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Master gardener Shary Balius from Edwards volunteered her time Friday afternoon to weed a garden with low-water-use plants outside the Colorado State University Extension building in Eagle.
On a sunny day outside the Colorado State University Extension Office, a hummingbird hovered around an orange and pink honeysuckle.
The flower — called a gold flame honeysuckle — is on display in one of several new gardens outside the extension office.
Eagle County Extension Agent Laurel Potts envisioned the 2,500 square feet of demonstration gardens. She began the design work last fall and a team of volunteer gardeners have been building the beds since mid-June. Potts is the extension agent for horticulture and small acreage management.
“People need to know that there's a vast palate of plants that are truly appropriate and unique to our mountain climates; ones that in the totality of things can use less water and demand less maintenance, adhering to our goals of resource conservation while still promoting incredible aesthetics,” she said.
One of the beds is part of the “plant select” initiative, a breeding and selection program that seeks to get more plants that are good for the Rocky Mountain climate into the nursery trade. That program is a partnership between Colorado State University and the Denver Botanic Gardens.
Another bed adheres to water-wise principles. That bed showcases plants that require less watering. Lavender is just one example.
On the front lawn, a colorful garden features herbs and edible flowers. The chef at the Golden Eagle Senior Center in Eagle plans to use those plants in his cooking. Next, Potts plans a vegetable garden with produce like lettuce and spinach.
A unique team has been building the gardens. Among the volunteers are master gardeners, folks who took an 11-week class through CSU on the principals of gardening.
Master gardener Shary Balius from Edwards was volunteering her time last week to weed the water-wise garden.
“I'm a gardener at heart,” she said. “These are going to be teaching gardens to help people understand what works well in this area. We have so many people who come to this area and don't realize they can't grow what they grew out east or out west.”
Three inmates from the county jail also have been working on the gardens.
Clark Shivley, county operations and maintenance supervisor, said the inmates are working on the garden through a probation office program. For every 12 hours of work the inmates put in, they shave a day of their sentences, he said. Shivley couldn't say why the inmates were serving time, but typically the prisoners who are trusted to do community work are in for crimes like drunk driving, he said.
Balius said the inmates have been helping with work like installing an irrigation system and forming the beds.
“They were very polite and extremely responsive to what needed to be done,” she said.
The extension office stands at 441 Broadway.
The flower — called a gold flame honeysuckle — is on display in one of several new gardens outside the extension office.
Eagle County Extension Agent Laurel Potts envisioned the 2,500 square feet of demonstration gardens. She began the design work last fall and a team of volunteer gardeners have been building the beds since mid-June. Potts is the extension agent for horticulture and small acreage management.
“People need to know that there's a vast palate of plants that are truly appropriate and unique to our mountain climates; ones that in the totality of things can use less water and demand less maintenance, adhering to our goals of resource conservation while still promoting incredible aesthetics,” she said.
One of the beds is part of the “plant select” initiative, a breeding and selection program that seeks to get more plants that are good for the Rocky Mountain climate into the nursery trade. That program is a partnership between Colorado State University and the Denver Botanic Gardens.
Another bed adheres to water-wise principles. That bed showcases plants that require less watering. Lavender is just one example.
On the front lawn, a colorful garden features herbs and edible flowers. The chef at the Golden Eagle Senior Center in Eagle plans to use those plants in his cooking. Next, Potts plans a vegetable garden with produce like lettuce and spinach.
A unique team has been building the gardens. Among the volunteers are master gardeners, folks who took an 11-week class through CSU on the principals of gardening.
Master gardener Shary Balius from Edwards was volunteering her time last week to weed the water-wise garden.
“I'm a gardener at heart,” she said. “These are going to be teaching gardens to help people understand what works well in this area. We have so many people who come to this area and don't realize they can't grow what they grew out east or out west.”
Three inmates from the county jail also have been working on the gardens.
Clark Shivley, county operations and maintenance supervisor, said the inmates are working on the garden through a probation office program. For every 12 hours of work the inmates put in, they shave a day of their sentences, he said. Shivley couldn't say why the inmates were serving time, but typically the prisoners who are trusted to do community work are in for crimes like drunk driving, he said.
Balius said the inmates have been helping with work like installing an irrigation system and forming the beds.
“They were very polite and extremely responsive to what needed to be done,” she said.
The extension office stands at 441 Broadway.
