Month by month

When each job gets done on the Front Range

Dates are typical, for yards on the plains around Denver. Foothill yards run a few weeks behind in spring and a few weeks ahead in fall.

Step 1: January and February
We walk yards when the ground allows, draw plans and order seed and plugs. Nothing goes into frozen soil.
Step 2: March and April
Cut-back of last year’s stems, and the second seeding window, early spring on bare ground while it is still cold and damp.
Step 3: Mid-May
Planting starts after the average last frost. One-gallon plants and plugs go in, and drip zones are switched on.
Step 4: June through August
The beds establish. We water by hand where drip does not reach, check after hail and mow seeded areas high once weeds pass knee height.
Step 5: September
Fall planting for perennials, which put down roots before winter. Overseeding thin patches.
Step 6: October
Drip lines are drained before the first hard freeze, and the last plants go in.
Step 7: November and December
Dormant seeding, once the soil is cold, so seed waits for spring instead of sprouting into a frost.

After a storm

What to do the week after hail

A shredded bed looks worse than it is. These four steps are what we tell most clients.

Wait two weeks
Leaves that look dead often have living crowns. Pulling plants out the same day takes away the ones that would have come back.
Cut back to fresh growth
Shear stems down to where new green shows. Native perennials put out new growth from the base.
Water as usual, skip fertilizer
Stressed plants do not need a push. Keep the drip schedule and let the roots do the work.
Call us if a bed is mostly gone
We look at it with you and replant in the next planting window. Photos by text are fine.

Text a photo of the bed or send the form. We tell you what we would wait on and what we would replace.