Palisade Peach Festival
Experience all things peaches on the western slope. August 18-19, Entertainment, food, farm dinners, kid activities. and more.
https://palisadecoc.com/
Loveland 34th annual Sculpture in the Park
Sculptures from 160 sculpture artists featured next to Lake Loveland. August 11-13. https://www.
Breckenridge Festival of Arts
A mix of music, dance, film, visual arts, and entertainment up in the mountains. August 11-20.
https://breckcreate.org/bifa
Colorado State Fair
The big guy at the Pueblo fairgrounds with a rodeo, carnival, top name acts, and the usual big fair fare. August 25 -September 4.
https://coloradostatefair.
Free Days
Denver Art Museum, Tuesday, August 8
Denver Botanic Gardens at York St. and Chatfield Farms, Tuesday August 15
Four Mile Historic Museum, Friday, August 25
Denver Museum of Nature and Science free night, Wednesday, August 16, 5-9
Hudson Gardens, daily
Nasturtiums are one of my favorite edible flowers. This easy to grow, fragrant and tasty little plant is a must for every sunny garden. The leaves are also edible and have a spicy, peppery taste.
The flowers come in hot colors from red to orange to pinks and yellows. It likes a sunny, well drained spot and moderate water. They look great trailing over planters or planted as an edible border.
Nasturtiums are easy to start from seed and bloom abundantly until frost. They also make a nice cut flower for bud vases.
Use the fresh flowers and leaves in salads, stuffed with herbed goat or cream cheese. Pull out the petals and slice crosswise with a sharp knife to make nasturtium confetti to brighten up pastas, salads, or any of your favorite dishes. Just be sure to slice and serve immediately, otherwise they’ll wilt and turn unsavory colors.
The garden is in full bloom and productivity as the harvest months begin. Is your garden looking a little tired from all the heat? Add a shot of fertilizer to perk things up.
Continue to remove old blooms from your annuals and perennials, and clip back your herbs, using them in your summer dishes and drying them for your winter pantry.
You can put in seeds for your fall crops, including salad greens, radishes, beets, kale, and Swiss chard.
The mint has swallowed the herb garden, the zucchini is reaching toddler size, and tomatoes are causing structural problems on the porch. What to do? Use it! Collect nightly, share generously, and start freezing and drying your produce for your winter pantry.
Tomatoes were not widely eaten in the US until the late 1800’s. Belonging to the nightshade family they were considered poisonous. Today we know that tomatoes contain Vitamin C, A, iron, and potassium along with lycopene. Lycopene is an antioxidant which helps in preventing cancer. You will absorb more lycopene from cooked tomatoes than raw.
Farm fresh tomatoes will soon be nothing more than a memory. Before that sweet juicy flavor retreats for another year make the most of it with recipes sure to complement those end of summer meals. To really bring out that tomato flavor in sauces and soups add a bit of honey, agave, or sugar. Sage advice I got from an Italian grandma. Once we’re back to store bought, try cherry tomato varieties which give more of that fresh tomato taste in the off season.
