May 2025 President's Ponderings
By: Vicki Aber
Wow, summer showed up. Are we ready? I know I am running in circles
trying to get the garden going. The Club has also been busy. We
had a great meeting about marginal plants for Get Wet. The Sale at
Denver Botanic Gardens went really well, the Aquatics section all but
sold out. Thanks to the volunteer coordinator, Brenda Parsons-Hier
and all the people she recruited. Of course, thanks to Tamara for
just being amazing.
The Plant Swap went really well. We had a great potluck with lots of
desserts! We had an amazing variety for swapping. So much fun to get
plants for FREE.
Next comes the Plant Sale (not to be missed). We are finalizing plans
for the Pond Tour this year so I'm excited to have the Tour back this
year.
We will be taking a road trip on Saturday, August 23rd to Fort Collins
to check out all the work Gayle Close has done to rescue a community
garden that she took from a mess of muck and cattails to a well
planted water garden. She has been a regular at our meetings, picking
everyone's brain for this project. I can't wait to see what she has
accomplished. Watch for details in your email.
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2025 CWGS Plant Sale!!!
By: Vicki Aber
The Plant Sale is almost here. It will be held on Sunday, June 8th.
We are really excited about the variety of plants we will have for our
Sale. There will be both hardy and tropical plants to enhance your
water features.
We will be back at Hudson Gardens again; they have such a wonderful
location for us to use. We will be at the grassy area outside the
Business Center. There will be directional signs or ask at the Gift
Shop. The Sale starts at 9:00 am for members and 10:00 am for the
public.
For a list of plants that will be offered for sale,
Click Here
We order many plants that are hard to find locally, but we also depend
on donations from members. If you have any plants that you have
divided and have extras of, we welcome them. We will need you to
bring them on Saturday, June 7th anytime from 9:00 am to 10:00 am, so
we can get them ready for the Sale on Sunday. It would also be helpful
if you let us know what you have so we can get it on the list and have
a sign for it. You can contact Vicki at (303-423-9216) or docvicki@msn.com.
We have a great group of volunteers for the Sale but can always use
more. Saturday we will be setting up starting at 9:00 am. We need help unboxing the ordered plants, putting labels on them, and setting them up for the Sale. We also bring plants that Hudson Gardens is donating up from the greenhouse. We are usually done by noon. No
special knowledge is required, but you may learn a lot! You also get
first view of the plants that we will have for sale the next day.
Sunday we will need help first thing at 8:00 am to get the plants set out for the Sale. After the Sale starts, we need people to help shoppers to select plants, help with shoppers at check out, and clean up at the end. If you don't feel like you know the plants well enough, don't worry, there will be plenty of resources to help with that.
The Plant Sale is a lot of work, but is also a lot of fun. If you
can't come to help either day, at least come and shop!!!!!
For a map of Hudson Gardens, See Map
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2025 Container Water Garden Workshop
By: Dorothy Martinez
Container Water Gardening Workshop
Are you interested in water gardening, but don’t have a pond? Live in
an apartment or don’t have a large yard? No problem, you can still
have the added enjoyment of having a water feature with a Container
Water Garden.
The Colorado Water Garden Society has teamed up with The Hudson
Gardens & Event Center to host a Container Water Gardening Workshop.
The Workshop will take place at The Overlook pavilion (located just to
the south of the South Lawn) within Hudson Gardens on Saturday, June 21st from 11:30 pm – 1:30 pm.
Please join us for this Workshop as we guide you in creating your very
own Container Water Garden to take home! Participants will be
provided with several plants to complete their Container Water Garden.
Register now as the class will be limited to 25 participants. The
cutoff to register for this class will be June 18th.
The registration fee for CWGS Members/Residents of South Suburban
Parks & Recreation (SSPRD) will be $50 and $55 for Non-Members/Non-
Residents of SSPRD.
To register for this class,
Register Here
Please note, you will need an active SSPRD Account or you will need to
create a SSPRD account to register for this class.
For a map of Hudson Gardens, See Map
To access the nearest parking area to The Overlook, please enter
Hudson Gardens via the main entrance, go south on Vinewood Avenue and
park in the dirt lot located just off of Vinewood Avenue to the east
of the Conifer Grove, walk south to the back gated entrance. The gate
will be open and unlocked for your entry.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please
contact Dorothy at (303) 279-3137 or dam@johnfunk.com.
P.S. If you have any disabilities or are unable to walk far, please
contact Dorothy in advance, so we can arrange transportation to The
Overlook pavilion.
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2025 CWGS Pond Tour & Picnic
By: Jerry Swanson & Dennis Weatherman
Would you like to see how other people make magic with ponds and water
features? If you answered yes, you’re cordially invited to
participate in the annual Colorado Water Garden Society Pond Tour and
Picnic on Saturday, July 12th from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm. The Picnic will start at 5:00 pm, this is your opportunity to socialize with other CWGS members. If you arrive early, please hang tight and food should be ready close to 5:00 pm.
This year, the Tour will feature the ponds of seven pond owners in the
Lakewood, Arvada, Golden, and northwest Denver area. The people who
are currently scheduled to exhibit their ponds include:
Bob Birdsell 1991 S. Deframe Way, Lakewood
Nancy & George Steinke, 9364 W. Colorado Avenue, Lakewood
Alyssa Schear 767 S. Queen Way, Lakewood
Brenda Parsons-Hier & Peter Hier 300 Peery Parkway, Golden
Dorothy Martinez & John Funk 14837 W. 57th Drive, Golden
Bill & Janet Bathurst 7630 Windy Court, Arvada
Vicki & Dan Aber 8046 Parfet Way, Arvada
Carolyn Blakley, 2877 Blue Jay Way, Lafayette
Jess Milano & Keith Clasen 477 Julian Street, Denver
Each pond site will be identified by a sign on the street with an
arrow directing attendees to each pond. Please note that the hosts
are asked to open their yards and ponds, not their houses and
bathrooms. Many hosts provide refreshments, but that is not required.
The Tour is open to the public; however, attendance is usually about
75 people. In consideration of the hosts, please leave your pets at
home.
Here is a link with a suggested route to all ponds starting with the
southern-most and ending at the location where the Picnic will be:
See Route Map
It is a good idea to have GPS or a good metro map. We don’t want you
to sunburn while you are enjoying all the ponds, so we encourage the
use of sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat.
The Tour will conclude with the Picnic at Jess Milano and Ken Clasen’s
yard and pond at 5:00 pm. The Club will provide the food and drinks.
There is a $5 charge for the meal, Tour hosts are not charged. There
will be free plants for those that attend the Picnic as well as lots
of socializing with fellow pond enthusiasts.
Remember, the Tour is on Saturday, July 12th from 10:00 am until 4:30 pm with the Picnic following at 5:00 pm. Save the date and we’ll see you there!
If you have questions, please contact Dennis at (303) 570-5297 or
dweatherman@msn.com or Jerry at (307) 331-3282 or g_swansoninwheat@yahoo.com.
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2025 Water Blossom Celebration
By: Jerry Swanson & Tamara Kilbane
Imagine hundreds of waterlilies of all colors, sparkling in the
morning sun, highlighted by vertical clumps of cannas, lotus,
hibiscus, and accented by a host of other aquatic plants. Beautiful
picture in the mind, isn’t it?
But that will be the scene at the CWGS Annual Water Blossom
Celebration, scheduled for Sunday, August 10th from 9:00 am through
1:00 pm at the Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York Street, Denver.
And we want you there! You can come as either a water gardener
participant or as an appreciative or inquisitive spectator! Admission
is included with your admission fee to the Gardens.
The Water Blossom Celebration is co-sponsored by the Colorado Water
Garden Society and the Denver Botanic Gardens. CWGS provides lots of
expertise and manpower, while DBG provides a beautiful, shady place to
gather, surrounded by hundreds of gorgeous blooming water plants.
The Water Blossom Celebration features hundreds of blooming hardy,
topical, and hybrid waterlilies, as well as lotus, cannas, hibiscus,
and other marginal and floating water plants. These spectacular water
gardens will be at their blooming peak for the Celebration.
It should be a beautiful day for taking pictures of all the beautiful
water gardens and plants. And, if you are a member of CWGS (or if you
are not, you can join at the Water Blossom Celebration), you can enter
the best of your pictures in the Annual CWGS Photo Contest. Photo
submissions end on Monday, September 8th. Winners will be announced
at the CWGS meeting on Monday, September 15th.
Educational opportunities abound between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. Free
expert led tours of the ponds will help you discover the wonders of
aquatic plants. Experienced gardeners will be both wading in the
ponds and on land at the Aquatics Cart to share fun facts. And most
importantly, get your questions answered by Colorado Water Garden
Society members about getting started, troubleshooting, and caring for
your water plants. The education tables will be located near The Hive
Restaurant and Monet Pond. As a bonus, free plants will be available
to get you started while supplies last.
Along with aquatic plants, carnivorous plants will be on display.
Carnivorous plants are those fun and unique plants that gobble up
insects. Consider trying out a carnivorous plant to rid your house of
gnats. They are the best sticky tape in plant form. This year, CWGS
will give away Cape Sundews to interested visitors while they last.
Volunteers are always an essential part of hosting a successful event.
We will need volunteers to provide education, sign-up visitors for
pond tours, serve as pond tour guides, and more. You need not be an
aquatics or carnivorous plants expert. Enthusiasm is the key
characteristic to volunteer for this event.
If you are interested and haven’t signed up yet, contact Jerry Swanson at g_swansoninwheat@yahoo.com or (307) 331-3282 (yes, Jerry is originally from Wyoming, not exactly a water
gardening Mecca). Also, if you have any questions about the event,
you can contact Jerry with those as well.
Remember to mark your calendar for the Water Blossom Celebration at
the Denver Botanic Gardens at 1007 York Street on Sunday, August 10th from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm. Come and share your love of beautiful
flowers and all things aquatic.
See you there!
For a map to the Denver Botanic Gardens, See Map
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August 2025 Pond Side Meeting in Fort Collins
By: Dorothy Martinez
It has been a couple of year’s since we have had a Pond Side meeting
that is at one of our member’s homes. We are excited to be heading to
Fort Collins this year to see what one of our members, Gayle Close,
has been working on in her community’s retention ponds.
Gayle’s subdivision, The Landings has several retention ponds towards
the entrance to their neighborhood. When Gayle and her husband Chris
moved in, the ponds were not very attractive and were filled with muck
and cattails. The retention ponds are part of the subdivisions’
design to control surface water created by drainage from the
subdivision.
Gayle had a vision to turn the retention ponds into water gardens
replete with waterlilies, lotus, and various tropical and hardy
marginal plants. She started this endeavor several years ago by
joining the Club and asking lots of question. She then got a plan
together, and last year bought numerous plants at the Club’s Plant
Sale. She started transforming the retention ponds and has made quite
a bit of progress. She does most of the work herself, but does get
some help from time to time.
The Pond Side will take place on Saturday, August 23rd from 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm. The meeting point will be at Gayle’s house, located at 330 High Pointe Drive, Fort Collins 80525. There will be a Potluck, the Club will provide drinks. Please bring a favorite appetizer, salad, side dish, main dish, or dessert to share. We typically have about 15 – 20 people who attend.
After the Potluck, there will be a short walking tour to see all of
Gayle’s hard work.
The Landings is a gated community, if the gate happens to be closed,
just press the green button on the gate and the gate will open, there
is no code needed. Park along Highline Pointe Drive, there should be
ample street parking. Gayle said if more parking is needed, we can
park across the street at the Post Office located on the corner of
Landings Drive and Boardwalk Drive. There is a crosswalk from the
Post Office to The Landings. Since Gayle’s house is on the corner,
this makes for convenient overflow parking.
If you have any questions, please contact Vicki Aber at (303) 423-9216
or docvicki@msn.com.
For a map to Gayle's house, See Map
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