantage of the many seminars offered at local nurseries and Garden & Home shows.</p>
<h4> I attended a garden seminar at Tagawa Gardens in Parker, Colorado last Saturday it was conducted by Denver Botanic Garden’s Senior Curator Panayoti Kelaidis</h4>
<p> His subject title was “Rock Gardens and Alpine Plants; Bringing The Rocky’s Home.”</p>
<p>He was very funny and laughter added to my enjoyment of the topic. He also offered some great ideas for implementing a Rock Garden and the types of plants best for our region.</p>
<p>I thought I would share some of my brief notes</p>
<p><strong>Planning an Alpine Garden - General</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Be Bold not Boring Create don’t just plant</strong></li>
<li>Alpines are <strong>Stepp</strong> Plants grown on Mountains and Plains</li>
<li>Big this year is Crevice Gardening
<ul>
<li>Reminder Not much soil</li>
<li>Loam, grit(pebbles), Compost (may include some clay if needed)</li>
<li>The more you like to water the more sand and grit you need</li>
<li>If you water a lot you need to fertilize more often</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Select Plants <strong>that suit your</strong> soil, location/climate/eco zone</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Things to Consider before Planting</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Soil type you have – Alkaline or Acid, clay, sand etc</li>
<li>Aspect – What you see --- Shade, sun, variable, extremes</li>
<li>Drainage – Consider a slope or berm best for alpines</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Alpine design</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Mood - Overall feel of you want to obtain- geometric, serene, pastoral, formal</li>
<li>Theme – Colors, English, Oriental</li>
<li>Atmosphere – relaxed, formal, alpine</li>
</ul>
<p><strong> Essence of a garden – you need to plot out</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>A View – not just what you see up close (Vignettes Sheltered spots)
<ul>
<li>but what you can see in the distance above/behind</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>A Path – draws deep into the heart</li>
<li>A Shelter – a place rest to enjoy</li>
</ul>
<p> <strong>When starting from Scratch Plan to include:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Paths</li>
<li>Ramble</li>
<li>Vista</li>
<li>Barriers and interest</li>
</ul>
<p> <strong>Types of good plants to use</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Height</li>
<li>Cushion</li>
<li>Mat forming</li>
<li>Bulbs</li>
<li>Spreaders</li>
</ul>
<p> <strong>Mentioned some good for Rocky Mountain area gardens</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Many are grown in the mountain and plains areas of the Rockys</li>
<li>Desert Primrose and Birdcage Plant.(<em>Oenothera deltoids)</em></li>
<li><em>Gentians Barbalotta?</em></li>
<li><em>Columbines</em></li>
<li><em>Delphiniums</em></li>
<li><em>Clematis – dwarf ground growing</em></li>
<li><em>tamrisk bulbs</em></li>
<li><em>Sempervivum and other succulents such as sedum and ice plants<br /></em></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: center;">He is going to do a blog on the Denver Botanical Garden site to give more information. Watch this spot:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.botanicgardens.org/blog/authors/kelaidip">http://www.botanicgardens.org/blog/authors/kelaidip</a></p>
<p> Not the actual pictures he showed but similar plants to consider:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">
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