NOVEMBER 17 / DECEMBER 15, 2021
REDSTONE • REVIEW
PAGE 11
CROSSROADS Some charismatic non-native plants and trees predate the formation of the RM Botanical Garden By Jessie Berta-Thompson Redstone Review LYONS – A native plant is one that has evolved and grows naturally in a particular place. The Rocky Mountain Botanic Gardens (RMBG) is an educational showcase for Colorado native plants, and everything intentionally planted in the RMBG beds meets this distinction. However, some of the most charismatic, visually dramatic, and useful plants currently growing in the garden are not from around here – the full-grown trees that pre-date the garden. As the colorful things growing near the ground fade in the first frosts, the eye is drawn instead up to the trees, big against the blue skies. While garden prep for the RMBG involved removal of all the weeds shorter than six feet, we didn’t have equipment, expertise, or funding to remove trees – and we didn’t want to. A brand-new garden can be a barren, exposed landscape, with a lot of nothing, mulch, and small plants (although that rapidly changes). In our gardens, older existing trees add structure and critical shade for visitors, wildlife, delicate new plants, and volunteers working on hot days. We just installed new signs labelling five of these trees, remnants of past plantings and naturalized escapees. To find them, look for larger trees with signs mounted on scraps of Lyons sandstone (a different style than the other labels). These species are not native to this place but grow widely in urban, disturbed, and riparian settings around the state. In the southwest corner of the gardens, back by the shed, there is a beautiful silver poplar (Populus alba). Also called the white poplar, this species has bright white fine fuzz on the underside of its leaves that gives it a silvery shimmer, at once stately and playful. The leaves are shaped a bit like maple leaves, with palmate lobes and big teeth, but this species is actually closely related (same genus) to the quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and the plains cottonwood
This Northern red oak grows in the front of the Rocky Mountain Botanic Gardens near the picnic table. PHOTO BY ZACH BERTA-THOMPSON (Populus deltoides ssp. monilifera). The genus Populus is in the willow family (Salicaceae). Like cottonwoods and willows, the silver poplar’s tiny seeds float on the wind using parachutes of fluffy threads. The species was introduced from Europe and widely planted. It can be found by homes and parks, and it has escaped cultivation and grows along Colorado ditches and riparian areas as well. It can spread by suckering and regrows after being cut, as evidenced by the sprawl of silver poplars with irregular growth in this corner of town. The part of the RMBG where it’s found once had a house on it. Perhaps this silver poplar was planted long ago for backyard shade, or perhaps it found its own way there. In the front of the gardens by the picnic table, there’s a Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) with a funny growth form. It has a big circle of trunk, implying a once-giant tree that was completely cut down at some point. The plant resprouted all around the old trunk in an exuberant growth of shoots, creating a low sphere with fabulous red fall color.
Jonelle Tucker 303-902-6250 jtucker@realtor.com www.tuckergroupinc.com
Mark your calendars for these Lyons traditions! Holiday Artisan Market, December 4th and 5th, 10am - 4pm Holiday Parade of Lights, December 4th, 6:30pm JUST SOLD!
SOLD!
2114 Honeybee Dr, Windsor $525,000 Fabulous like NEW 4BD + office, higher-end build in coveted Pelican Farms! Large landscaped yard, 3-car garage, granite countertops throughout, and unfinished basement.
635 Estes Park Estates Dr, Lyons $545,000 Peaceful and private mountain home nestled in a lovely forest with views. 3BD/2BA + study on one acre, updates, 3 decks, and just minutes to Lyons and Estes.
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117 Grand View Dr, Mead $850,000 Gorgeous, updated, and meticulously maintained 3,300 SF+ custom home w/ over 2,400 SF of Garage/Workshop space and solar on 1.65 acres of mature trees and gardens.
13780 N St Vrain Dr, Lyons $775,000 Custom, bright 3BD/2BA + office in park-like setting among 18+ acres of meadows and trees with easy highway access. Includes oversized garage and workshop.
SOLD!
SOLD!
41 Cave Rock Ct, Lyons $725,000 Lovely updated 3BD/3BA + office with gorgeous views from every window on 21 acres of rolling hills, meadows and rock outcrops near Lyons. Nice horse property.
325 Flint Gulch Rd, Lyons $810,000 This well-built custom 4BD/3BA home features an open floorplan, vaulted ceilings, luxury master & rec room. Great location near Lyons on 2.5 scenic treed acres.
SOLD PROPERTIES 836 4th Avenue, Lyons • 1049 Montview Road, Fort Collins 24 Appleby Drive, Lyons • 3027 Middle Fork Road, Boulder
The species is native to the northeast of North America where it grows in the mixed forests with other hardwoods and pines. The Northern red oak is widely planted as an ornamental for its foliage. It’s not naturalized in Colorado (it doesn’t grow wild and spread on its own), so this particular tree was probably lovingly planted, its persistence a point of post-flood resilience. In the middle of the Montane zone of the gardens, presiding over an assortment
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building. The school district is following Boulder County guidelines and those restrictions can change at any time. Full refunds for vendors (minus the online processing fee) will be offered if the event is canceled due to Covid-19. The market will be held on Saturday and Sunday, December 4 and 5, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lyons Elementary Gym, 338 High St. Visit townoflyons.recdesk.com/Community or call 303-812-5855.
of recent plantings that will eventually fill in to form a meadow of mountain wildflowers, there is a black locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia). The specimen is one of several in the gardens and one of many more in Lyons. This species originated in small pockets of the eastern United States. It is a member of the Pea family (Fabaceae), and like other legumes, symbiotic bacteria in its roots fix nitrogen from the air, enhancing its growth in poor soils and enriching the soil locally. Historically planted for its tough wood, the black locust’s invasive tendencies, spreading both through suckers and seeds, have taken it further. Our volunteers have first-hand knowledge of its productivity. Soil or gravel or mulch, black locust seedlings crop up all over. The other mature trees with fresh signage are a Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila) and a green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), both among the largest trees in the gardens. Beyond the full-grown trees, the gardens also came pre-planted with an assortment of native plants that our volunteers carefully weeded around or relocated to fit into the new scheme. These include many rabbitbrush, chokecherry and willow shrubs. These plants are post-flood arrivals which have flourished with the extra space and water that’s come with new cultivation. In building a new garden, the existing trees and shrubs have provided a key backbone of shade, visual interest, and wildlife resources – whatever their histories. Jessie Berta-Thompson is a member of the Rocky Mountain Botanic Gardens Board. Statement from Sheriff Joe Pelle on the sentencing of two former deputies BOULDER COUNTY – Demetrius Shankling had been found unconscious in a jail transport van in the early morning hours of September 9, 2018, and subsequently died at a Denver hospital on October 6, 2018. Arrest warrants were issued charging two police officers with manslaughter, a class four felony. At sentencing, the deputies received the following sentences: Adam C. Lunn received three years in the Department of Corrections, followed by three years of mandatory parole; James E. O’Brien received six years in the DeContinue Briefs on Page 14
