June 22, 2026
Sage Queen Garden — This evocative name piqued my interest during my Pueblo Open Day tour a few weeks ago. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone gave their garden a good name? This is a reference to meadow sage (Salvia nemorosa), which homeowners grow in abundance in their riparian, pollinator-friendly gardens.
Another dry garden favorite, penstemon adds pink lipstick flower spikes.
Milkweed feeds on monarch butterflies and provides the only food the larvae can eat. Colorado, unlike Texas, is not on the main migration route for monarchs, although some do pass through it. Milkweed provides butterflies with a place to lay their eggs and provides food for the next generation of butterflies.
I noticed a milkweed plant covered in yellow aphids, garden pests that suck the sap from the leaves. However, several ladybugs had already come to help by making food. Go, Ladybug, go!
Other arid garden beauties include wine-red hollyhock…
…yellow yarrow…
…and the Feathered Prince’s Plumage (Stanleya pinnata).
There is an orchard in the front yard and chickens in the backyard. What a productive family scene!
Next up is the Midway Xeric Garden, a garden created by Pueblo artists. Click here for a look back at the Conrad Family Garden, a combination of xeriscape and wetland.
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