{"id":26949,"date":"2024-06-27T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/green-thumbs-share-tips-on-making-do-with-limited-space-tough-climate\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T05:48:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:48:01","slug":"green-thumbs-share-tips-on-making-do-with-limited-space-tough-climate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/green-thumbs-share-tips-on-making-do-with-limited-space-tough-climate\/","title":{"rendered":"Green thumbs share tips on making do with limited space, tough climate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Janine
Janine Collins, owner of Botanical Concepts at 251 East Animas Road (County Road 250), said those getting into gardening should look for plants that fit their personalities. One should consider if they want a high-maintenance plant or something that needs little oversight, such as a humble cactus. The positioning of their home, apartment or growing space relative to sunlight should also be taken into consideration. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Gardening and plant cultivation is a common therapeutic pastime. But not everyone has a living arrangement conducive to the hobby.<\/p>\n

Limited space and inadequate sunlight can destroy aspiring horticulturists\u2019 ability to flex their green thumbs.<\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t have to be the case.<\/p>\n

In the lead up to the summer solstice last week, area greenhouses and nurseries have been bursting with vibrant flowers, tasty vegetables and all things green.<\/p>\n

\"Barb
Barb Howards\u2019 gardens in front and behind her house was the seventh stop on Saturday for Durango Botanic Garden\u2019s 11th annual Gardens on Tour. This year\u2019s event included nine gardens in Durango and La Plata County. The annual event was created to educate residents and visitors about native plants and to encourage more people to take on gardening in Durango\u2019s complicated climate zones. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Durango Botanic Gardens just held its annual Gardens on Tour on Saturday to encourage people to dig into the soil and try their hands at gardening.<\/p>\n

And Durango residents, business owners and professional greenskeepers shared their experiences on gardening indoors and outdoors, and how people with the will can satisfy their desires to grow \u2013 despite obstacles.<\/p>\n

Striking a balance with nature and matching plants to personalities<\/div>\n

Janine Collins, owner of Botanical Concepts at 251 East Animas Road (County Road 250) in Durango, said the whole point of gardening is that it\u2019s supposed to be good for the mind. But Durango is a hard place to feel confident in one\u2019s growing ability.<\/p>\n

Barbara Johnson, Durango Botanical Gardens marketing director, said there are six different hardiness zones within the Durango area.<\/p>\n

\"Barb
Barb Howards\u2019 front yard garden was featured in the Durango Botanic Garden\u2019s 11th annual Gardens on Tour on Saturday. Barbara Johnson, Durango Botanical Gardens marketing director, said there are six different plant hardiness zones within the Durango area. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cEven within a two- to three-block area in town, you can have different ecosystems, if you will, because of our landscape and our geographical (layout),\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She said she lives in a \u201cbowl\u201d that experiences very cold winters because cold air flows down off the mountains and collects around her home.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to grow particular things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Pam
Pam Overend waters her garden bed on May 30 in the SOIL Outdoor Learning Lab community garden near Riverview Elementary School. Overend said she joined the SOIL Lab to become a better gardener. Community gardens are excellent alternatives to gardening at home for people who don\u2019t have adequate growing space or who are uncertain about the effectiveness of their green thumbs. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

She said the botanic gardens\u2019 Great Garden Series, which holds bimonthly classes beginning in May and spanning through September, is a convenient way for people to learn about Durango\u2019s different ecosystems and what grows best where.<\/p>\n

Another opportunity for aspiring gardeners or experienced growers adapting to Durango\u2019s hodgepodge of zones is the botanic gardens\u2019 annual Gardens on Tour<\/a>, which was held last weekend<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Darrin
Darrin Parmenter, CSU Extension western region director, works in one of his raised garden beds on Friday at his home in Durango. Parmenter\u2019s advice to growers with limited space at home is to work with the climate and environment they have, not against it. Sometimes that means accepting certain crops are beyond one\u2019s physical capabilities. Sometimes it means finding creative solutions. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Collins said if the area soil (which has a reputation for being difficult to grow in), pests and weather extremes aren\u2019t daunting enough, making proper room to grow in one\u2019s home, apartment or mobile home can further complicate things.<\/p>\n

She added that nevertheless, indoor growing surged in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

To one extent or another, gardening is a mixed bag (of seeds or mulch) because of different environmental conditions. Regardless, persistence is key and growers shouldn\u2019t be afraid to make mistakes or lose plants, she said.<\/p>\n

\"Volunteers
Volunteers with the Durango Botanic Gardens work at the Community Venue Garden in May. The botanic gardens hosted its 11th annual Gardens on Tour, which showcases gardens around Durango, on Saturday. (Courtesy of the Durango Botanic Gardens)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Occasionally, Abert\u2019s squirrel will eat fruit or freshly planted seeds. Deer will pick at leaves. Sap-sucking aphids will assault plants.<\/p>\n

She said enough permaculture plants, which are used to simulate natural ecosystems, can be used in one\u2019s outdoor garden design to mitigate the threats posed by pests.<\/p>\n

Aphids, for example, serve a natural purpose: They are food for bugs beneficial to the garden.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t have any aphids, you don\u2019t have any good bugs. You gotta be OK with that,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd you\u2019ll lose little things here and there (to aphids), but it\u2019s a balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Charlie
Charlie Roberts, 4, looks at flowers through a magnifying glass in the Durango Botanic Garden\u2019s Literary Garden at the Durango Public Library on Saturday during the 11th annual Gardens on Tour. This year\u2019s event included nine gardens in Durango and La Plata County. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Striking the right balance is the challenge, she said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where professional florists and gardeners can lend a helping hand, or at least some solid advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time somebody comes in and says, \u2018I have a black thumb,\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018You just haven\u2019t killed enough things.\u2019 You will get there,\u201d she said. \u201cI do weird stuff with plants because I want to see what happens and I don\u2019t care if it dies.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she often helps customers by finding a plant or plants that meet their personalities.<\/p>\n

\u201cA person that continually tells you that they kill things, you know, we have these great cacti that you don\u2019t ever have to touch,\u201d she said. \u201cIt can just be a personality thing and you could be getting the wrong plants your whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she once had a customer who was struggling to keep a Clafia \u2013 \u201cthe hardest house plant to grow\u201d \u2013 alive for 10 years as a memorial to his girlfriend who died when he was 18 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018You need a ficus,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She\u2019ll often ask customers what level of commitment they want to make when deciding what plants fit them. A cactus will still provide fresh oxygen to the home despite not needing much care.<\/p>\n

From tiny apartment space to an outdoor garden<\/div>\n

Kristin Hoff, a longtime Durango resident and customer of Collins, said she\u2019s always wanted a vegetable garden but has never had the room for it. She bought a home in December 2021, which has allowed her to finally foster her love for gardening.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I did when I moved into my new house was I bought a bunch of houseplants. And now, just to give you an idea, it takes me an hour to water my houseplants,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s looking forward to starting an outdoor garden. She wants to grow onions, potatoes, squash, herbs and perhaps a couple different kinds of lettuces, carrots and garlic in the fall.<\/p>\n

But Hoff is still mulling over how to approach garden beds. She said she\u2019s not getting any younger and she doesn\u2019t want to have to bend over to pick vegetables. Garden beds raised as high as she\u2019d like are a little challenging to construct and she can\u2019t get the design quite right.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d like to hire someone to build her garden beds to her specifications, but she needs someone who\u2019s knowledgeable about the right materials to use with dirt, water and roots of plants.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy backyard is on the second level because my home is built into the side of the mountain,\u201d she said. \u201cSo the other problem I\u2019m facing is, does somebody build it on the street level and then have to figure out how to carry it up or are the materials brought up and built in the back?\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she\u2019s being \u201cparticular and picky\u201d about her raised garden beds and she might have to make do with what she can afford. But her situation is more ideal for her gardening ambitions than it was before she moved.<\/p>\n

Hoff used to live in a 1,400-square-foot townhouse with her three daughters in Hermosa where she had a tiny perennial bed in the front of her home and a large potted pampas plant on her front porch, which is all she had space for.<\/p>\n

\u201cI nurtured and loved that thing to pieces, but that\u2019s really the only plant I could have in there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Lighting was ideal for many different species of houseplant, but she just didn\u2019t have room for it.<\/p>\n

Making do with what\u2019s available<\/div>\n

Not everyone has the means to garden outdoors. Darrin Parmenter, CSU Extension western region director, suggests working with one\u2019s circumstances \u2013 not against them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t always alter our environment that much to suit it for certain vegetables to be able to grow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The position and timing of sunlight hitting one\u2019s porch, for example, might not be conducive to growing vegetables. He said his rule of thumb is vegetables need six to eight hours of sunlight per day. In a perfect world, he\u2019d have morning sun followed by afternoon sun, and by 3 p.m. the sun would be blocked by the mountains, trees or other structures.<\/p>\n

In essence, he\u2019s going to raise crops suitable to the climate, because he can\u2019t change the climate to fit his gardening needs.<\/p>\n

\"Alison
Alison Riederer, community garden manager at the SOIL Outdoor Learning Lab garden near Riverview Elementary School, works in the garden in May. Community gardens aren\u2019t just great spaces for growing one\u2019s own food. They\u2019re also places where community between gardening enthusiasts and newcomers can take root and grow. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Community gardens<\/div>\n

\u201cIf you are really into gardening or if you want to learn how to garden and you don\u2019t have the space, then also look at community gardens,\u201d Parmenter said.<\/p>\n

Options include the SOIL Outdoor Learning Lab in Durango and the Common Ground Cortez Community Gardens in Cortez. There are also neighbors and residents who might have extra space available, he said.<\/p>\n

The benefits of community gardening are twofold, he said. No. 1, a community garden offers at least the potential for growing one\u2019s own food. No. 2, community gardens build community relationships around growing food.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s sharing of stories, learning new garden techniques or new varieties or whatever it is you want to try,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s that piece of a community garden you can\u2019t always get in your own backyard or front patio.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Janine
Janine Collins, owner of Botanical Concepts at 251 East Animas Road (County Road 250) works in one of her greenhouses in Durango in May. Collins said she encourages new horticulturalists to experiment with growing conditions and advises them not to fear failure. When a plant dies, an attentive gardener will find valuable lessons in its wake. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

He added especially in a post-COVID-19 pandemic world, and in a divisive world, rebuilding relationships is important and community gardens are a great place to do just that.<\/p>\n

If it comes down to it, indoor growing is another option. Parmenter said one won\u2019t have a full-on garden in their basement, but it is possible to grow smaller crops such as lettuce, greens, peppers or tomatoes.<\/p>\n

A sunny windowsill or artificial light, though often expensive in the latter case, are enough to grow vegetables in 12-inch square spaces and produce nutrient-dense food, he said.<\/p>\n

cburney@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Durango area has six different plant hardiness zones; which one are you working within?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[364,950,1030,2222,28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-26949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-community","tag-durango","tag-environment","tag-garden","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26949"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26949\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79525,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26949\/revisions\/79525"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26949"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=26949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}