Cutting edge gardener par excellence! Jim Tolstrup to speak at Denver Botanic Gardens

Jim Tolstrup

 It's been a while ago--a few decades at least--when I first met Jim. He'd come back from New England (where among other things he'd been Barbara Bush's garden designer at Kennebunkport) and was now busy designing an ambitious botanic garden at the Shambala Mountain Center. I shall never forget driving there one day for the dedication of an ambitious Chinese Garden...

 Little did I know what Jim had in store in his next incarnation! A few years later I began to hear buzz about the High Plains Environmental Center in the Centerra Complex in Loveland. My curiosity grew--and I decided to add a side trip on a tour Jim and I were leading to Pawnee Buttes to check it out. I wrote a blog about it five years ago that is worth revisiting: Return of the Native.

In a nutshell: Jim has worked with the developers of Centerra to revegetate large areas of weediness, transforming them into stunning re-vegetated prairie. They have forged a fantastic partnership--the Development essentially underwriting a private botanic garden to serve the community by maintaining common areas in native vegetation, educationg homeowners in Xeriscape and serving the community in a wide spectrum of ways. This remarkable process has been described by Jim in a wonderful book: "Suburbitat" which you can now purchase in Kindle format on Amazon.

 Better yet, come hear Jim present to the Colorado Native Plant Society in the Sturm Family Auditorium at DBG on August 10th -  6:30 to 8:30. The talk is free and open to the public.

 Here's the writeup for his presentation:

 Jim Tolstrup, executive director of the High Plains Environmental Center (HPEC), will delve into material from his recently released book SUBURBITAT: A guide to restoring nature where we live, work, and play. Since the late 1850’s, permanent settlements in Colorado have manifested as one continuous arc of colonialism that has decimated the indigenous people, plants, and animals of the high plains. As a result, the short grass prairie has become one of the most degraded ecosystems in North America. This talk will explore the pragmatic realities of working with city planners, developers, landscape architects, HOA boards, and homeowners to reverse this trend and create beautiful native landscapes that restore biodiversity and conserve natural resources. This is the mission of the HPEC which is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its founding this year. Among the successes of the HPEC are the creation of habitat in urban stormwater ponds and constructed natural areas, the operation of a nursery that propagates over 100 species of native plants, and hosting events that foster reconciliation with indigenous people. The widespread use of native plants in restoration and landscaping has resulted in Centerra (the community where HPEC is located) being certified by the National Wildlife Federation as the first Wildlife Habitat Community in Colorado. This presentation is intended to inspire and assist individuals and groups seeking to restore their relationship to the land and make their community a refuge for native biodiversity. 

 So if you join me at Jim's presentation you'll not only have a chance to see the handsome devil in person, but learn about one of the most extraordinary projects to occur in land use planning in America.

You won't regret it!