Northern Front Range Garden Tour
Join the Colorado Cactus & Succulent Society (CCSS) and the Rocky Mountain Chapter of NARGS for a day exploring some of the finest water-wise, rock garden, native plant, and hardy succulent landscapes along Colorado's Northern Front Range.
From Longmont to Fort Collins, these gardens showcase a wide range of approaches to sustainable gardening, including crevice gardens, alpine plantings, xeriscapes, native landscapes, hardy cacti and succulents, and ecologically functional gardens that thrive with little supplemental water. With ongoing drought concerns and increasing water costs, these gardens offer inspiration for creating beautiful, resilient landscapes that support pollinators, wildlife, and people alike.
This is a self-guided tour. Visit as many gardens as you'd like throughout the day.
Tour Hours
Private Gardens
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
* Ben Breyfogle & Meagon Swisher (Longmont)
* Deanna Simpson & Gerry Hill (Loveland)
* Carol & Randy Shinn (Fort Collins)
* Freddie Haberecht (Fort Collins)
* Tom Mathies (Fort Collins)
Public Gardens
High Plains Environmental Center (Loveland)
Open Dawn to Dusk
Free Admission
The Gardens on Spring Creek (Fort Collins)
Open 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Regular admission applies
Featured Gardens
Ben Breyfogle & Meagon Swisher – Longmont
Ben and Meagon's south-facing front yard has been transformed from an unkempt lawn into a low-water landscape featuring sandstone sourced from a local Lyons quarry, bermed rock garden plantings, a cactus garden, and multiple crevice gardens. Many of the plants have been grown from seed, creating a unique collection that blends familiar favorites with unusual specimens. The garden continues to evolve with ongoing expansions and new plantings.
Deanna Simpson & Gerry Hill – Loveland
After more than twenty-five years gardening in Minnesota, Deanna brought a truckload of treasured plants to Colorado. Their former front lawn has been replaced with thousands of bulbs, peonies, spring ephemerals, roses, and colorful perennials. The garden combines Midwestern woodland treasures with Colorado-adapted plants, creating a landscape that offers interest from early spring through late fall.
High Plains Environmental Center – Loveland
The High Plains Environmental Center's demonstration gardens showcase the beauty and ecological value of native plants and sustainable landscapes. Visitors can explore diverse plant communities, wildlife habitat gardens, and examples of how recreation, education, and conservation can work together to create vibrant outdoor spaces.
Carol & Randy Shinn – Fort Collins
The Shinns have developed a diverse collection of rock gardens featuring granite, sandstone, and basalt. Their landscape includes traditional boulder gardens, layered stone beds, and vertical crevice gardens, along with an impressive collection of conifers ranging from miniature cultivars to mature specimens. Blooming plants provide seasonal color while supporting pollinators throughout the growing season.
Freddie Haberecht – Fort Collins
This thoughtfully designed residential xeriscape showcases western native plants, climate-adapted species, unusual trees, hardy cacti, and other water-wise selections. Installed in phases beginning in 2023 and expanded with a major rock garden renovation in 2025, the garden demonstrates how attractive and diverse a low-water urban landscape can be.
Tom Mathies – Fort Collins
A special unwatered rock garden in the heart of old-town Fort Collins, Tom's landscape has evolved over more than two decades into an ecologically functional desert garden. Originally created after the removal of an irrigated lawn and rose garden, the space now features hardy cacti, rock garden plants, and naturally self-sowing species that have found their preferred niches throughout the garden. The result is a remarkably resilient landscape requiring little maintenance and virtually no supplemental water.
The Gardens on Spring Creek – Fort Collins
Set across twelve acres, The Gardens on Spring Creek offer one of Colorado's premier public garden experiences. A highlight for many visitors will be the extensive rock garden designed by Kirk Fieseler and Maddy Weisz, with planting redesign by Bryan Fischer. Dakota sandstone outcrops, regionally adapted plants, native species, and an impressive collection of dwarf conifers make this a destination not to be missed.
Tour Information
This tour is open to CCSS and NARGS members. Garden addresses and additional tour details will be distributed directly to members prior to the event.
We hope you'll join us for a day of inspiration, conversation, and exploration of some of the finest water-wise, rock garden, and hardy succulent landscapes in northern Colorado.
