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Wild Bee Garden!

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2025 Wheat Ridge Garden Tour

Buy 2025 WR Garden Tour Tickets

Sponsored by the Wheat Ridge Grange. Scheduled for July12, 2025.

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WR Garden Tour – Perennials List

Click here to download the perennials garden plant list (mostly the plants in front yard).

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WR Garden Tour – Veg Garden List

Click here to download the vegetable garden plant list (mostly the plants in back yard).

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Photo Gallery: How the Garden Developed 2011 to 2023

2011 Before the garden
2011 Before the garden
2011 Before the garden
2011 Before the garden
Before the garden
A color border was added with purple cone flower
The border was expanded to include the front walkway
Daisies and calendula were added
The garden in the backyard began with some raised beds
The backyard garden area was scraped to get started
Using mulch in the beds and for the walkways
In fall of 2014 the front yard was converted to garden
The plan was to remove the grass, mix in compost, and cover with mulch
The team got to work and was able to finish the project in one day
The team used a sod-cutter to remove the grass in rolls
Some of the neighbors took the sod rolls
The first truck delivery of mulch
The Amur Flame Maple was installed
It took an entire team to place the Amur Flame Maple
Buying a large tree was worth it in terms of getting a good start
The mulch was spread out by hand
Side view
The rustic fence was laid out
The fence helped to define planting areas but also helped with introducing a little shade for roots of plants in the hottest zone
The early garden looked a little sparse
The rustic fence looked bare in the beginning, but eventually filled in and looked better
The next year more plants were added around the fence
Focus on ornamentals
Additional shrubs and small trees
The cottonwod stump came from a tree that was taken down on Saulsbury St
The central planter was added
By 2016 the garden is beginning to take on more character
The side of the house before the garden
The Saskatoon bushes were added to the side of the house
Saskatoon Berry in bloom
The crabapple as a young tree
The backyard vegetable garden was also expanded in 2016
Another project to remove sod
Sod rolls were shared with neighbors
Plum and peach trees were planted
The young peach tree
Fruit trees were added in the new garden zone
The fence was expanded to be able to keep the dogs out of the fruit and vegetable area
The fruit trees were surrounded with some additional raised beds
Bee Crossing
Participated in the WR Garden Tour 2016
The raised beds worked pretty well but were limited in size
The vegetable garden in 2016
Spaces between the beds began to have issues with bindweed
The beds were small enough to be able to protect against hail
As the garden matured, more and more work was invested to try to keep the spaces between beds clear
Developing layered approach to the garden
In 2023 we finally broke away from using raised beds in favor of using all the space for garden and designing a way to protect against severe high temperatures
The boxes were broken up and became pathways. Fruit trees were integrated throughout the entire space to allow for rotating areas of shade throughout the day
The garden has only gotten more active and more vibrant with the changes
My constant companion, Hunter
and Sophie, the garden guard!
The new look in front yard
The new look in the back yard garden

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Recent Posts & News

West-Facing Garden

Flowers, Permaculture

Using Permaculture Principles to Design a West-Facing Garden ‘The Problem is the Solution…’ Permaculture Principle 1: Observe & Interact When I started working toward a garden on Saulsbury street, a few challenges were already very obvious. First, the front yard garden is west-facing and that means it gets the sunniest…

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Strangest Thing in the Garden

Mulch, Slime Mold

What is the Strangest Thing in the Garden? Fuligo septica “Dog Vomit Slime Mold” The garden attracts all kinds of creatures large and small. Weeds you have never seen before. Rats, mice, skunks, possums, and raccoons. Insects of all kinds. Beetles, worms, spiders, pill bugs, earwigs, bees, wasps, and more!…

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Newest Addition in the Garden

Uncategorized

The Newest Addition to the Garden … Purple Robe Locust –Controversial? Yes, I know, but hear me out. My back yard is east facing, but quite hot in the summer due to not having any trees near the house. This is great for solar panels, but not so great for…

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Over 100 Degrees at High Elevation?

Climate
When I first came to wheat Ridge, I used to worry about the cold for my garden and focused on finding cold tolerant trees and plants. But now that I have been here for 15 years of gardening, I think the heat is actually more of a challenge, especially…
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