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Depot Prairie Park is a Colorado native plant habitat providing food and nesting sites essential to Colorado’s insects, butterflies, and birds. Starting in 2020, the non-native turfgrass in the park was replaced with Colorado native, low-water plants. This change reduced irrigation by 73% and eliminated weekly lawn mowing — keeping 988 pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere annually and reducing labor.
Come visit Depot Prairie Park and enjoy the resilient native Colorado plants that are supporting biodiversity and our environment.
Depot Prairie Park is located at 601 W. Dartmouth Ave.
a bee drinking nectar from Grand Mesa Penstemon
Before (2020)
August 2022
Project Timeline:
Spring-Summer 2020: Pilot planting phase.
Spring-Summer 2021: Additional planting and maintenance.
Fall 2021: A shortgrass prairie meadow was sown by seed on the West side of the park in conjunction with CSU Douglas County and Kenton Seth. This meadow will take a few years to mature- please be patient! Once mature, this flowering meadow will need no irrigation.
April 2022: A crevice garden was built on either side of the steps by Kenton Seth of Paintbrush Gardens and Danna Liebert. Crevice Gardens are another model for low water landscaping.
Spring- Summer 2022: TBD
To be notified of Park updates and volunteer opportunities: Sign Up Here.
Park News
May 2022
The plants waking up.
January 2022
Look at the fantastic Bug Hotel that the 5th graders at Bishop Elementary made for the park. This will provide winter nesting sites for native bees and other important critters. Thank you Bishop 5th graders!!!
August, 2021: 3 months since these plants were planted and already a feast for pollinators
Allium cernuum (Nodding Onion)
Verbena stricta (Hoary Vervain) Host plant to 7 species of butterflies in CO.
Monarch punctata (Spotted Beebalm) Monarda punctata attracts pollinators in great numbers, including beneficial wasps that control grubs, pest caterpillars, and other harmful insects
May 1, 2021 volunteers planted over 200 plants. Kenton Seth of Paintbrush Gardens, LLC lead volunteers in a workshop on bare root planting…
Planting Day May 1, 2021
Happy Plants, July 15, 2021
photo credits: Danna Liebert
Depot Prairie Park is a Colorado native plant habitat providing food and nesting sites essential to Colorado’s insects, butterflies, and birds. Starting in 2020, the non-native turfgrass in the park was replaced with Colorado native, low-water plants. This change reduced irrigation by 73% and eliminated weekly lawn mowing — keeping 988 pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere annually and reducing labor.
Come visit Depot Prairie Park and enjoy the resilient native Colorado plants that are supporting biodiversity and our environment.
Depot Prairie Park is located at 601 W. Dartmouth Ave.
a bee drinking nectar from Grand Mesa Penstemon
Before (2020)
August 2022
Project Timeline:
Spring-Summer 2020: Pilot planting phase.
Spring-Summer 2021: Additional planting and maintenance.
Fall 2021: A shortgrass prairie meadow was sown by seed on the West side of the park in conjunction with CSU Douglas County and Kenton Seth. This meadow will take a few years to mature- please be patient! Once mature, this flowering meadow will need no irrigation.
April 2022: A crevice garden was built on either side of the steps by Kenton Seth of Paintbrush Gardens and Danna Liebert. Crevice Gardens are another model for low water landscaping.
Spring- Summer 2022: TBD
To be notified of Park updates and volunteer opportunities: Sign Up Here.
Park News
May 2022
The plants waking up.
January 2022
Look at the fantastic Bug Hotel that the 5th graders at Bishop Elementary made for the park. This will provide winter nesting sites for native bees and other important critters. Thank you Bishop 5th graders!!!
August, 2021: 3 months since these plants were planted and already a feast for pollinators
Allium cernuum (Nodding Onion)
Verbena stricta (Hoary Vervain) Host plant to 7 species of butterflies in CO.
Monarch punctata (Spotted Beebalm) Monarda punctata attracts pollinators in great numbers, including beneficial wasps that control grubs, pest caterpillars, and other harmful insects
May 1, 2021 volunteers planted over 200 plants. Kenton Seth of Paintbrush Gardens, LLC lead volunteers in a workshop on bare root planting…
Join us for a tour of Depot Pocket Prairie Park on Wednesday, September 7 at 6 pm. Danna Liebert, landscape designer and project lead will lead the tour. Participants will learn:
About the resilient, low-water CO native plants at Depot Pocket Prairie Park and their services to the environment and wildlife.
Planting and maintenance tips
Top ten plants at Depot Prairie Park to plant in your yard to attract hummingbirds and beneficial insects
Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions
August 2022
Allium cernuum (Nodding Onion)
Verbena stricta (Hoary Vervain)
