David colorado garden: a concise orientation before we get practical.
David colorado garden: Quick notes
Hi GPODers!
Who else is feeling the first signs of spring fever? In Connecticut, where I’m based, we’ve experienced the first days of the temperature exceeding 60°F and mountainous piles of snow are finally starting to melt away. As I anticipate the first flushes of color from spring bulbs and flowering trees and shrubs, today’s submission from David Winger (@wingerphotoart) in Denver, Colorado (Zone 6a) has me jumping for joy that delightful displays like his will be emerging soon. With a gorgeous mix of vibrant blooms and lush foliage that create wonderful mounds of colors and textures, David’s front garden must be a springtime feast for all of the neighbors that get marvel at his creation.
The pictures I have submitted were taken in spring of 2025. My wife and I have been gardening in Denver, Colorado at this location since 1992. When we bought our house the landscape was merely lawn bordered by 5 to 8 feet of gravel plus a few overgrown shrubs. Having the gardening instinct we started making changes right away and it has been evolving every year since. During the first year or so we had to get rid of the gravel. We couldn’t give it away, but fortunately the large open space across our street was being developed for housing. During the construction they had huge piles of dirt. With a wheelbarrow we contributed gravel to their piles. What was left under the gravel was unadulterated clay. We knew the secret to a rich garden was of course soil amendment. That we did. We’ve been doing so ever since as the need has arisen. What you see in our submitted pictures is our front yard in its spring bloom. Picture descriptions are primarily of those that are in flower.
A border of creeping thyme between the lawn and a flagstone path close to the house foundation. Featured plants: Creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum, Zones 4–8), Pink Carpet ice plant (Delosperma cooperi, Zones 6–10), and Carpathian bellflower (Campanula carpatica, Zones 3–8)
This portion of the garden is under the shade of our Crabapple tree. However, these plants have plenty of sun until the leaves come out on the tree. Plants in flower: Snowdrop anemone (Anemone sylvestris, Zones 4–8), cushion spurge (Euphorbia polychroma, Zones 4–8), creeping phlox (Phlox subulata, Zones 3–9), basket-of-gold (Aurinia saxatilis, Zones 4–7), and grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum, Zones 4–8)
These plants border the entrance sidewalk to our house and are mostly on a rock garden mound next to the front porch. Featured plants: Basket-of-gold and creeping phlox
Same garden bed as illustrated in the photo above. This is the rock garden mound which puts out a variety of flowers throughout the seasons. Featured plants: Basket-of-gold, creeping phlox, tulips (Tulipa spp., Zones 3–8), and ‘Lawrence Crocker’ dwarf daphne (Daphne ‘Lawrence Crocker’, Zones 6–9)
The crabapple tree has just finished flowering. This is the first flush of flowers in the beds. Each variety comes in its own time throughout the seasons. Featured plants: Basket-of-gold, creeping phlox, Lilac Wonder tulip (Tulipa bakeri ‘Lilac Wonder’, Zones 3–8), Snowdrop anemone, and Radiant crabapple (Malus ‘Radiant’, Zones 4–8)
Table Mountain ice plant (Delosperma ‘John Proffitt’, Zones 4–8) comes in a little later in the spring, but is well worth the wait.
Single early tulip along with creeping phlox
Thank you so much for sharing these beautiful photos of your brilliant spring garden with us, David! Your gorgeous design put on a spectacular performance last year, and I hope we get to see it at its peak again this year.
As we countdown to spring, let us prepare by looking back at last year’s displays! Please consider sharing photos of last spring in your garden and what plants, flowers, or combinations you’re most looking forward to seeing emerge this year. Follow the NEW directions below to submit your photos to Garden Photo of the Day!
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You can also send 5–10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
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We reference David colorado garden briefly to keep the thread coherent.
