A late-season snowstorm in Denver on Friday led to a scramble to cover and move plants.
DENVER — Staff at City Floral Garden Center in Denver hustled Friday morning to cover and move plants as a late-season snowstorm brought snow, wind and the threat of a hard freeze to the region — compounding an already challenging spring marked by drought and water restrictions.
Snow began falling around 11 a.m. Friday at the nursery off Kearny Street, capping a dramatic temperature swing.
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“This is Colorado gardening,” said Trela Phelps, general manager at City Floral. “Yes, we’re all used to it!”
By mid-morning Friday, a cold front had pushed Denver temperatures into the 30s.
For Phelps and her staff, the storm meant an all-hands scramble. Workers used forklifts to move tropical plants across the street into a garage, laid trees flat and tarped them, and built barriers to shield Japanese maples and other vulnerable plants.
An unusually warm and dry spring has pushed the growing season nearly three weeks ahead of schedule, leaving plants in a vulnerable state far earlier than normal.
“We have a lot of trees and other things that have emerged, perennials,” Phelps said. “There are peonies that are actually in bud, and normally that’s a Memorial Day harvest.”
The prolonged heat and lack of rain that preceded the storm have also left the region under ongoing drought conditions and water restrictions, creating a double challenge for gardeners and nurseries alike. While Friday’s snowfall was welcomed, it is unlikely to make a significant dent in the available water.
“It’s wonderful news,” she said. “We love the moisture and it just is more encouraging for us to be able to garden going forward.”
As for whether drought conditions are changing what customers buy, Phelps said it’s too soon to tell.
“I think people have gotten smarter about gardening — putting the right plants all together that require the same amount of water,” she said.
Phelps added that she had not yet seen a significant drop in sales.
“It’s just starting the growing season, so we’ll see,” Phelps said.
Garden center staff have been advising customers to use frost cloth or sheets to cover large areas of plants through the snowstorm, and upturned pots or storage jars to protect individual specimens. Phelps noted that most cool-season vegetables should survive the cold snap.
One additional wrinkle for nurseries: plants grown for the season were sourced and started months in advance, based on typical seasonal timelines. With crops running ahead of schedule, Phelps said staff are trying to slow some of them down.
Gardeners across the Front Range are doing the same in their own yards, including Phelps. All they can do is stay optimistic.
“I’m just crossing my fingers like everybody else!”
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