Can't speak for Woodland Park but for most of the mountain areas most annuals can be grown you just have to start them inside and transplant. Snaps, marygolds, zinnias, petunias,nastursiums and such. Good use for that small greenhouse you will be acquiring. Probably shorter season and definitely harsher weather at times. Where there is a will there is a way. Good luck!

Welcome, Glo! This forum is a very interactive and friendly one. We have a lot of transplants like you, maybe they can help more with what they were able to bring over. That said, just about anything can be treated as an annual here, I have friends who do annual salvias and zinnias with no problems. I've been on a perennial kick for the last few years while starting up my garden and would be happy to talk perennials with you if you like.
Let us know how things are coming along, congratulations on your new home!
Amy

Thanks margaretmontana and Amy, I've been reading up on posts here and everything I can find on the area and High Country Gardens website is one of my favorites! I wintersow too and that will make it fun to have the greenhouse! Perennials, the backbone of the garden! I'd love all suggestiions! I'm bringing some of my hens and chicks (they are important to me) and seeds from just about everything I have: salvia's, red flax, shasta daisey, hyssops etc. I'm a big birdwatcher, so want to plant some shrubs and small fruit bearing trees too. It's going to be so hard to be here in MD for the next year! I'll be reading here faithfully and taking lots of notes!
So far, I've seen such wonderful comraderie here, it's just great!!!
Thanks so much.

glo

Welcome to the intermountain west. Gardening can be a challenge with the fairly short season and the lack of rain, but it just takes a little adjusting.

The first thing I'll warn you about is what I think of as "false spring" where it seems like it is nice and warm and will stay that way. If you get lulled into believing spring has sprung, you'll end up replanting after it snows again. Check with neighbors to find out when it's safe to plant.

If you like any "acid loving" plants, don't try to grow them except in containers. The soil tends to be pretty alkaline and some plants suffer from iron chlorosis as a result.

Hi, Glo, and welcome! I am a fairly new transplant, a Californian to boot. This has been my first year trying to work a garden up here and I've figured a few things out:

Always, at least during "spring" and "fall", keep a cover-up ready in case it snows, hails or frosts.

If you use mail order for trees, use a local or high-alt company.

Use mulch, for keeping in moisture and keeping out cold.

Ask lots of questions because there always seems to be an answer here!

Try to buy plants listed on the tag as "hardy".

If you ask someone at a nursery what works best in your climate, double check with another staff member, just in case.

I'm all the way up in Nederland at 8240F. and I have been able to have roses, tomatoes, strawberries, marigolds, petunias and more. My neighbor grows just about everything and her garden looks great.

Have fun here :)

Welcome, glo! Woodland Park is a lovely area. The others are giving very good practical advice. The lack of humidity will be a big adjustment too -- while it is wonderful for we humans, the aridity can real suck the life out of the plants. Don't be afraid to ask. We have a very friendly, silly and helpful group here. :)

Hi Glo,

Me too! Me too! Welcome to RMG. We could use a bit of a glo around here!

There are several other RMGÂers down in the Colorado Springs areaÂyou might want to check out the list I posted in May to see whoÂs where.

I donÂt have a whole lot to add to the advice youÂve already gotten. Maybe thisÂpansies are great when you think itÂs spring but it really isnÂt yet, and they can take any cold or snow we get after the first, sneaky, warm spell. TheyÂre good in fall too for color that persists into winterÂunless they get buried under permanent snow!

If youÂre into hen & chicks, youÂll need to plan to come to our swaps after you get out here. IÂm getting to be a little bit nutty about them tooÂlove all the different varietiesÂand since I donÂt have much room, as soon as they start to spread, I start to give them away at the swaps. IÂll have 5 or 6 different ones at the Fall Swap this Saturday. And you can pick up a bunch of other things at the swaps too, to get you started in your new yard.

Come here if you need support to get you thru your last year in MD! Non-gardening posts are welcome around here too!

WeÂre glad you found us,
Skybird

P.S. Silly, Jali? Who? Us? Silly? Chirp, chirp! ThatÂs an inside joke, Glo. YouÂll be around next spring when she starts chirping again!

Y'all are sooo helpful! I will be printing lots of posts and keeping them in a notebook for future reference. For the most part, I'll want lots of natives. But... also lots of hummingbird and butterfly flowers, so I figure the first couple of years will be a trial and error proposition. The good thing is, finding all of you here and knowing that help is just a post away!
bpgreen, how do fight that iron chlorosis thingy?
jaliranchr, when we were in WP for the closing on the house, we spent quite a bit of time just reveling in "our" house and yard and hot tub... I figured out really fast that the humidity is way lower that what we have here in the hot and sticky mid-atlantic climate! wow! it will take getting used to!
skybird, I love hens & chicks! I only have one kind right now, but they are the most prolific little babies I've ever seen. I've given so many away already! I have some in a strawberry pot and it's so full it needs some attention but at this point, I'm just figuring a way to take it with me as is!!!
Winter sowing has been one of the most enjoyable things I've found, so I'm hoping to continue when we move! My home here has so much salvia coccinea (Lady in Red) and coral nymph salvia it's almost over whelming (however you spell that) but I've got tons of seeds and I just bought a bunch of seeds (shasta daisy, red flax etc.) from Cheapseeds.com and some from valueseeds.com that I'll be w/s this winter and I'll be saving lots of seeds to experiment with the next year in WP. I can't wait!!!

glo

bpgreen, how do fight that iron chlorosis thingy?

I bought a bulb auger and drilled holes around the drip line of a maple tree. I then filled each hole almost to the top with sulfur and covered with the dirt from the hole.

For smaller plants, I've used EDDHA chelated iron.

When it's cool, for a quick greenup, you can spray water soluble iron on the leaves. It helps to add a little shampoo to the mix for a more even spread on the leaves. Be careful when spraying, because it stains. There's a fine line between using enough to help and using too much and causing burning.

You also need to be careful not to overwater (or underwater).

The best approach is to avoid plants that are prone to chlorosis, or to plant those plants in containers.

Welcome glo!

Seems like we had another conversation back in June that was very similar . . .

Steve's digits

Here is a link that might be useful: GW - Woodland Park thread

Thanks, bpgreen... I think til I get used to all of this, I'll try getting low iron, low maintenance plants.

Steve, thanks for the link. I enjoyed reading and have saved all the info! It's great to know that I won't have to give up all my favorites. I can learn to deal with the weather there if I don't have to fight the heat and humidity that we have here!

Does anyone winter sow?

glo

I'm in Colo Spgs, (6000 ft)
I winter sow in my GH.
It's not heated, but very solar adapted.
I don't winter sow outside because I think:
1) the wind would probably blow my containers away
2) the squirrels, raccoons, skunks would probably find them too interesting.
I sow later than i would outside because the seeds sprout faster in the GH and then the plants get too big before i can plant them.

Hi Glo! Welcome to the RMG forum!!!

I moved here a few years ago from western Tennessee, and it was a culture shock for sure, but I LOVE it now!!!

Most of what I have learned about the challenges of gardening here has been from the great folks here on Gardenweb.

This past winter was my first to winter sow. I had some successes and failures, but I will definitely be doing it again this year. It will be mostly annuals, herbs, and vegetables this time around, since my perennial beds are getting quite full now.

Since you are a bird lover, I thought I would mention that one of my favorite plants this summer has been the Agastache 'Apache Sunset'. I didn't have any luck wintersowing it, but a local garden center ordered a couple for me, and the hummingbirds absolutely love it. I just planted some Penstemons today to attract even more of them.

Best wishes on your upcoming move, and your new home and garden!

Hi Glo! Looks like you're getting lots of good advice already. It's exciting to be making a big move like this -- I hope it all goes really well.

I second the vote for Agastache for hummingbirds -- those are real hummer magnets! I also have hummers enjoying my Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon) shrubs.

As you can see from BP's posts, treating chlorosis is a pain in the neck, so be careful to look for plants that can handle alkaline soils, especially when you're looking at trees and shrubs. I've had trouble with chlorosis in red maples and Japanese maples. I love Japanese maples so much that I have found ways to work with them, like picking hardier plain varieties and giving lots of composted mulch to keep their roots cool. You can also plant them in raised beds or mounds with soil amendments to help make the soil more hospitable.

You're going to be a lot higher than me (I'm at about 4500'), so I don't know how much else I can share about that climate. Good luck!

You've all been so helpful and so positive! I can't wait to make our final move and get started gardening. I've been going back and reading posts from the past and am learning so much. I think when I finally get to start my garden, it won't be nearly as hard as I had expected!

Thank you all so much!
glo

Welcome, Glo!

I'm in Colorado Springs and also another transplant (So.Cal.). We'll be moving into our dream house next Spring at about 7500' altitude in the Black Forest.

For garden inspiration, I would definitely recommend you go by Glen Eryie Castle near the Garden of the Gods in colorado Springs. The volunteer gardeners have done a great job there and are very friendly--look for them working in the gardens!

I'm looking forward to the two Agastache I received at the fall swap growing bigger, and I hear they will do so pretty much on their own. Very pretty , low maintenance, and hummingbird attracting!

Would definitely recommend attending a RMG swap for new things to experiment with--worth the trip even if it's in Denver.

Ginny

Ginny,
My dh is from N. CA and I'm from the midwest. Neither of us have a desire to go back and we've talked about retiring to Colorado for the last 15 years.

I can't wait til I can join one of the RMG swaps! The pictures all looked to be so much fun! I have blue fortune, purple pygmy, and golden jubilee agastache this year and love them. Hoping they come back next year! Last years tutti frutti didn't make it, but I think I didn't plant it out soon enough. (it was in a pot for the summer) Some of the agastache's are already marked in my HCG catalog to get when we get to WP! I have several bird feeders and HB feeders that will be coming too. I'm ready! Dh already got one of the chickadees to eat sunflower seeds from his hand!!!
Can't wait to get there, but reading here is the next best thing!