August in Colorado generally means that your vegetable crops should be getting close to harvest. How can you tell? Here are some general guidelines to follow for harvesting your vegetables. Steps for Harvesting Ripe crops should be identifiable based on color, size, and texture. They will be firm but tender. Bigger is not always better. Pull crops such as zucchini, squash, cucumbers when they are between... Read More
As the heat of the summer carries on everyone seems to scatter to a local pool or vacation away from home. Remembering that the heat of summer is also tough on our pollinators who visit our gardens daily. We can keep them coming to feast as long as we provide clean feeders and a must, WATER! Hummingbird Feeder Care – The best choices to feed... Read More
Japanese Beetles & Control Japanese beetles are coming! They can be very damaging to plants, especially roses, grape vines, Virginia creeper vines. Adults feed on leaves, buds and flowers of many common garden and landscape plants. Feeding on leaves is usually restricted to the softer tissues between the larger leaf veins, which results in a characteristic feeding pattern known and described as ‘skeletonizing’. More generalized... Read More
Imagine a little taste of the tropics on your patio this summer. If you are considering a climbing vine for the summer, Bougainvillea would be a great addition. Creek Side offers several different colors in a 10” pot fastened to a trellis. Our plants are in full bloom now and will bloom all summer in a sunny location. Stop by to see for yourself! In... Read More
Adding flowers to the vegetable garden not only adds colorful interest but will help your garden stay healthy by attracting beneficial insects or discouraging harmful insects. While there are many good reasons to go natural in the garden, the resounding reason that every gardener can get on board with is that it just makes gardening easier and more abundant. When flowers are coupled with all-natural... Read More
Tomatoes are easy to love and easy to grow. Here are a few tips for planting them, getting you on your way to this summer’s bumper crop. Get Off to a Great Start Choose healthy starts. Grow your own from seed or pick up starter plants at Creek Side Gardens offering small, medium, large and extra-large plant selections. Know where you’re going to plant and... Read More
A low maintenance vegetable garden A vegetable garden isn’t a no-maintenance space, but with a little planning, soil care, good site selection, and smart crop choices it can certainly be a lower maintenance garden. If you’re new to gardening or just tight on time, keep it simple and keep it small. You can grow a lot of food in a single raised bed or a few... Read More
A great gift to both give and receive is a houseplant. Houseplants are beautiful, lush, lively and almost universally adored. When choosing a gift, we can be tempted to choose plants that are striking or exotic or blooming. We can take it a step further and hunt for a houseplant which conveys symbolism and sentiment for the intended recipient. Aglaonema The Aglaonema, or Chinese evergreen,... Read More
Container gardening is very popular, especially for gardeners with no yards or limited growing area in the ground. All types of plants may be grown in containers. Annual flowers, herbs and vegetables work very well because their growing will be over at the end of the summer season. Your containers can then be replanted the following season with a fresh planting. Perennials, shrubs and trees... Read More
Vegetable varieties – what is tried and true and what is something new to explore. Get outside your comfort zone and branch into varieties you may not have tried. Tomatoes What is an heirloom? An heirloom tomato is an old variety that has not been hybridized. What does determinate and indeterminate mean? A determinate variety means that it will grow to it’s ‘determined’ height. Indeterminate... Read More
