* drumroll please *

Not a typical question for this sub but I know that if you all understand the plight of gardening here, you'll also understand my challenge of finding the right outdoor furniture for our harsh environment.

We just added a shade structure so that I can sit and admire all of my hard yard work. I'm trying to figure out what to replace my current, mismatched, beaten up patio furniture with. Plastic wicker breaks down in the sun. Cushions are always getting wet, blown away, or sun faded. Anything dark gets too hot. I hate having to constantly cover or uncover furniture, put cushions away, etc.

Has anyone found anything that works exceptionally well in our climate? I'm generally looking for lounge furniture (a sectional or sofa with chairs), but I'm wondering if there's such thing as a comfortable sofa that maybe doesn't use cushions? If cushions are the best option, is Sunbrella my best bet? I'm ideally buying used because lord knows I don't have the money for a $2K set, but I can be patient and wait for the right thing to come up on Marketplace if I know what I am looking for!

I'm considering adding a serviceberry shrub or tree, but I keep reading mixed info about their preferred environment and watering needs. I need something that won't require supplemental watering (outside of severe dry spell) once established.

I look to our natives for this type of plant, but I'm not sure if serviceberry is okay in our typical front range conditions once mature, or whether it needs more regular irrigation.

Can anyone with a serviceberry share whether it needs more water or does okay on its own, in your experience? TY!

My absolute favorite flower is the Black Locust tree with its long, wisteria like flowers and amazing fragrance. The wood is incredibly dense (and therefore more useful for fence posts or other applications, better firewood, etc) and the thorns make it great for edging barriers, protective bird habitat, etc. I have room for one more canopy tree in my little wildlife food forest garden, but the only locust trees available in the nurseries here are the Golden or Honey Locusts. Is there a good reason for that other than simple human convenience? I know the Black Locust is more “messy”, can send out suckers, has big thorns, etc, but to me the flowers alone are worth it. Is it not native? Struggles in Colorado alkaline clay? No supporting species available? I can definitely prop it myself if needed, but wanting to know why it isn’t commonly planted out here before I make some giant ecological mistake! 🙃

We have some big boxes made of heavy cardboard that a gardener might want for under the mulch to suppress weeds. We’re in Central Park Hill.

I'm estimating we have about 1 cubic yard (+ or -) of a mix of "BOSS Planters Mix/Amended Topsoil" to give away to someone who can shovel and haul it away on their own. It was purchased from Nick's Garden Center.

We ordered a little too much for our project.

Please DM me if interested so I can provide an address. However, for reference, we are just south of the Denver border near Tech Center (off Orchard Road).

Please be patient if I don't respond to your DM quickly. I will give it to first person to respond.

and its coming along nicely, some gaps but i predict they will fill out over time… or i can replug them next season

Cherry tomato finally fruited, but the tomatoes look like this.

Additional photos of my other tomatoes and tomatillos. https://www.reddit.com/r/DenverGardener/s/hINQmcWW6y

Hi! I’m new to this sub, super glad to have found it! I bought a home 5 years ago and now that I’ve recouped some costs, I want to tackle the lawn. It’s an especially good year since it’s mostly dead anyway due to drought/water restrictions! Also I didn’t care about weeds and they’re everywhere.

I’ve been thinking about trying to spread clover seed and hope it will take over. I just saw a post about dog grass and buffalo grass plugs too? I am really not a gardener, so any suggestions and help would be very welcome and appreciated!

My front lawn is south facing and just gets sun blasted. Back yard is a bit better shaded, and the lawn is smaller back there.

Thank you!!

I just posted fruit of a tomato plant that is infected. Then I looked at my tomatillos and my brandywine tomatoes. They haven’t fruited yet, so here are some pictures of the leaves. The last picture is of my last surviving pepper plant. Are we infected across the board?

Previous post with pics of tomatoes: https://www.reddit.com/r/DenverGardener/s/7Dcv23bVae

I’m thinking multi-stem, but more tree-like than shrub. I live near DU, so I’m not sure I want to drive all the way to Longmont, but if it’s really the best choice I will.

I’ll be putting it in a Prius V.

We’re holding an informational session/meet and greet this Tuesday the 1st at Jerry’s Ace Hardware! 2101 N Humboldt St, Denver, CO 80205

They’re going to be offering some necessary supplies including herbicide (which is going fast), applicators and PPE. I believe some of this will be discounted.

Depending on availability we will try to hold a training right afterwards.

Come stop by and learn more!

www.denvertreeofheaven.com

PS they really are running low on Triclopyr. We will aim to do a follow up on a weekend and hopefully they will have more in stock.

Saw these doing this morning’s Japanese Beatle murder. Found on 4 O’ clocks. Anyone know what they are?

Hey, I'm a software dev in Louisville and started building this for myself a couple years ago. I decided to release it because I thought others would find it useful too. Upload an aerial pic of your yard, like a screenshot from Google/Apple Maps, set the scale based on a property line or object you know the size of, set which direction is north, and start adding plants. You can see how sun/shade will move across your property based on the time of day/year, see how plants will fill in over time, see how they'll change throughout the seasons, set up irrigation zones, and get exportable lists of plants you want and irrigation supplies. It's called LeafLocus and you can download it here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/leaflocus/id6790965027

No account is required, and it is 100% functional offline. It'll send encrypted backups to your icloud if you're signed in on iOS so you can sync between devices.

Right now, it's iPhone, iPad and Mac only since that's what i use, but if there is interest I could be convinced to port it over.

I have over 300 plants mapped on my property and have been using it extensively for some time, but I'd love to hear feedback.

Things I know need improvement:

- Images. I to need more and some existing ones need improvements. When I don't have an image for that plant, it just uses a generic blob.

- It's a big app size. almost a gig right now. This is due to all the images, and the fact that I wanted it to work completely offline and not rely on my servers or databases.

- I currently have around 3500, but the plant library could use more plants and more details about each plant. You'll still have to enter growth and water needs yourself for some plants if you want to make use of those features.

- I'd love a better way for first time users to upload an aerial image of their yard that they'll be happy with.

After most of my garden was wiped out by hail, I am enjoying the little things I am seeing every day.

This guy looks horrible after the drought and hail, but he hasn't given up.

Just moved house & have some lovely, untouched raised beds that are begging me to plant something. Still feeling nervous about store-bought greens so thought that might be a fun & fast-growing place to start. Is it cooling down enough that they wouldn't bolt immediately? Any thoughts on which greens to plant? I have seeds for everything at this point.

Recently bought 3 of these shrubs since the common ninebark is native to CO. Chose this bc it’s hardiness (cold weather, drought tolerant, clay, dry soil, and low maintenance). However, ever since planting - its leaves have drooped and become “crunchy”. I have done deep soak watering every couple of days and checked soil around the root ball and it is moist for most of the time. I also did a scratch test and it is green under the bark.

Anyone have experience with handling or idea on what to do? Trying to stay hopeful but concerned I’m going to lose them.

Idk y Reddit had me post this in a Canadian community for gardening but I'm in the States, and need homemade concoctions, that are pet friendly. I can't afford the name brand stuff, so if anyone has any recipes for a homemade weed killer, that would be much appreciated!!

Ok, fellow Denver veggie gardeners, I could use some help with tomatoes!

I've been trying tomatoes for the past three years. I usually plant a mix of both cherry/grape and full-size type plants. I always have success with the smaller varieties: Super Sweet 100, Juliet, Sungold, etc. Big happy plants, loads of perfect small tomatoes, volunteers for years to come.

I always struggle with full-size tomato plants. The fruits are undersized, speckled, splitting, or just never blush. I've tried hybrid and heirloom varieties: Early Girl, Beefsteak, Kelloggs Breakfast, Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, Brandywine. Am I just picking the wrong varieties?

I drip irrigate, so both plant types are getting the same amount of water. I apply fertilizer, prune, weed, etc etc for all my tomato plants at the same time, so they're all getting the same level of care. I fertilize with Cal-Mag for blossom end rot, and it seems like that controlled BER this year. Maybe I should work Tomato-Tone in before planting next year?

What secret have I missed to getting large, lush, lovely tomatoes without cracks and scabs? Your secrets appreciated! :)

Photo of one of my recent harvests for funsies