Photos: Ted Trimpa s rooftop container garden

Where does a nationally recognized Democratic strategist with offices in Denver and Washington, D.C., go to relax, garden and entertain?

To his roof, naturally.

From May through October, come rain or shine, Ted Trimpa, principal of Trimpa Group, LLC, devotes a minimum of eight hours each weekend and early weekday mornings when he's in town to his Cheesman Park roof garden.

He rises early and heads up the square-cornered spiral staircase of his 15th- and 16th-floor penthouse to the 500-square-foot, u-shaped roof garden. He arms himself from his personal stash of shears and pruning tools, puts his trademark blue-tinted sunglasses on his nose.

Up on his roof, a separate world flourishes, a sea of flowers, trees, and edibles. Along the railing, cables, ropes and mesh like that found on a tennis net secure Japanese maple and non-bearing cherry trees and aspens, all in pots. A grape trellis adorns a south-facing wall.

"I'm a big dahlia fan, and they thrive up there," Trimpa says. "I try to plant everything in phases, but I cheat and buy tubers every year."

He starts a series of lilies in June, continues them into July. He plants poppies, lots of them, planted early on, follows them with the dahlias and then with hybrid chrysanthemums, creating a fire burst of hues.

As autumn approaches, his garden's color palette moves into peach and oranges, then deep reds.

Trimpa's favorite local haunts include City Floral and Paulino Gardens. "In August, City Floral holds its sale for end-of-season plants and bougainvillea, and that gives me until early October to bring them to life. I can introduce a whole new look with them."

Trimpa, who favors the International Style of architecture often associated with Philip Johnson, bought his penthouse property with its rooftop in 1999 from the estate of Denver attorney James "Jim" C. Owen, Jr.

"I still have the original architectural drawings for the interior, and discovered that the penthouse was designed by (Connecticut architect) Bruce Arniell, who trained with Johnson," Trimpa says. "I never believed in ghosts before moving here, but I am convinced that Jim often turns on the garden lights."

Trimpa grew up on a small family farm in southwest Kansas, and his first vehicle was a tractor. His grandmother, an extraordinary gardener, grew irises and some 1,500 varieties of day lilies, he recalls, all of them labeled.

Peppers burgeoned last September in Trimpa&#8217;s containers, with several different varieties growing in each pot.
Peppers burgeoned last September in Trimpa's containers, with several different varieties growing in each pot.

"Of all her grandchildren, only two of us worked in the garden with her," he says. "I was always fascinated that she could grow things in that dry, hot, windy climate. She could pull off tropical, and she always amazed me."

Despite his rural memories, Trimpa left his penthouse garden unadorned for a couple of years after he moved in. "I never thought I would have a garden because I didn't want a yard. I'm allergic to grass and swore I'd never, never mow again."

But the challenge of creating a splendid outdoor room on that rooftop, with its 360-degree views and potential for al fresco dining and entertaining, proved too much to resist.

"It all started with a just few pots, then too many pots, filled with simple plants such as petunias," Trimpa says. By 2004, he and then-partner Anthony Montoya started envisioning a different garden. Then Montoya really stepped it up, installing larger boxes and fewer pots, and adding seating.

By 2006, Trimpa had dug in even deeper, becoming a serious rooftop gardener. He started keeping a regular journal to track what was planted where, detailing weather, which plants did well, which did not thrive, and the comings and goings of various insects.

"Container gardening on a rooftop is about a month behind traditional in-ground gardening," he says. "You can't plant too early because of a possible late freeze; even mid-May is risky. The great thing is that I can use ladybugs to control pests — once they're up here, they don't have anywhere else to go. Because the Denver Botanic Gardens is nearby, my flowers attract so many birds and bees. And I use as few chemicals as possible."

Each year, Trimpa attempts to grow something someone has told him is impossible.

"I grew artichokes and bok choy in pots and they bloomed," he says. "A friend made a bet with me that I couldn't grow peanuts, so I tried. I went out and bought the right sandy soil for them. I had a gorgeous plant that I nurtured all summer, but I didn't know exactly where (the peanuts) were supposed to grow. When I went to clean out the garden in early November, there they were; they had grown underground."

In late September each year, Trimpa, who loves to cook, throws a dinner party at which everything except dairy products and meat comes from the roof garden. "You can get really creative," he says. "I plant herbs as groundcover for the tree pots, dividing the top of the pots into quadrants, like mini-English gardens. I have thyme, basil, sage, chervil, tarragon and Vietnamese coriander. I take the microgreens of the herbs and make a salad, using parsley and celery leaves as a base."

Trimpa also uses mint varieties such as chocolate mint and lavender to create herbal ice creams and classic-style custard.

"I take recipes from Bon Appetit, Cooks Illustrated, or Gourmet. I make everything myself and love to experiment."

Entertaining, he says, is a part of working in the political arena. "I'm frustrated that we've lost the notion of 'salons' where people from various backgrounds and political arenas are encouraged to engage in vigorous discussion, accompanied by cocktails and delicious fare."

His roof garden is the perfect spot for such a salon. "I often invite a mix of people and fly my nautical red and white 'cocktail flag' to alert guests that the bar is open," he says. "The roof is a big draw, especially for my Fourth of July dessert party. When the view is clear, we can see the fireworks in the mountains and out on the plains."

In the solitude of those rooftop mornings, he has time for more intimate thoughts.

"Being around plants is being around life, and it's therapeutic," Trimpa says. "It clears my mind and allows me to use my hands, and challenges me. When I'm up there looking east toward the plains, it reminds me of Kansas.

"I have the best of both worlds; the ability to be in touch with the earth and life through plants without having to deal with farming. And it reminds me of the work ethic that brought me to where I am today. It's my way of checking in with that, and it's something I'll never forget."

Artful roof gardening

When you're planting with pots, it's like playing with moveable sculptures, says Karla Dakin, landscape architect and co-author of "The Professional Design Guide to Green Roofs," (Timber Press, 2013). She had these tips for those who aspire to make a balcony a separate world.

Vive la difference. It's important to incorporate pots of different sizes and shapes, and it's advisable to remember that the bigger the pot, the better, Dakin says. "Designing a roof garden around pots is a wonderful way to generate interest and to create additional outdoor rooms."

Location, location. Pot placement is an effective way to separate various garden areas, hide vents and air conditioning units, and block undesired views of other buildings. "The roof might only be engineered to accommodate a certain weight," she says, "and pots are a really a great way to accommodate that weight restriction. You can place them close to parapet walls or on structural beams where the roof might not accommodate the weight in the middle, between the beams."

Change is good. One of the most exciting benefits of gardening on the roof is flexibility. "You can easily change the placement of your pots, or change what's in them. Just remember that if you want to include potted trees, you'll need to plant them at an average two-foot depth."

Choices are even better. The explosion of container fabrication methods over the last decade has made available a wonderful mix of materials, from ceramic to high-tech aluminum with clean lines to lightweight bright plastics. "There are myriad choices in cost and colors," Dakin says.

Less muss and fuss. "If you are creating your garden on the roof or balcony, installation is easy. Just bring up the pots, bags or dirt, and plants one at a time. This kind of gardening is really fun," she says.

To see more of Dakin's ideas, go to