We’ve been getting a lot of questions about the unusual weather and early blooms this winter, so we decided to check in with one of our horticulturists, Laura Swain, to get the scoop.</p> Why are we seeing early blooms?</h4> We are currently experiencing the warmest and driest winter on record with an average temperature of 43 degrees! Many of our beloved early season plants have evolved in more temperate regions of the world. In the late summer and fall, all plants form buds – or tiny packets of densely stored energy for fast growth in the spring. These buds are typically covered in modified leaves, called bud scales, that keep the buds warm and cozy during winter months. Some plants have already met their dormancy requirements, and the warm days (and nights!) trick the plants into thinking it’s spring. </p> Is this bad for the plants?</h4> The risk is that here in Colorado, we will likely get another deep cold spell before winter is over. When this happens, if plants have already opened those bud scales, they become susceptible to winter burn and dieback. This is rarely enough to kill a plant. They may need some extra pruning in spring. This applies primarily to woody trees and shrubs. For herbaceous perennials, plants may expend some extra energy with early winter growth and subsequent dieback but typically have enough stored energy in their roots to carry on when spring finally arrives. </p> While early flowering itself is not detrimental to overall plant health, there is </em>another risk we should be aware of: what is happening below ground. During winter dormancy, plants stop growing above ground shoots, but roots are still busy growing and storing energy. When winters are very dry and warm, many root systems (and bulbs) can suffer. This is especially concerning for newly planted trees, shrubs, perennials and bulbs. </p>
I loved books before I knew how to read. I’d plunk down on my family’s shaggy grey carpet to thumb through bright pages of animals dressed like people or fairy tale forests full of magical plants and critters. The pictures I saw taught me the world is a beautiful place full of wonderful things, and even though I was small, I belonged. My early love of books didn’t fade as I aged, it grew—I never forgot the books that sparked my love of reading and my enduring curiosity about the world around me. </p> Walking into Golden Legacy: Original Art from 80 Years of Golden Books</em></a> feels a lot like walking into my family’s living room with a good book clutched in my chubby four-year-old fingers. Familiar faces and places line the walls—Tootle still wants to play in the meadow, the Poky Little Puppy still can’t have dessert and the Color Kittens still can’t figure out how to make green (they can’t read the paint cans because they’re cats, of course). </p> As fall turns to winter and our gardens go dormant, visitors of all ages will find a warm welcome in Golden Legacy</em>. I invite you to get cozy in our reading nook or practice your powers of observation with a scavenger hunt. Above all, try looking at the world through the eyes of a child and notice how plants and animals are enduring sources of love, wonder and joy. </p> This article was contributed by Katie Foster</strong>, curatorial assistant.</em> </p>
Every other year, the Society for Ecological Restoration</a> hosts an international conference convening restoration researchers and practitioners from around the globe. This year, the conference was held in Denver, and we had the opportunity to not only attend the conference but share the Gardens with participants. Staff from across several departments attended and presented our ongoing research. Our engagement started well before the conference -- we participated in planning and also grew native plants to use for display at the conference that were then planted at the Plains Conservation Center</a> after the meeting. </p> I partnered with colleagues from Naples Botanical Garden, North Carolina Botanical Garden and Chicago Botanic Garden to present on the role of botanic gardens in supporting the native seed supply for restoration. April Goebl presented her work on increased within-species genetic diversity for restoration. Graduate student Meredith Prentice also presented a poster on her thesis work relating post-fire plant communities. </p> At the beginning of the conference, we led a field trip for conference participants to Chatfield Farms</a> to learn about our restoration efforts across scales. We highlighted the experiments we are doing that help inform restoration from backyards to larger open spaces and consider genes to community level processes. We were able to show a multi-year small-scale prairie restoration and several experiments assessing different seeding and planting techniques, local adaptation for seed sourcing, community composition, and site preparation. </p> The best part of attending these types of events is learning cutting edge research and new techniques and meeting with colleagues new and old in person. It is truly invigorating to feel connected by our shared work and mission and to use the lessons learned to improve what we are doing. This year was particularly rewarding because there were so many researchers from other botanic gardens from around the world. I was able to organize an impromptu dinner with most of them, and we not only had a lovely evening connecting over shared issues and opportunities, but we left with some concrete ways we can continue to partner and engage the botanic garden community in restoration even more. </p>
