Welcome Springtime!

Bulbs planted last fall are the early taste of spring.


Spring's eruption in sensational color is a jolt to the senses. Wow! It's all around us--up in the pear trees, down in the tulips and grape hyacinths and at eye level in the forsythia.

The gift of spring is way and above what the other seasons have to offer. Spring color is our reward for making it through yet another Colorado winter. So savor it, smell it, indulge in its sheer bliss.

Also, be thankful to Mother Nature who knows, just like all good mothers, that too much of a good thing is a spoiler. She lets us have dessert first, but then moves us through the seasons to a more refined diet.

Her strategy is smart because the burst of spring wets our appetites to get outside and motivates us to plant.

So if we're going to plant, we need to think about what those plants will be. What do we want to see growing around us and enjoy during the other seasons? What plants will thrive in the sizzle of summer? What should we plant now to give us the subdued shades of fall? What will enhance the cold subtleties of winter?

To help you explore some of the options, ALCC offers a new photo gallery, Plants for All Seasons, where you can find ideas for plants that will colorize your landscape all year long. We are grateful to Colorado State University and Plant Select for sharing plants they have developed that are so very suitable for Colorado's growing conditions and that require minimal water. These are plants to spiff up and round out any landscape.

One month from now, we'll be planting petunias. Two months from now, we can plant anything. Between now and then, enjoy spring and decide what you'll plant this year to enhance your outdoor world.

Photo courtesy Lauren Bloom, Colorado Concrete and Landscape.

Tip of the Week reprinted courtesy of Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) of which Foothills Landscape Maintenance, LLC is a member. ALCC is the only only professional organization for Colorado's landscape contracting industry statewide.
Tip of the Week is copyrighted by Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado and may be forwarded or copied by its members provided proper credit is given to ALCC.