Native Plant Oasis at CPES Promotes Sustainability

Volunteer adult and two students stand in front of new landscaping at CPES

In an effort to reduce outdoor water use and increase the visibility of low-water native plant landscaping, Thompson School District redesigned unused turf areas in front of Cottonwood Plains Elementary School in June 2023. Thompson School District received a design from Denver Botanic Gardens and funding through a grant with Northern Water. Additional funding came from a Colorado Water Conservation Board grant, Cottonwood’s parent-teacher organization, and the District. The site preparation, drip irrigation, and plants were provided by Elite Industries. Volunteers made up of CPES families and staff, TSD staff, and community members helped with the planting on the rainy Saturday morning of June 3, 2023.

Volunteers plant native species in front of Cottonwood Plains

The design transformed the approximately 3,000-square-foot space of Kentucky Bluegrass into a low-water native plant oasis complete with walking paths and sitting rocks. The over 300 plants offer year-round color variations and support local biodiversity including hummingbirds and butterflies. This space is intended to serve as a place for students to connect with nature and for the community to learn more about the possibilities of landscaping that is adapted to our local climate.

Design

Native Plant List

Plant Select	Genus	Species	Cultivar	Common Name	Water Use	Annual Maintenance	5-10 years Maintenance
no	Achillea		‘Moonshine’	Moonshine Yarrow	moderate to xeric	Cut back/shear to base every spring	Follow annual maintenance
no	Achillea	millefolium	‘New Vintage Violet’	New Vintage Violet Yarrow	moderate to xeric	Cut back/shear to base every spring	Follow annual maintenance
no	Achillea	ageratiflia		Greek Yarrow	moderate to xeric	Rake out dead leaves in spring if any.	Follow annual maintenance
no	Agastache			Blue Fortune Hyssop	moderate to xeric	Cut back to base/shear down to ground every spring. Then rake up.	Replace plants that may die every 5-10 years.
no	Agastache	aurantiaca		Apricot Sprite	moderate to xeric	Cut back to base/shear down to ground every spring. Then rake up.	Follow annual maintenance.
no	Anemone	× hybrida	‘September Charm’	Anemone ‘September Charm’	moderate to dry	Cut back to base/shear down to ground every spring. Then rake up.	Follow annual maintenance.
yes	Aquilegia	chrysantha	DENVER GOLD®	DENVER GOLD® Columbine	moderate to xeric	Hand trim back dead stems in spring.	Follow annual maintenance.
yes	Aquilegia		REMEMBRANCE®	REMEMBRANCE® Columbine	moderate to dry	Hand trim back dead stems in spring.	Follow annual maintenance.
yes	Arctostaphylos	× coloradensis	‘Chieftain’	Chieftain Manzanita	moderate to xeric	Never touch unless there is damage to branches and only prune those branches out in spring.	Follow annual maintenance. This can be a long lived woody shrub if growing conditions are correct.
no	Artemisia	schmidtiana		Silver Mound Sage	dry to xeric	Hand trim back dead stems in spring.	Follow annual maintenance and allow to go to seed. Thin out any undesireable seedlings.
no	Artemisia	tridentata		Big Brush Sage	dry to xeric	Never touch unless there is damage to branches and only prune those branches out in spring.	Follow annual maintenance. This can be a long lived woody shrub if growing conditions are correct.
no	Aster	tataricus		Tartarian Aster	moderate to xeric	Hand trim back dead stems in spring.	Follow annual maintenance.
yes	Berlandiera	lyrata		Chocolate Flower	dry to xeric	Hand trim back dead stems in spring.	Follow annual maintenance and allow to go to seed. Thin out any undesireable seedlings.
yes	Bouteloua	gracilis	‘Blonde Ambition’	Blonde Ambition Blue Grama Grass	dry to xeric	Cut back every early spring.	Divide or remove old plants and replace with new plants.
yes	Callirhoe	involucrata		Winecups	dry to xeric	Cut back/shear to base every spring	No maintenance, long lived plant that is well behaved.
yes	Cercocarpus	intricatus		Little Leaf Mountain Mahogany	dry to xeric	Shear once a year from much tighter growth. Can also be sheared in the spring to shape into a short hedge if desired.	Follow annual maintenance.
no	Cercocarpus	montana		Curly Leaf Mountain Mahongany	dry to xeric	Shear once a year from much tighter growth. Can also be sheared in the spring to shape into a short hedge if desired.	Follow annual maintenance.
yes	Chamaebatiaria	millefolium		Fernbush	dry to xeric	Shape/Shear 2″-6″ off all branch tips every early spring into a nice round mound. This will promote a great branching structure for a nice dense shrub, while deadheading each year. Leave the short branch tips on the ground as “mulch”.	Follow annual maintenance.
yes	Chrysothamnus	nauseosus	var. nauseosus (baby blue form)	Baby Blue Rabbitbrush	dry to xeric	Shape/Shear to small mound or just enough to remove seedheads EVERY late fall or very early spring. This will maximize late summer blooming.	Follow annual maintenance
no	Ephedra	minimia		Mormon Tea Shrub	dry to xeric	Install steel edging around this plant to limit spreading	No maintenance
yes	Epilobium	canum ssp. garrettii	ORANGE CARPET®	ORANGE CARPET® Hummingbird Trumpet	moderate to dry	Trim back in spring to promote spreading the plant into a wider size.	Follow annual maintenance. This is a long lived perennial and continously spreads out from center at a resonable rate, but divide if it grows too large.
yes	Hesperaloe	parviflora		Red Yucca	dry to xeric	Trim flower stems back to base of plant every early spring.	Follow annual maintenance.
no	Prunus	pumila var. besseyi	PAWNEE BUTTES®	PAWNEE BUTTES® Western Sand Cherry	moderate to xeric	After its mature, select a few larger branches and prune them off to about 6″ above ground and let plant rejuvenate.	Follow annual maintenance.
no	Rhus	aromatica	‘Gro-low’	Gro-Low Sumac	moderate to xeric	No maintenance. If it out grows space trim it back hard in spring.	Follow annual maintenance.
yes	Rudbeckia	hirta		Denver Daisy	moderate to xeric	Hand trim back dead stems in spring.	Follow annual maintenance.
yes	Satureja	montana var. illyrica		Purple Winter Savory	moderate to xeric	Prune back/shear to ground in spring.	Follow annual maintenance.
yes	Schizachyrium	scoparium	‘Standing Ovation’	Standing Ovation Little Bluestem	moderate to xeric	Cut/shear back every spring.	Follow annual maintenance.
yes	Scrophularia	macrantha		Red Birds in a Tree	moderate to xeric	Cut/shear back every spring.	Follow annual maintenance.
no	Sedum			Vera Jameson	moderate to xeric	Cut/shear back every spring.	Follow annual maintenance. This can be a long lived perennial if growing conditions are correct.
no	Solidago	rugosa	‘Fireworks’	Goldenrod	moderate to xeric	Hand trim back dead stems in spring.	Follow annual maintenance. This can be a long lived perennial.
yes	Sporobolus	wrightii		Giant Sacaton Grass	moderate to xeric	Cut/shear back every spring.	No maintenance, long lived plant that is well behaved. Will not die out in the center.
no	Stachys	byzantina		Lamb’s Ear	moderate to xeric	Hand trim back dead stems in spring.	Follow annual maintenance.
yes	Veronica		‘Reavis’	CRYSTAL RIVER^TMVeronica	moderate to dry	Hand rake or run hand over to remove any dead foliage in spring	Trim out any dead, divide over grown areas and add plantings where desired.
no				PBSI Native Lawn Mix (blue grama and buffalo grass mix) – Seed Mix	dry to xeric

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Transforming Turf to Native Plant Oasis at CPES

Design

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