Your Guide to Spring Gardening in Boulder

1. To pick the right locations for your garden, check the amount of sun that your plants require to ensure they get enough sun.
   
   
2. Resist the urge to do too much tidying! Cavity nesting insects make their home inside the hollow stems of plants and wait for consistent warm temperatures to emerge. Additionally, many ground-nesting insects need leaf litter and a bit of bare ground! So: wait to prune and try not to rake up all the leaves any time of year!
   
   
3. Prep your soil by adding compost or use raised bed kits from garden centers to avoid any soil challenges.
   
   
4. Wait to cut down dandelions. They are another great way to help out native pollinators as it is one of their earliest food sources.
   
   
5. Plant your cool-season plants (such as sweet peas, lettuce, radishes, and parsley) from April 15 to May 15.
   
   
6. Plant your warm-season plants (such as tomatoes, basil, peppers, and squash) from May 15 to June 15. Colorado rule of thumb, after Mother’s Day!
   
   
7. Instead of grass lawns, improve the biodiversity of your space and save water by planting with native flowers which benefit the environment and pollinators.
   
   
8. Water your plants at the stem with one inch of water each week.
   
   
   
9. Include native flowers in your vegetable garden to draw in beneficial insects to pollinate them and to save on water.
   
   
10. Visit the City’s webpage on Gardening with Native Plants and go plant shopping with the Colorado Native Plant Society’s list of recommended plants for horticulture.

Boulder Public Library offers a handful of events designed to jump-start your garden and learn further details regarding the above tips.

Creating Habitat Gardens and Food Forests

Thursday, April 27, 2023, from 6-7 p.m. - George Reynolds Meeting Room, George Reynolds Branch Library

In this class, Gayle and one of the designers with Water It With Love will discuss various habitat gardens based on the local eco-system, including top plant choices that are most beneficial to those habitats. Another popular approach is to create a food forest with polyculture gardens, so we will briefly discuss the layers of the forest garden and unique food options that grow extremely well in our environment. Class attendees can co-create a design mock-up for their very own habitat garden or food forest!

Intro to Permaculture: Gardening in Small Spaces
Monday, May 1, 2023, from 5-6 p.m. - Edible Learning Garden, Main Library

Sometimes, we don’t have a yard to grow food, and that is okay! In this class in the we will share ecological garden ideas for small spaces. Examples include container gardens, vertical growing options, and indoor plants. We’ll cover low-water tips and a few ways to process the harvest with the most basic diy kitchen supplies. 1 hour class. Ages 18+

BeeChicas: Meet the Bees

Wednesday, May 10, 2023, from 4-5 p.m.

Join the BeeChicas and CU entomologist, Virginia Scott, to meet the spring native bees in the native plant garden! Learn to observe and identify different species of native bees, honey bees, wasps, and flies. You may get a chance to hold and pet a drone bee. Plan to be outside for an hour! Adult helper required for children under 12. Please register each person attending the event.

Plant Swap

Saturday, May 13, 2023, from 1-3 p.m. - Meadows Branch Meeting Room, Meadows Branch Library

Overwhelmed with extra tomato seedlings? Need a home for your bonus zinnias? Native plants bursting out of their seed beds? Bring all your extra seedlings and small plants to swap and share with the community! All ages welcome. Feel free to stop by even if you don’t have any plants to share, there are sure to be extras! Note: all plants must be labeled with type and variety. No noxious weeds can be exhanged at the swap.