Thanks, Skybird! I'm going to email them now, and share this link. Hopefully he can pop on here and answer you directly, but I'm happy to be the go-between if that doesn't happen. Thanks for moving this to it's own thread! I'll keep you posted!

Hello everyone, my name is Seamus Carroll and I'm the Boy Scout doing this Eagle Scout Project. I'll try to answer as many questions as I can. My project is to landscape 5500 square feet of area around the new art building at the Easter Seals of Colorado, Rocky Mountain village campus in Empire, CO.

I'm looking for annuals and perennials to help fill up several 12'x4' raised bed garden beds. I'm also hoping to find some native bushes and trees to fill up the rest of the space. I'm not sure veggies will work in the space this year.

Water is available, but it will have to be done by hand and hose. The staff at Easter Seals can water them over the summer but after that the plants will probably be left alone.

I don't know that much about planting, but I have lots of family and friends who do and will be at the project to help with the planting.

The location of my project will get sun most or all of the day.

I'm very interested in coming to the swap. Can you tell me when it is and where we need to go?

Thank you all so much for offering to help me with my project!

Hey Seamus! Glad you found us.

Thanks for giving us some more information about your plans. That will help everyone find plants that are suitable for your space.

The swap is May 4th this year, and Zach S will be hosting at his home, which is in the Platteville / Milliken area.

If you scroll to the top of this thread, hit the Rocky Mountain Gardening button, and navigate to the Spring Swap 2019 thread, you will see “ZachS. z5 Platteville”. Click on his name and you will be able to send him a private message. Let him know you plan to attend, and send him your email address, and he will email you with directions to his place.

If you have any difficulty, send me an email, or post your question here.

Hi Jon,

Thanks for posting the info! That helps a lot!

With water available you can get a few small sprinklers for your boxes, and anywhere else where you may plant things, can be watered by turning a sprinkler on in the area for a half hour or so about once a week. Being in Empire there should be way plenty snow to keep the soil from drying out completely over winter--and all you need over winter is enough moisture to keep the roots from completely desiccating.

It sounds like you should be good to go with "normal"--non-xeric--plants, and if you wind up with xeric plants too, I recommend planting the xeric things and the "normal" things in separate areas so that, after about a year, the xeric areas will need very little watering.

I can definitely bring you a start for a Shasta daisy and a black-eyed-susan--"normal" watering things! My plants--and most of the things you'll get at the swap are small "starter" plants, so it's gonna take a year or so for them to get going--but they're free! I'll also have starts for some sedums and hen & chicks, both xeric, and both "short" things that are VERY easy to grow. The hen & chicks won't be potted or rooted, but they come with complete directions and you can make it a "project" for somebody to plant them!

I'll probably have a few other things too, but don't know what yet!

Here's a link directly to the Spring Swap 2019 thread to save you looking for it! Right at the top are the FAQs where you can find out just what we do! And if you just signed up for GW/RMG you might need to go into your privacy settings and enable "let anybody contact me" (I think is how it's worded!) so you can contact people and they can contact you thru the forum.

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/spring-swap-2019-dsvw-vd~5660213?n=60[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/spring-swap-2019-dsvw-vd~5660213?n=60)

Hey, RMG'ers, how many of you can help with some plants for Jon???

Skybird

Welcome, Seamus! I'm reading up on what grows at that elevation, about 8,600 feet. I have some conifers that should do well there, Rocky Mountain Juniper, Abies lasiocarpa arizonica and Ponderosa pine. I may have a couple of each, small seedlings I can donate to the cause along with some lambs ears, sage and maybe a chokecherry. I'll get digging and potting up some stuff for you this week.

I don't have any perennials to share right now, since we just moved and I haven't done any "ornamental" planting. But a couple common plants that folks might bring to a swap that would do well at higher elevations are Rocky Mountain penstemon (Penstemon strictus) and the native blue columbine (Aquilegia caerulea).

I would personally advise against chokecherry. It's a fantastic native shrub in it's natural setting but in my experience is a garden thug of the highest caliber. We've been battling it for 20 years at my moms house where the previous owner panted it as a hedge and new shoots pop up everywhere. I was just over there this evening and the backyard is again awash in new chokecherry suckers.

Hi Seamus, just checking in with you. Did you get directions to the swap from Zach? Looking forward to hearing how your progress is going!

Hi Stace! We did hear from Zach and I’ll be there for sure. Seamus has a soccer game that was rescheduled for Saturday in Boulder right during the swap. I’ll be ready to learn all I can! Thanks so much for helping us with this!!!

Jon

Hello everyone,

Thank you all for offering to help my son Seamus with his Eagle Scout Project. Unfortunately our schedule today has been turned upside down. I have 3 kids playing in 3 soccer games all at the same time and different locations, including Seamus. I was hoping to be able to sneak out to come to the swap meet but it looks like it just won't work today.

If you would still like to donate some plants for his project, I'm happy to come to the meet, or your home later in the day to pick them. I'm very sorry it didn't work out to be there to meet you all.

Stace,

Will you still be able to take plants for Seamus and get them to him? I have plants, and several different varieties of unrooted semps for him. I'll bring them all with me! See you all soon!

Skybird

Family first, Jon! The swap goes for several hours, I'm guessing we'll still be at Zach's place at 2...or 3pm. If you can make it by then, it'd be better for everyone to do 1 exchange. If you can get there later in the day, maybe Zach wouldn't mind us stashing them in a corner somewhere so you can do 1 pick up. We're spread out from Fort Collins to South Denver. I can't imagine you having to go to everyone's houses to get them. If not, Stace, can you take the plants?

Barb

Hi Jon,

Hope everyone had fun at their soccer games! The swap was fun, and several people brought some great contributions for Seamus's project. I've brought them all back to my place for an easy pick up. Drop me an email, a phone call, or a private message through this site to arrange a convenient time.