Grassy knolls to be a bit less blue

Native varieties being planted in Denver parks

Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 17, 2007 at midnight

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Denver parks are going natural this year, with some areas of bluegrass being replaced by native plants.

"I think it's a wonderful opportunity," said Jude O'Connor, Denver's director of natural resources. "There are so many benefits to getting a park system that we can adequately sustain."

Last week, the herbicide Roundup was applied to 16 acres of bluegrass at Ruby Hill Park (near South Platte River Drive and West Florida Avenue). Come early to mid-October, native grass seeds will be planted in that area.

The project is part of the Sustainable Parks program. Park areas are being converted to use less water and other resources, such as fuel and fertilizer.

"The wonderful park system we built in Denver is based on models in Europe and back east in the U.S.," said O'Connor.

"Those areas have higher annual rainfall, and bluegrass in those places works very well. But for a sustainable landscape, we need to be recognizing the native landscape we have in Colorado, which is short grass prairie."

A $300,000 grant from Denver Water this year enables the parks department to convert bluegrass to native plants at three different areas - Ruby Hill Park, Milstein Grove (along the South Platte River near West Sixth Avenue) and Montbello traffic islands.

The project sites were chosen because they each have "passive" areas - grassy spots that were not being used for any kind of human activity.

The money provides for the removal of the existing bluegrass, seeding the areas with native plants, modifying the irrigation systems for the new landscape, and a three-year contract to maintain the native plants.

Five acres of bluegrass in Milstein Grove already have been removed and reseeded this summer. The 1 1/2 acres of bluegrass on the Montbello islands have been killed off in the past few months but have not been replaced with native grasses yet.

Although other Denver parks have used natural landscaping, the replacement of existing bluegrass with native plants is a new idea.

The figures for a cost-benefit analysis for the conversion are not yet available, but the city expects to save in a variety of ways by making the switch.

"It's not just less water, but fewer resources," said O'Connor. "With prairie grasses, we do not apply fertilizer or pesticides, and we're not mowing as frequently."

Native grasses need to be mowed only once or twice a season.

The conversion also means less pollution.

"We will have 24 fewer mowings in a season," said O'Connor. "The equipment used in mowing requires fuel, which also leads to higher ozone in the summer."

The native grasses will improve the water quality in nearby streams, since there will be no runoff of fertilizers, pesticides or grass clippings that are associated with the maintenance of bluegrass.

"Native plants do a better job of trapping and filtering pollutants before they enter the water," said O'Connor.

Residents can expect to see more foxes, coyotes, beavers, prairie dogs, as well as birds of prey and songbirds in the converted areas.

"Sustainable parks . . . create a balance for a healthy ecosystem - places for wildlife," O'Connor said.

One surprising development from the use of native landscaping in Denver parks is the blooming of unusual wildflowers in the city.

For example, the Blackfoot daisy has been spotted at Camp Rollandet near North Sheridan Boulevard and West 52nd Avenue.

"We think that a lot of times the wildflower seeds have been dormant, waiting for the right growing conditions," said O'Connor. "Now that they've got it, they're starting to come back."

She said the city will continue to look for other areas where native landscaping can be used.

Already, the city has received a $50,000 grant from the state to replace the bluegrass near the DeBoer Waterway in City Park with native plants.

Other plans call for replacing bluegrass around clusters of trees with mulch.

"We will keep looking . . . for where the opportunities exist," O'Connor said.

Native plants

The following are replacing bluegrass in Denver parks:

• Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis)

• Bottlebrush squirreltail (Elymus elymoides)

• Buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides)

• Green needlegrass (Nassella (Stipa) viridula)

• Junegrass (Koeleria macrantha)

• Sand dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus)