by CONPS SD | Dec 1, 2021 | CoNPS Blog
Hall Ranch was calling this afternoon, and I had to go. As the scenery spread out before me, buildings, signs, and overhead wires giving place to brown fields dotted with the occasional ponderosa, I found myself filled suddenly with gratitude for the fact that Hall...
by CONPS SD | Nov 16, 2021 | CoNPS Blog
“I have moonwort madness,” explains Steve Popovich, “Botrychulosis. It’s an incurable disease caused by a passion for moonworts.” After listening to his interview on a recent ‘In Defense of Plants’ podcast, it was easy to understand what that passion was...
by CONPS ME | Oct 15, 2021 | CoNPS Blog
Perhaps you missed the flowers, they’re pretty tiny, but during the rich light of a late sunny afternoon, you can’t miss the brilliant shine of the seed heads of our two native grasses, Big bluestem and Little bluestem. So alike, yet so different, and each is from a...
by CONPS SD | Sep 29, 2021 | CoNPS Blog
Sue: Maggie, I am so excited that the Colorado Native Plant Society now has its first ever Executive Director, but I’m especially excited that it is you! At my first CoNPS conference three years ago you gave a presentation called ‘Botany and Ecocities: Restoring...
by CONPS SD | Aug 15, 2021 | CoNPS Blog
Bob Kennemer acquired more than a casual taste for collecting edible, medicinal, and useful plants soon after leaving the University in Denver when he attended the legendary National Outdoors Leadership School (NOLS). Considered the Harvard of outdoor schools, NOLS...
by CONPS SD | Aug 1, 2021 | CoNPS Blog
Editor’s note: The author of this post will be leading a field trip on nature journaling at our 2021 Annual Conference in Trinidad! Nature Journaling can mean something different to each person who practices it. There are numerous approaches for both teaching and...
by CONPS SD | Jul 15, 2021 | CoNPS Blog
Wild bergamont (Monarda fistulosa) attracts an Aphrodite fritillary butterfly Wild Bergamot is abundantly in bloom right now, covering the hills with exuberant bursts of purple, scenting the air nearby with gentle fragrance, and generously providing nectar to a...
by CONPS SD | Apr 30, 2021 | CoNPS Blog
Why not? With a fresh dump of snow smothering the wildflowers nearby, and no family obligations for the weekend, why not run down to the ominously named Purgatoire River and discover its mysteries for myself? A check on the weather cam revealed bare ground in La Junta...
by CONPS SD | Apr 3, 2021 | CoNPS Blog
A native bee heavy enough to lower the keel of a Golden banner flower, (Thermopsis divaricarpa) and receive the pollen reward. ©Carol English Providing foraging habitat for native pollinators with diverse needs! Depending on where you live in Colorado, we are...
by CONPS SD | Feb 1, 2021 | CoNPS Blog
Mahonia repens, brilliant in the winter snow. Plant people can go a little nuts in winter, it just can’t be denied. We know of course, that our beloved plants are just taking the necessary precautions to survive winter, and to be prepared for magnificent spring when...