Additional Resources
There are gardening resources available to you outside of Old Town Library and the Poudre Libraries website, both online and in the wider Fort Collins and northern Colorado community.
Colorado State University Extension Service
Colorado State University maintains a large government extension program, with specific help on gardening, landscaping, and yard maintenance. These resources are available to anyone who needs them. You can also download PDF instructions, ideas, and garden plans.
Some of the resources available include:
Online resources for gardening and landscape including landscape plans, troubleshooting guides, and native plant guides
Northern Colorado Bloom, a series of guides for all aspects of gardening in northern Colorado
Horticulture Agents and Specialists Blog, where expert extension scientists offer ideas and advice for Colorado gardens and gardeners
The Native Bee Watch, currently run in the summer by Arapahoe County Extension
Plant Select®
Plant Select®, a collaboration between Colorado State University, the Denver Botanic Gardens, and businesses in the green industry, has been introducing hardy, resilient, and unique plants to the Rocky Mountain region for 25 years.
Plant Select® offers information and advice about plants and gardening that works here in Colorado specifically. The site includes information on the plants themselves, where to buy them, how to grow them, and how to attract pollinators, and has many educational resources, including garden design plans, newsletters, links to books and other items, and videos on gardening and attracting pollinators.
Local plant nurseries
Some local plant nurseries that stock Colorado-friendly plants, seeds, and Plant Select® plants and that offer gardening advice are:
Fort Collins Nursery: 2121 East Mulberry Street, Fort Collins CO 80524, 970-482-1984
Bath Garden Center & Nursery: 2000 East Prospect Road, Fort Collins CO 80525, 970-484-5022
Gulley Greenhouse & Garden Center: 6029 South Shields Street, Fort Collins CO 80526, 970-223-4769
Fossil Creek Nursery: 7029 South College Avenue #A, Fort Collins CO 80525, 970-226-4924
Local gardens and pollinator projects
If you want to see examples of Colorado-friendly and Plant Select® gardens both locally and a little farther afield, or are interested in helping conserve local pollinators, here are some places to visit and ways to get involved and learn more:
Colorado State University Trial Gardens: Annuals and perennials, many of which are Plant Select® varieties, are tested for hardiness here in one of northern Colorado's most popular photography destinations.
Colorado State University Arboretum: Two campus locations (Center Avenue and west of Canvas Stadium) host Colorado's largest collection of native woody plants, a tree tour, events, and education programs.
The Gardens on Spring Creek: Classes, events including the December Garden of Lights, rentable garden plots, a greenhouse, and themed gardens including rock gardens, a children's garden, xeriscaped gardens, and vegetable and herb gardens can be experienced here.
Denver Botanic Gardens: Two locations, one in downtown Denver and one at Chatfield Farms in Littleton, have events, exhibits, classes, and extensive plant and natural history collections available to visitors.
Protecting Pollinators: Run with support from the Butterfly Pavilion in Denver, this program offers online information about pollinators, how to maintain a pollinator-friendly garden, butterfly monitoring programs, and other ways to get involved.