AURORA, Colo. — With Mother’s Day marking the unofficial start of gardening season, Nick’s Garden Center in Aurorais full of plant lovers eager to dig into their spring gardening projects.
The garden center’s very own horticulturist, Colette Haskell, has seen firsthand just how busy this time of year can be for plant nurseries.
“It’s like our Black Friday all month,” Haskell said. “We live in a very short season climate for growing things… It’s basically Mother’s Day through Halloween, and you better be getting your groove on in that time.”
Gardeners are filling up their yards, pots and planters with flowering annuals now that freezing weather has passed us by. Haskell’s tip for aspiring gardeners is to start small.
“We start with containers, and then we kind of go, Well, I can do this. I'm going to make a garden plot, and I'm going to plant some bushes and some grasses and some perennials,” Haskell said. “We want them to be good gardeners. So we’ve got to give good advice.”
She encourages people to ask questions if they aren’t sure how to get started. Gardening experts love sharing their knowledge so that the world becomes a greener place.
“If I can give good advice, and they're successful, then the benefit is to everyone. Everyone benefits. The whole community. All of us,” Haskell said. “That’s why we do it. We love it. We love plants. We love people who love plants.”
Coloradans are now seizing the opportunity to plant frost-tender crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. With grocery prices continuing to rise, many are turning to growing their own vegetables to save money.
“People can 100% save money growing their own vegetables,” Haskell shared. “We can grow enough tomatoes to can your own spaghetti sauce for the next year. You can grow strawberries and jar up all your strawberry jam for the season, all in one month.”
The trend toward edible gardening has surged in recent year, with Nick’s Garden Center selling more fruit trees in the past few years than in the previous decade.
“People are realizing that their living spaces can be productive and useful,” Haskell noted. “I think people are very fulfilled when they make a whole salad from their own yard and they're like, ‘Wow, this was really satisfying, I did that.’”
The benefits aren’t just financial. Planting vegetables is something that, for many, is human instinct.
“There's not a lot of things that bring us that kind of tranquility and calmness and connection with the earth than growing our own food,” Haskell said.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.