SUMMER LIFESTYLE: Growing Your Mountain Garden - High Altitude Hints For Blooming Success
By Cindy Kleh / Photos Courtesy of Neils Lunceford Landscaping

Perhaps you have just built or purchased a beautiful mountain dream home and you would like a fabulous yard to complement it. Or, after mitigating the beetle kill around your home, you are left with an abundance of tree stumps and exposed, disturbed soil that is ripe for erosion and noxious weeds.

“It is tempting to decide to do your own landscaping,” says Matt Bailey, owner of Alpine Landscape Service, “especially if you have a love for the outdoors and gardening. But it’s not as easy as it looks. Anyone can pick up a plant catalogue and choose the ones that look best to them, but it is important to understand the different climate zones at high altitude and how soil type, grading and lighting affect plant survival.”

“Even if you’re very skilled at gardening, the last thing you want to do at your vacation home is work,” he continues. “And after spending lots of time and money on your landscape, who will maintain it when you are gone?”

It isn’t easy getting a plant, garden or yard established at high altitude. The plants that have been thriving up here for thousands of years are adapted to a short growing season that adds up to only about two months of the year. Yet, even in July and August, frost and snowstorms remain a possibility, so new growth is always precarious.

To add to the challenges, the topsoil throughout most of Grand County is not abundant or exceptional in quality. And because this is the Rocky Mountains, there’s going to be a lot of rock.

Most high altitude plants are frugal water consumers, but some demand swampy soil or partial shade. It’s a real science knowing which plants will be viable up here and which ones look nice in a shop on the Front Range but won’t live beyond a couple of years at 8,000 feet.

“You can’t just dig a hole in the ground and stick a plant in it,” says Rob Milstead of Neils Lunceford Landscape Design/Build. “There’s so much more to it. Organic soil amendments, plant selection, orientation and maintenance are critical.”

According to Milstead, only thirty percent of the plants that thrive in Denver have a chance of living for very long in Grand County. His company has studied how certain species fare after being transplanted, exactly how much watering is required for optimum growth, what schedule of deep-root fertilization is most effective and which features can control erosion on a slanted lot to prevent soil loss or mosquito-breeding marshes.

Neils Lunceford’s high altitude plant list (which is available at neilslunceford.com) is a general guide for Summit, Eagle, Grand and Routt Counties, but variations do occur. For example, “crabapple grows fine in Granby and Hot Sulphur Springs, but there is a good possibility it would die in Grand Lake and Winter Park,” says Milstead. “If you want to plant it up here, it’s better to buy it up here,” he adds, because of acclimation, cold hardy seed sources and the differing seasonal weather. It’s a complicated science, and he believes that landscaping at this altitude requires “above and beyond the normal expertise.”

Neils Lunceford’s plant palette has lists of viable high altitude species divided into trees and shrubs; perennials and annuals; mid- and late-season flowering plants; and herbs, perennials and annual bulbs. Those categories are further defined as thriving in slightly dry to very dry conditions; whether it is native to Colorado; whether the plant attracts butterflies and hummingbirds; and other factors ranging from being deer-resistant to needing protection from the sun.

Xeriscaping is derived from the Greek word “xeros” for dry and “scape” meaning a kind of view or scene. In reality it translates to planning and creating landscapes that follow the seven basic principles of water conservation while providing enjoyment and value in our lives, homes, and communities. These principles consist of: planning and design, soil improvements, practical turf areas, appropriate plant selection, efficient irrigation, use of mulches, and appropriate maintenance practices.

With operations in Summit, Eagle, Grand and Routt Counties, Neils Lunceford has experience in everything from patios to walkways and water features, and can even do a green lawn if a client wants it. But they don’t heartily recommend it.

“Xeriscaping with a mountain touch will result in lower water usage and lower maintenance than sod. It’s not inexpensive, but in the long run, it is definitely less expensive,” Milstead states. “The water shortage didn’t just happen, and in the future, it’ll only get worse. In the Rocky Mountain states, xeriscaping is at the forefront of the landscaping industry.”

Good drainage and artistic design can transform a lot into a beautiful mountain garden with use of native rocks to construct weeping walls, fountains, ponds, and bridges over dry drainage creeks. Planting pockets are created during the process and brightly colored wildflowers can burst through the native grasses in the summer months … all using very little water and time to maintain.

And with the mountain pine beetle transforming the once-serene forests of Grand County to open, stubby grassland, erosion control and reforestation can become valid concerns for property owners. Beetle kill mitigation might require creating adequate drainage as well as hand seeding and hydro seeding with high-alpine varieties of grass and wildflower species and tree seedlings.

“Usually we plant a variation of pines and aspens of differing heights to strategically block undesirable views,” says Toby Dellamano of GreenScaping, Inc. “After losing many trees to the beetle kill epidemic, many homeowners feel like they’re living in a fishbowl. We build retaining walls and berms for erosion control, but they also serve to add depth, block noise and add privacy. This can give your home and yard a facelift and speed up the regeneration process.”

According to Dellamano, “it could take decades for new growth to happen on its own because the growing season is so short at this altitude. With GreenScaping, it could look much better in only three days with a warranty on any trees if they don’t survive.”

Dellamano adds, “After the yard plants get established, there’s no more watering … just like a forest. It’s a lowmaintenance solution!”

So lie back in that hammock and sip on a fresh Mint Julep in the cool mountain breeze rather than straining your back every day to bend over and plant, nurture, weed and water your garden. Some home projects are fun and satisfying, but do-it-yourself landscaping requires intensive knowledge of the high alpine environment, hard work and a strict schedule of maintenance. These responsibilities are best left to mountain landscaping experts.

Follow the links below for more articles within the Summer Lifestyle section.

READ MORE STORIES FROM THE SUMMER LIFESTYLE SECTION:
• Growing Your Mountain Garden: High Altitude Hints For Blooming Success
• Golfing Galore In Grand County: Four Courses And 83 Holes Makes One Grand Golf Destination
• Parade of Homes: September 2009
• Getting To The Sole Of Healthy Posture: Orthotics
• Sports & Wellness: Overuse Injuries & Inoculations For Children
• 2009 Feature Articles