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Plants thrive in Ute Pass
  
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By Pat Hill
When Carla Anderson talks about native plants in the Ute Pass area, she’s talking about survivors from way back.
“A native plant is any plant that was here before European settlement,” said Anderson, speaking to members of the Harvest Center on Oct. 31.
A nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting self-sufficiency, the Harvest Center is based at Aspen Valley Ranch in Woodland Park. With a greenhouse and a temperature-controlled dome, the center banishes the myth that vegetables and plants can’t grow at high-altitude with a relatively cold climate.
Anderson took sustainability a step further by focusing on native plants that need no treated soil, no plant food or other foreign agents.
“We all know that we have extremes from 50 or 60 degrees in the afternoon to 20 to 12 degrees the following morning,” Anderson said. “Native plants know this — know not to push buds too early.”
Among the plants that do well in the Ute Pass climate are wild hops vine, sand lily, pasque flower and wild onion.
“Native plants help to integrate our own man-built landscapes with our natural ground,” she said. “If we want to be integrated and embrace who we are, where we are and what we do then we really want to include native plants in our gardens.”
Certified as a native plant specialist, Anderson, who lives in Green Mountain Falls, designed the garden behind the Carnegie building at the Penrose branch of the Pikes Peak Library district.
She also is the co-founder of the garden sponsored by Church in the Wildwood in Green Mountain Falls. The community garden is aligned with the Harvest Center and Pikes Peak Urban Gardens.
Seeds for native plants are available at some nurseries and at Teller Park Conservation Service District in Woodland Park. For information, call NRCS at 719-686-9405.
“A native plant is any plant that was here before European settlement,” said Anderson, speaking to members of the Harvest Center on Oct. 31.
A nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting self-sufficiency, the Harvest Center is based at Aspen Valley Ranch in Woodland Park. With a greenhouse and a temperature-controlled dome, the center banishes the myth that vegetables and plants can’t grow at high-altitude with a relatively cold climate.
Anderson took sustainability a step further by focusing on native plants that need no treated soil, no plant food or other foreign agents.
“We all know that we have extremes from 50 or 60 degrees in the afternoon to 20 to 12 degrees the following morning,” Anderson said. “Native plants know this — know not to push buds too early.”
Among the plants that do well in the Ute Pass climate are wild hops vine, sand lily, pasque flower and wild onion.
“Native plants help to integrate our own man-built landscapes with our natural ground,” she said. “If we want to be integrated and embrace who we are, where we are and what we do then we really want to include native plants in our gardens.”
Certified as a native plant specialist, Anderson, who lives in Green Mountain Falls, designed the garden behind the Carnegie building at the Penrose branch of the Pikes Peak Library district.
She also is the co-founder of the garden sponsored by Church in the Wildwood in Green Mountain Falls. The community garden is aligned with the Harvest Center and Pikes Peak Urban Gardens.
Seeds for native plants are available at some nurseries and at Teller Park Conservation Service District in Woodland Park. For information, call NRCS at 719-686-9405.
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