The Velvet Touch: Bringing Flossflower to the Front Range
By Ross
While the Colorado landscape is often defined by the rugged architecture of yuccas and the golden resilience of prairie grasses, every gardener occasionally craves a touch of softness. In the heat of a Fort Collins July, nothing provides that visual relief quite like Ageratum houstonianum, more commonly known as the Flossflower. W...
This article presents Flossflower as a solution to a perceived gap in Colorado’s gardening aesthetic—softness and true blue color—while framing it as both ecologically and visually beneficial. The narrative leans on emotional appeal ("velvet touch," "visual relief") and ecological virtue (pollinator support) to position the plant as a must-have for discerning gardeners. However, the piece assumes that gardeners prioritize aesthetics and pollinator support equally, without addressing potential tr...