My calculations showed we'd need about 1000 plants for them to even be visible in the garden. It's a big space, so I budgeted for that. Donated plants brought the total aim to 1200 plants. Soon, I'll have a final count.
The big news was the help. Just about the time I should have been panicking about being able to get all those plants in the ground, friends came out of the woodwork (and even faraway places) to plant. Having been quite occupied with the logistics of acquiring such a large number of exotic plants from all over the place, they totally saved the day. Truly, it would have been a disaster without their deus-ex-machina efforts.
Photo courtesy of Van Milton
Margie Frey, left, former horticulturist/head gardener of the Western Colorado Botanic (where she did a heck of a job making more improvements with plants than anyone had in recent memory, in my opinion) came to plant.
Creating the system for recording where everything was planted was Kevin Pykkonen, of Boulder, who has been present and involved with every part of this thing. His keen passion for the fanciest plants made him a specialist at figuring a few things out.
Gordon and Stephanie surprised me by coming all the way from Colorado Springs. They bravely faced the most barrel-cactus intensive bed. Gordon did it with sandals.
Van will now demonstrate the right way to plant a cactus. With salad tongs. A trick courtesy of the Chinle Cactus Club in Grand Junction, Colorado.
He'll even translate into Japanese.
The right depth can be maintained with the tongs while one backfills the hole with the other hand Yep, we even bare-rooted the cacti.
Proof I actually did some planting myself,
photo by Van Milton
Marla of Roots Medicine Gardens, threatening to show us what a little agave medicine is like.
Marla is responsible for compiling the database of plants which will one day be online for public access.
I really do like the way radially-arranged Agaves look in the matrix of a crevice.
Stomatium sp, from the soon-to-be-closed Timberline Gardens opens in the late afternoon, just as the nearby 'Gold Nugget Delosperma basuticum is closing. It's a fun handoff. There are varied opinions, including fruit, as to what the Stomatium ("Hardy Tiger Jaws") flowers smell like.
Deb came down from Boulder several times to get sandy hands. She's been madly engaged with this whole crevice garden style thing. I'm jealous because I think she was having more fun that I.
Ken was a stalwart presence for the planting. He made lots of friends by bringing snacks.
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