Ten Days in April by Donna Duffy

I love to travel, but it’s difficult leaving my garden in the springtime when so many things happen at once. So when I knew I’d be gone for 10 days after Easter, I decided to take a few photos of perennials and bulbs before I left, and then again when I returned. What I hadn’t planned on was a huge Spring storm that dumped over a foot of wet, heavy snow in my yard! Here’s what I discovered when I returned home from my road trip.




Peonies are like the driver who goes the speed limit…plus 10. Not content to grow along at a normal pace, they whiz by everything else in sight. Once those dark stems break the soil, there’s no stopping them. Even though mine were buried in snow for a couple of days, they still plowed through and gained several inches in height.

Pampas grass, on the other hand, is more like your blue-haired grandmother tooling down the interstate. It’s progressing, but the slow pace can drive you crazy. Where’s the green? Why is it just sitting there? I’ll chuckle at my impatience come September when the lovely plumes tower above my head.



Tulips! They are like a carefree traveler whose journey is cut short through no fault of their own. So many dangers abound: hungry critters, snowstorms, digging pets. Before I left, my tulips were in various stages of growth. When I returned home, some had been crushed by snow, others had been chewed, and a few were strutting their stuff…survivors.



One thing I didn’t bother to photograph made its presence known anyway. Can you guess? I spotted the yellow polka dots from the end of the street. Like potholes in the road, they always come back. Ahhhhhh…the many joys of April in Colorado!

Wild About Wildflowers by Gardener Cumax

I'm not content to just yarden veggies. I love creating landscapes, too. My third big project this Spring is converting our front lawn into a showcase xeriscape.

The seedlings here are 3 weeks old. They just started sprouting right when the huge April 17-18 snowstorm slammed into the West Denver Metro area. Because they didn't have necks to break, they survived intact.

As you can see from the pictures I have about one seedling per inch, which means I have some serious and tedious thinning to do in a few weeks. Gardening is work but it's the best kind of work I can imagine.

Their common names are below followed by their latin name if I have it. They are perennials unless noted as annual with (A).
Baby's Breath (Gypsophila elegans (A)), Blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata), California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus (A)), Dwarf Red Coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria), Lance-Leaved Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata), Missouri Primrose (Oenothera missouriensis), Red Yarrow (Achillea millefolium, rubra), Drummond Phlox (Phlox drummondii (A)), Catchfly (Silene ameria (A)), Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii (A)), Blackeyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), Blue Flax, Clarkia, Corn Poppy, Indian Blanket (Giallardia pulchella), Lemon Mint (Monarda citriodora), Scarlet Flax (Linum grandifloram rubra (A)), Shasta Daisy (Chrysanthemum maximum (A), Upright Prairiecone, Siberian Wallflower (Cheiranthus allioni), and Painted Daisy (Chrysanthemum carinatum (A)).

The annuals will probably provide most of the color and then the perennials will do that the following years. It's just a little different for me this year as I prefer perennials over annuals; so planting this kind of mix gets me out of my comfort zone.

For All The DIY'ers Out There

For those looking for greener paint check out this press release from Kelly-Moore Paints:

Kelly-Moore Unveils Two ‘Green’ Zero-VOC Paint Lines:
Enviro Coat and Green Coat
And Introduces the Largest Selection of Stock Colors
and Sheens in Recycled Paints

SAN CARLOS, Calif., April 21, 2009 – Kelly-Moore Paint Company, Inc., a leader and innovator of waterborne-coating technology and the first company to offer recycled paints, introduces two zero volatile organic compound (VOC), low-odor paint lines, Enviro Coat and Green Coat, and the largest selection of stock colors with 16 colors now available in eCoat, its recycled paint.

Committed to meeting top health and environmental concerns and California’s stringent regulations, Kelly-Moore’s two new zero-VOC, low-odor product lines, the premium Enviro Coat and the professional Green Coat, alleviate and address the health concerns often associated with VOCs. The products maintain excellent interior air quality during application without sacrificing performance.

“As a California-based company, Kelly-Moore has been at the forefront of environmental innovation and regulation in the paint industry. Enviro Coat and Green Coat offer both painters and DIY consumers healthy, high-quality, durable environmental paint choices that last longer than consumers may expect,” said Steve DeVoe, president of Kelly-Moore Paints. “The quality of our paints reduces the need for frequent repainting, which lowers the overall cost-per-foot-per-year for the consumer. This also helps the environment, as less paint waste is disposed of in landfills.”

Trusted and preferred since the 1960s as the “painter’s paint store” for high-quality performance and consistency, Kelly-Moore’s new Enviro Coat and Green Coat have received the industry’s most rigorous and reputed certifications, including Green Wise, Indoor Advantage Gold, and Master Painters Institute’s (MPI’s) Green Performance Standard. Both products currently meet Green Seal certification standards and are in the process of being certified. The products are a natural choice for consumers seeking environmentally friendly interior paints. With zero-VOCs and low odor, these products are designed for residences, schools, hospitals, hotels, commercial buildings, and other interiors that are typically inhabited during painting.

Kelly-Moore’s environmental product offerings are as follows:

Zero VOC Paints

· Zero-VOC and low-odor Enviro Coat is a premium quality, 100 percent acrylic interior paint featuring good sealing properties and excellent hide. It can be tinted to a wide variety of custom colors, promises easy application and cleans up with water. Enviro Coat is USDA-acceptable and contains an anti-microbial agent to control odors, enabling consumers or professional painters to paint without any health or safety concerns.

· Kelly-Moore’s zero-VOC Green Coat is an ideal choice for professionals looking for high-quality, environmentally friendly waterborne interior paint. Free of air-polluting solvents, this professional-quality line of interior coatings has the same performance and service life as conventional interior architectural coatings. Green Coat is easy to clean up with water and provides a tough, durable finish that covers well with good touch-up properties. Along with a wide range of custom-mixed colors, Green Coat will be available in six stock colors starting May 1.

Recycled Paints

Environmental impact has always been a big concern at Kelly-Moore; in 1995 the company developed a safer, more environmentally responsible technique to dispose of leftover paint and became the first paint company to introduce a quality recycled paint in the industry. Since then, Kelly-Moore has continually invested in recycling technology.

Now with 16 newly introduced, ready-mixed colors for both its interior and exterior recycled paints, Kelly-Moore’s eCoat boasts the largest selection of stock colors and three decorative sheens among recycled paints in the industry. ECoat is made with a minimum of 50 percent post-consumer waste paint. Easy to clean with water, eCoat comes in flat, eggshell and semi-gloss enamel and is ideal for residential and commercial use.

The Kelly-Moore Commitment

Kelly-Moore’s commitment to the environment does not end with its paints. In fact, its manufacturing facility where Kelly-Moore’s ‘green’ paints are made is one of the most environmentally friendly paint manufacturing facilities in the country, and is the recipient of more stringent environmental awards than most paint factories. This facility has received four of the most widely recognized green business awards from the State of California and San Mateo County for outstanding efforts to reduce pollution and solid waste and conserve water, energy and other natural resources. California is well-known for having the toughest regulations and inspection processes in the country. Kelly-Moore’s factory management is proud to have received these prestigious awards.

As one of the largest employee-owned companies in the paint industry, each employee-owner is committed to advising customers on the wide variety of custom-color palettes i.e. “Colors of the West” specially developed for the West. Kelly-Moore’s environmental paints, Enviro Coat, Green Coat and eCoat, are sold in one-and five-gallon containers. Made in three decorative sheens, flat paint, eggshell and semi-gloss enamel, these paints are available at 163 retail stores in Arkansas, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

For question related to color, paint selection or application, VOCs, or any other paint related query, Kelly-Moore’s painters (pros or DIY consumers) can call 1-888-MR-PAINT, email mrpaint@kellymoore.com, visit www.kellymore.com or any of Kelly-Moore’s nearest stores, where each Kelly-Moore employee-owner is committed to offer exceptional customer service.

About Kelly-Moore Paint Company, Inc.

Headquartered in San Carlos, Calif., Kelly-Moore is one of the largest employee-owned paint companies in the United States, where each employee-owner is committed to offering exceptional customer service. A leader and innovator of waterborne-coating technology, Kelly-Moore was the first paint company to offer recycled paints, along with the largest selection of stock colors. Kelly-Moore’s paints come in color palettes specially developed for the West, i.e., “Colors of the West.” Kelly-Moore is one of the few companies to continue to offer stock colors for superior color consistency. The company is dedicated to giving back to the communities it serves. This ethos is reflected in its corporate giving program and its numerous industry-leading green business accolades.