The last private garden on the Denver Garden Bloggers Fling tour (June 2019) belongs to Keith and Retha Funk of Centennial, Colorado. When they bought their house in 2011, they inherited some lovely trees but also a tired landscape of overgrown shrubs and too much lawn. Their house sits right at their neighborhood entrance, on a corner lot in full sight — and hearing — of passing cars.

Keith didn’t let any of that stop him. Eager to create “an oasis of calm and year-round beauty” while also conserving water and increasing plant diversity, he planted a flowery rock garden on one side of the sloping front yard.

Yellow evening primrose, pineleaf penstemon (Penstemon pinifolius), and foxtail lilies bloom in mid-June, attracting pollinators and hummingbirds…

…and creating a pretty view for passing neighbors and for the Funks to enjoy as they sit on their front patio.

The patio occupies a level spot near the house, shaded by large trees and partly screened by the surrounding garden. To muffle the noise of passing cars, Keith installed two recirculating waterfalls and streams reminiscent of boulder-strewn rivers in the nearby Rocky Mountains.

Broom (Genista) makes its own golden waterfall on one side of the stream.

In front of that golden sprawl, a small Creamsicle-orange flower has popped up.

Hello!

On the gentler slope along the cross street, there’s more perennial color.

In back, there’s more of a cottage garden feel, with flowers for pollinators and for cutting and flowering understory trees.

Irises glow beneath a fringe of pine needles.

Keith says the garden is his creative outlet, and gardening is “very slow performance art.” I was happy to be in the audience for this mid-June performance.

Up next: Chatfield Farms, our last stop on the Denver Fling tour, where we line danced in the garden. For a look back at Dan Johnson’s exuberant and creative garden, click here.

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Digging Deeper

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