Succulents are incredible creatures. Their fleshy, spheroidal, animalistic forms reach to us. They are hairy, waxy, spiny, thick, weird and familiar. The same adaptations that make them champion survivors also attract us. These creature features break our tendency toward plant blindness through a dimensionality and existence in space that we understand. We judge them as separate from their floral brethren and honor them as other beings.</p> Plants with succulent adaptations occur in every climate and bioregion on earth, and steppe regions are no exception. The Steppe Garden is particularly rich in succulent life forms, and they’re easy to spot and commune with if you know how to notice them.</p> Begin your exploration by walking through the Shady Lane entrance on the northern side of the Steppe Garden and veer to the left. These crescent moon-shaped beds are part of our South African steppe collections. Take the gravel path and look down. You’ll notice a huge variety of different Delosperma</em>, including my personal favorite, Delosperma obtusum</em>, called the dwarf purple ice plant because of its purple flowers, but also because of the dark purple tint of its leaves in winter. Circle around the bed to get a clear view of our South African succulent outcropping, an entire bed dedicated to displaying the diversity of cold-hardy succulents from that region. See if you can spot our two cold-hardy aloes, Aloe aristata</em>, which forms a tight rosette of dark green leaves, and Aloe striatula</em>, which dies to the ground every year, only to shoot up new leaves with the warmth of spring.</li> In the next bed to the south, notice the spiny Ruschia intricata</em>, a small, almost shrubby succulent that creates huge thickets in the South African Karoo. Continue walking toward the Science Pyramid and look in the direction of the canal. There are several succulents that are very important to the North American steppe in this section; the ball cactus Escobaria vivipara</em>, the banana-leaved yucca, Yucca baccata</em>, and the Colorado state cactus, Echinocereus triglochidiatus</em>.</li> Now, walk across the bridge to Patagonia. Just through the entrance, on the southwestern face of the large stone formation, notice a pot full of different species of cacti that occur in the Patagonian steppe but aren’t cold-hardy enough for us to grow outside. Just behind that pot, you can inspect a crevice garden built for several species of Patagonian cacti, notably Gymnocalycium gibbosum</em> and several different species of Austrocactus</em>.</li> After leaving Patagonia, return to the center of the Steppe Garden. If you choose to, climb the turf-covered berm and look to the north. You should have a perfect view of the planting bed surrounding the amphitheater and a dozen different candy-colored Delosperma</em> cultivars spilling around the concrete bench. Otherwise, retrace your steps and find your way to the central planters. Peek between the cracks in the stones and you might see Orostachys spinosa</em>, a succulent from Middle Asia whose structure almost resembles a spiny green sunflower.</li> Approach the final planter, known as the living stones bed, and prepare yourself for a succulent explosion. Surrounding the planting bed is a collection of pots filled with South African succulent specimens that have to be brought into our greenhouses during the winter. The planting bed itself is full of succulents in the plant family Aizoaceae. These plants, commonly known as living stones and perhaps most famously represented by the genus Lithops</em>, have adaptations of color and form that help them avoid predation by blending into their surroundings. There are several dozen species of living stones in this bed, so be sure to slow down and really explore the space. Look around, through and under the grasses for hiding succulents. Calm your mind and attune your eyes.</li> </ul>
As summer is starting to wind down and field season is largely wrapping up, work in the alpine continues. The alpine field season, being higher in elevation, is delayed compared to the flowering season of our plains and montane areas. </p> Seed Conservation Research Associate Alex Seglias has been trekking to the alpine throughout the last several weeks scouting tiny alpine plants trying to time it just right in order to collect seed of some rare ones. While her work is part of a few different studies, it all contributes to the North American Botanic Garden Strategy for Alpine Plant Conservation</a>.</p> Born out of a continental desire to protect our rarest habitats, we have published the North American Botanic Garden Strategy for Alpine Plant Conservation in collaboration with the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in Vail, Colorado. The strategy, modeled after the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and the North American Botanic Garden Strategy for Plant Conservation, lays out a comprehensive framework for documenting and conserving alpine plants and their habitats. </p> Collectively we aim: </p> To understand and document alpine plant diversity </li> To conserve alpine plants both in situ and ex situ</li> To promote an understanding of the alpine and the protection efforts needed to conserve these fragile systems </li> To expand our capacity to take action </li> </ul> Alex’s work assessing how species will respond to warming temperatures</a> will improve our understanding of protection efforts needed in alpine systems. And the seed collection, while linked to a Center for Plant Conservation project funded through the IMLS (MG-245983-OMS-20), also contributes to our active ex situ conservation efforts for the alpine. Horticultural work linked to our Rock Alpine Garden and Mount Goliath also further our knowledge and conservation of alpine plants and their habitats. </p> </picture> </div> </div> </article> Photo by Alex Seglias. Townsendia rothrockii</em> thriving in a population not documented in more than 50 years. </p> Simply spending time in the alpine can lead to new discoveries. Just a few weeks ago our team stumbled upon a large population of the rare Townsendia rothrockii</em>, the Rothrock Townsend-daisy. After returning from the field, the team learned that this population had not been documented since 1970—that’s more than 50 years! We are now able to update these records furthering our knowledge of where this species lives. </p> Conservation strategies bring together diverse groups focused on a common goal. In 2022, we will focus efforts on expanding our partnerships to incorporate those working in alpine regions across North America. Through these expanded collaborations and focused work on achieving our targets, we can have a positive impact on conserving our fragile alpine ecosystems. </p> </picture> </div> </article> Photo by Alex Seglias. Boreas pass, Colorado, Townsendia rothrockii</em> habitat. </p>
Every summer and fall, when Colorado’s plants and mushrooms are in peak season, scientists at Denver Botanic Gardens rush outside to collect new specimens for the herbaria, as well as ecological data. </p> Springtime, before the start of field season, is always buzzing with excitement and anticipation of the busy months ahead. Before scientists do any collecting, they must gain proper permissions, as it is illegal to pick wildflowers and mushrooms without a collection permit. Once the green light to collect is on, researchers make sure they have enough collecting materials for the season. Mushrooms are placed in wax baggies and tackle boxes in the field to keep track of the specimens and their corresponding labels. For plants, researchers use newspaper, cotton blotter paper and cardboard all smashed together inside of a wooden press frame. Plant presses get put into a drying oven for several days at around 100°F. Mushrooms don’t get pressed, as this would squish them beyond recognition, but they are dried at the same temperature. </p> </picture> </div> </article> Incoming mushroom specimens from the 2020 field season.</p> By midsummer, most plants are either in fruit or flower which is when they are most identifiable. Botanists take advantage of this peak time by making specimen collections and conducting ecological surveys. These surveys include taking data metrics such as species richness and species abundance, which are used to help answer different questions about the landscape. Once the ecological data collection starts, it’s a race to the finish!</p> Scientists want to control for as much environmental variation as possible, which means minimal time should elapse between the beginning and end of the sampling period. In addition to the ecological data, scientists take a voucher specimen of every plant they see — creating a tangible record of the survey for deposit in the herbarium.</p> Once all the plants and mushrooms are back at the Gardens and the field season has ended, scientists spend the winter identifying specimens and writing up field notes to create specimen labels. Volunteers can then help process specimens in the herbaria — arranging plant specimens, affixing these to paper and identifying and boxing mushrooms. All plant and fungal specimens are databased, labeled, barcoded, imaged and ultimately filed away into the herbarium cabinets. An image of each specimen and the corresponding label data is available online to anyone wanting to search through our plant</a> and fungal</a> collections. Ultimately, these collections help us better understand the floral and fungal biodiversity in Colorado and the Southern Rocky Mountains. </p> </picture> </div> </div> </article> The plant drier full of wooden presses containing incoming 2021 plant specimens.</p> The paper bags on the bottom shelf contain pinecones. </p>
What is compost? Just about everyone knows that compost is a beneficial soil amendment, but all compost is not created equal. The highest quality compost is a product of your garden’s environment. </p> When you are spreading compost in your garden, you may think you are adding nutrients directly to your plants’ roots. However, compost is much more than a fertilizer. Yes, compost gives nutrients to your plants, but not in the way you might think. A high-quality local compost introduces native microbiology, which digests and delivers nutrients to your plants. By adding compost, you’re boosting the ecosystem within your soil. </p> Local microbiology is the most important ingredient in a high-quality compost. Compost incorporates the bacterial and fungal networks that make nutrients within the soil accessible to our gardens. By using native biology (weeds, grasses and tree branches) in our compost, we boost the micro-organisms that are already thriving in our environment. For this reason, the highest quality compost for a farm or garden needs to be created on site, or with native biology. </p> </picture> </div> </article> Compost is a living, breathing part of your garden. By spreading local compost, you are cultivating the life that is already in your soil, and, with the right care, that life will expand. For that reason, small-scale, local compost is better for your garden</strong> than any commercial compost on the market. </p> At Chatfield Farms</a> we have been building a small compost system to enhance our soil health with ingredients sourced from right here at our farm. Next time you are at Chatfield, come by and take a look! </p> </p>
