A Flower-Lover's Dream--Vail, Colorado

Josh and I spent a week up in the mountains last summer, and as always, we loved it. We spent a few days in Vail with Josh's family and a few days in Estes Park! It was a wonderful trip--free of humidity, bugs, and worry! We had a great time.

BUT! This post is not a vacation recap. This post is all about the FLOWERS!

The flowers in Vail, Beaver Creek, and even Estes Park were absolutely to die for! It was a container gardener's dream come true--at least it was mine! 

The most impressive thing about all of the planters, window boxes, and garden beds that we saw was how lush everything was! They were absolutely packed in with blooms! Overflowing!

As I scrutinized each bloom, trying to identify it, I noticed that there was nary a spent bloom to be seen! Now, I spend about 30 minutes every other day deadheading all of my flowers--so I knew there must have to be teams of people who tend to these gorgeous flowers. And sure enough, there were! As we were walking around one day, I noticed a group of 7 or 8 people with giant buckets, moving from flower to flower--in the buckets were tons of spent blooms! Dead headers brigade! 

Another thing I absolutely loved was how these gorgeous, colorful flowers were tucked in with the stunning scenery. Giant petunias, geraniums, and dahlias were settled in between pine trees, rocks, and mountain streams. It was stunning.

Seriously, beauty at every single turn.

On our way home, I went through my pictures and tried to identify as many as I could. So! Here is a list of the flowers I saw--and it's also a list of flowers that would be great for beds, planters, and window boxes!

Alyssum 

Beets

Begonia

Black Eyed Susan

Bleeding heart

Columbine 

Coneflower

Cosmo

Dahlia

Dianthus

Dusty Miller

Geranium

Kale

Lambs Ear

Lettuce

Lily 

Lupine

Marigold

Nasturtium

Pansy 

Petunias

Peony

Poppy

Seedam

Rose

Vinca Vine

Violet

Snapdragon

Spinach

Sweet Potato Vine

Sweet William

Snow on the Mountain

Turnips

And so, so, SO many other fillers, vines, trees, and climbers that I didn't recognize! 
It truly was a flower lover's dream!

grace & peace
Mairin