Have fun and save money growing colorful perennials from seed. Perennials
are an easy way to add color, form and texture to the landscape. Many of the colorful perennials that are so successful in our gardens are quite easy to start from seed. “Easy Perennials” will focus on high impact perennials that don’t require high input (water, fertilizer, pesticides and time) and simple seed starting techniques that will help you start or add to your own colorful garden. Cathie has been a Colorado Master Gardener and has spent several years working at the Colorado Springs Utilities Xeriscape Demonstration Garden.

Free to all at the East Library, 5550 E. Union Blvd.

In what has become a tradition, Larry Stebbins, the pied piper of vegetables in Colorado Springs, will present our January library lecture. Come hear how Queen Elizabeth I almost poisoned her guests by serving the wrong part of a vegetable. Learn what color carrots were three hundred years ago. Do you know what vegetable was found in Montezuma’s garden in 1519 by the invading Spaniards? All of this and more will be included in this light-hearted but informative presentation. It will be a guaranteed good time for fun and old alike.

Free to all at the East Library, 5550 E. Union Blvd.

Free to all at the East Library, 5550 E. Union Blvd.

For this special program, start cutting interesting seedheads and flowers and drying them. Bring them and a six-inch pot to this session, and you’ll take home an arrangement as well as help us create one-of-a-kind centerpieces for our annual dinner tables. **Please spray your dried flowers and seedheads with hair spray (cheapest is best).**

Silent Auction
Come prepared to bid at our third annual silent auction. This year, proceeds will be used towards the Elsie Pope Memorial being created and installed at the HAS Demonstration Garden.

Here’s a sneak peek at some of the items that have been donated so far. (Donations will be accepted through November 12.)

Program
The program for this year will be presented by Lisa Bird, Colorado Native Plant Master. Her talk is titled “Colorado’s Native Gems.”

Details
Social Hour and Silent Auction start at 6:00 p.m.
Dinner at 7:00 p.m. and presentation at 8:00 p.m.

Registration deadline: Fri, Nov 4 (earlier would be appreciated!)
Cost: $25 per member
(You can register and pay online using your credit card by clicking one of the buttons below. You will be directed to a Paypal page, but no PayPal account is needed! Just follow the instructions after “Don’t have a PayPal account?”)

Free to all at the East Library, 5550 E. Union Blvd.

As gardeners, we are all aware of and interested in the exciting weather of our area (how about that 4.5″ rain on Sep 14?). Randy Gray will talk to us about weather issues in the southeast Colorado region. He is the Southeast Colorado CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network) Regional Coordinator and is based in the Pueblo National Weather Service office. Visit their site at www.crh.noaa.gov/pub. And you can visit the CoCoRaHS site at www.cocorahs.org.

Free to all at the East Library, 5550 E. Union Blvd.

Kim Gravestock, a well known local garden designer and bee master, will talk about fall bulbs for bringing spring joy. She’ll also tell us about the special storage treatment that the tender bulbs we plant in spring need. Bulbs will soon be arriving in local garden centers (and we’ll have paperwhites available at the Annual Meeting & Dinner), so come learn how to make the best of them from Kim.

Free to all at the East Library, 5550 E. Union Blvd.

Late summer is here. Is your garden waning at this point, or is it blooming gloriously? Pam will share some excellent choices for late summer color in our gardens – tough, hardy, colorful plants that can also take our extreme weather changes at this time of year (rain, no rain, hail, early near freezes, etc, etc, etc). A list by color, height, and water needs will be provided for some dynamite plants. Come be inspired and take away ideas for additions to your late summer garden.

Free to all at the East Library, 5550 E. Union Blvd.

Our usual “second Wednesday at the library lecture” will occur on the third Tuesday instead this month!

Peg will talk about the Plant Select and All American Selections programs, detail what they involve, and explain what their impacts are on your plant selections. Expect to come away with information on how to be a more successful gardener in the Pikes Peak Region.

For those who would like to support this feature with a contribution, click the “Donate” button to do so using a credit card. (No Paypal account is needed! Just follow the instructions after “Don’t have a Paypal account?”)

Be sure to mention your donation is for the Elsie Pope memorial in the special instructions message field.

Checks can also be mailed to HAS, P.O. Box 7706, Colorado Springs, CO 80933.

Thank you!

Free to all at the East Library, 5550 E. Union Blvd.

Everyone has something to hide. Whether it’s wheelbarrow storage, trashcans, utility boxes, or neighbors, there is something in every garden we’d rather not see. Pat Sullivan will show you some appealing and practical solutions for getting things out of sight. Topics such as foundations, walls, fences, and play areas will be included too.

Pat has been a horticulture professional for over 30 years. A graduate in horticulture from Texas A&M, she has been a plant pathologist, field manager of vineyard and orchards, Master Gardener instructor, teacher of plant science, and landscape designer. She is currently at work developing a landscape design school.