After 24 years as a radio talk show host on gardening, Jim Borland may have retired, but his Denver garden continues to broadcast loud and clear about how to garden in semi-arid eastern Colorado (15 inches of annual precipitation) without using any supplemental water. His gardening inspiration? Mother Nature. “She perfected the notion of growing a vast number of species in un-amended soils with no mulch or supplemental irrigation,” he says.

We visited Jim’s jam-packed garden on the Denver Garden Bloggers Fling tour (June 2019). It was interesting to see such a different aesthetic — a bristling dryland garden, yet very much a plant lover’s garden — compared with others on tour.

Jim ripped out the bluegrass lawn in his front yard in 1996 and that year alone planted 10,000 plants. He watered to get them established, but subsequent additions were started small, “in tubelings,” and planted in late winter without any irrigation at all. A water-saving garden indeed!

Jim says he knows of no other garden in Colorado devoted exclusively to dryland native plants and not irrigated. He plans to add unrepresented dryland Western native plants as well as experiment with seed from other parts of the world with similar climates. His garden is a dryland laboratory.

I’d been admiring Fling planner April Shelhon’s succulent-print dress all day, and this was the perfect spot for a photo. Notice her succulent-planter pendant too — every blogger received one in their swag bags at the start of the Fling, from sponsor Live Trends! April later shared this about her dress: “The brand is Kavu (runs big), and they also made bags and overalls in the same fabric. I got it on sale at Backcountry.com.” OK, so I just gave them a little free publicity. Maybe next year they’ll be a Fling sponsor too, eh?

Up next: A visit to Denver Botanic Gardens, part 1. I also visited the day before the Fling for a more leisurely tour and will have plenty of photos to share. For a look back at the colorful garden of TV personality and author Rob Proctor, click here.

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Digging Deeper

Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Stay tuned for more info!

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