Living Plant Collections
The living collections at Denver Botanic Gardens are one of the most diverse in North America with seven major collections identified.
Denver Botanic Gardens is a living museum. We exhaustively document our plants from seed to compost and capture every stage of the plant life cycle.
Plants are collected from the wild, received through exchanges such as Index Seminum (the next Desiderata will be published in spring 2026) and purchased from nurseries and garden centers. Each plant (or group of plants of the same taxon and source) that comes into the Gardens is entered into our database. This allows us to track everything about a plant including its health, size and current and past locations.
The depth of information may include the carefully measured trunk diameter of a champion tree, a notation of the date of bloom, map coordinates and notes of performance for a plant in a test garden. This data is part of what makes Denver Botanic Gardens a world-class botanical resource.
The role of botanic gardens in undertaking plant conservation research and education beyond the garden gates has greatly expanded in the last several decades. As we assume the mantle of plant conservation leaders, we acknowledge that ornamental horticulture can act as one pathway for the introduction of non-native, invasive species. At Denver Botanic Gardens, we use several best practices that align our achievements in horticultural innovation with our conservation goals. These practices include monitoring our garden plants for early warning signs of unwanted spread and staying apprised of invasive plant lists for Colorado and climactically similar regions. We commit to not promoting any plants with evidence of problematic spread.
The living collections are available to outside researchers, botanists and horticulturists to utilize for their projects with advance approval by filling out the Material Transfer Agreement form. Please complete this form and have permission granted one business week before intended collection date.
Here is our Living Collections Strategy.
Consists of plants that grow in habitats such as rock crevices and exposed locations.
Showcases plants of the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains Region, a semi-arid, steppe climate.
Comprises plants that have adapted to living in or on aquatic environments, otherwise known as hydrophytic plants or hydrophytes.
Consists of water-retaining plants that are adapted to arid climates and soil conditions.
Displays plants that have occurred naturally within the borders of Colorado since before the European settlement, but that are not necessarily endemic to Colorado.
Plants from regions located away from the ocean and close to mountain barriers with low humidity.
