The Gardens’ mission is to connect people with plants. The actions we take in pursuit of that mission are guided by our core values, one of which remains especially relevant today: diversity. We have an incredible and obvious diversity among our plant collections, but we also strive for a diversity in the people we are connecting with those plants.</p> Unfortunately, contributions from members of underrepresented groups often lack visibility. In an effort to raise the voices of those struggling to be heard, we are highlighting some contributions that POC have made (and continue to make) in fields related to botany and horticulture in this monthly series.</p> Below are two African Americans whose focus on plants and the environment have improved, and even saved, the lives of many.</p> From the Past: </h2> Harriet Tubman (c.1820-1913), Herbalist</p> Harriet Tubman has gone down in history for numerous reasons, foremost among them being her role as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. But a skill largely unmentioned that aided her in roles as conductor, soldier, and nurse was herbalism. According to Leah Penniman, enslaved herbalists fought to keep their traditions at great costs; slave owners so feared being poisoned by the people they enslaved that herbal practices were banned altogether. Tubman used remedies passed down from her grandmother to treat fugitive slaves, keep babies quiet on the Underground Railroad, and heal soldiers in the Union during the Civil War. </p> </picture> </div> </div> </article> Harriet Tubman, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution (c.1868)</span></span></span></p> Explore more!</h3> You can read about Harriet Tubman’s herbal skills and find Black herbalists from our own time in Leah Penniman’s book, “Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land” (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2018). Since our library is closed, we encourage you to support Black-owned bookstores</a> if you would like to purchase this title.</p> A powerful photo of Harriet Tubman was recently acquired through the joint efforts of the Smithsonian Institutions and the Library of Congress. It’s the only known photograph of Tubman in which she is a strong young woman (similar to her depiction in the woodcut image used in this post), in complete contrast to other images that were taken closer to the end of her life. You can read about the significance of this photograph – and see it for yourself – in this article from Smithsonian Magazine</a>.</p> Active Today: </h2> Majora Carter, Activist and Consultant</p> Majora Carter has dedicated herself to environmental justice, particularly for underserved communities. She found her passion before starting grad school, when a city plan to divert waste into her neighborhood (South Bronx) drove her to organize protests pushing for environmental awareness and a say in environmental policies. Recognizing the need for more and lasting change in the community, Carter founded Sustainable South Bronx in 2001 – a nonprofit focused on projects such as building green roofs and providing green job training and placement. She now heads her own consulting firm that advises clients on how environmental projects and policies can revitalize low-income communities.</p> </picture> </div> </div> </article> Majora Carter. Image s</a>ource</a>.</span></span></span></p> Explore more!</h3> You can listen to her 2006 TED Talk, “Greening the Ghetto”</a> in which she discusses more fully her work in the South Bronx.</p>
Now that it’s July and seedlings have had time to root in, container displays around the Gardens are taking off — bulking up in size, spilling over edges and launching flower stalks. Come with me as we wander among some of this season’s most colorful and dynamic displays. </p> First stop, the large containers outside the Bonfils-Stanton Visitor Center</strong>. Each pot is filled with citrus-colored flowers that echo the theme of neighboring beds – “So glad to see you,” a joyful hello to all who pass by. Although I chose the theme over a year ago, it has proven unexpectedly apt, reflecting the gratitude we feel welcoming visitors back. The highlight of this design is the tropical legume Senna didymobotrya</em> planted on either side of two cannas. Each plant has long stems that arch inward and, at distance, remind me of a person’s arms raised up in excitement before hugging a friend. Yellow, round flowers and leaves that smell like toasted corn give this beauty its common name, popcorn cassia. </li> Next stop, outside Marnie’s Pavilion</strong> where colleague Nick Daniels has transformed the low walls into a wondrous collection of cacti and succulents. This display encapsulates the principle that contrast is completion. It is diverse, unifying and satisfies our love of visual drama. Note how the variegated Agave attenuata</em> ‘AGAVWS’ Ray of Light pops in front of the brilliant red Aloe dorotheae.</em></li> From here we walk south to the Science Pyramid,</strong> where colleague Mike Holloway shows his talent for plant mixology -- combining cool and hot colors, spiny geometric forms and soft cascading ones. You’ll see more of his talents in the Victorian Secret Garden to the northwest, where kitsch is elevated to high art. Humorous touches — including a head planted with a bromeliad wig — are mixed with elegant combinations of foliage plants.</li> But first pass through the Steppe Garden</strong> to see an eclectic mixture of high-altitude gems displayed in front of the waterway. Colleague Sonya Anderson has assembled plants from four steppe regions, including a large pelargonium that looks like a tree and a king protea.</li> More must-see containers await in the Annuals Garden and Pavilion</strong>, where colleague Bridget Blomquist has lined beams of the pergola with baskets of silver dichondra, magenta geraniums and an Alternanthera </em>the color of red wine. The plants match those in planters below with equal lushness, making you feel as if you’ve escaped into a flower tunnel.</li> Next stop, South African Plaza</strong> where colleague Mike Kintgen transports us to the tip of Africa and nearby Madagascar and Sub-Saharan Africa. Here you’ll find flora that’s both familiar and unusual. Pelargoniums join lesser known specimens, such as Senecio </em>and Kalanchoe</em>, in pots on the terrace and in an adjacent bed of flowering torches, known as Kniphofia</em>.</li> Finally, walk through Le Potager,</strong> past a sea of larkspur to the gazebo and you'll find a container of Abutilon </em>‘Souvenir de Bonn’. Encircling it are wands of Campanula glomerata</em>, mingling so naturally with the flowering maple that you’d think they grew in the pot too. In fact, the campanula grows in the bed and the potted Abutilon </em>was placed there by colleague Ebi Kondo to create a seamless effect.</li> </ul>
Summer is officially underway. The cast of spring-blooming flowers we so eagerly awaited has been replaced by a rowdy and colorful mid-season crowd, who are having their day in the sun. And, while the initial excitement of the gardening season has not faded for many of us, reality has set in: weeds have proliferated alongside our beloved landscaping plants. Perhaps we were out of town for a couple of days, shifted our focus to a project other than our yards or needed a respite from the soaring 90°F temperatures. Meanwhile, weeds jumped at the opportunity, marched up and down sidewalk cracks and fence lines, colonized the darkest and most clay-heavy corners of our yards, and scrambled brazenly up desirable plants with their tendrils. </p> Some of these weeds are annuals or biennials that are easily addressed in an après-dinner weed-pulling session, accompanied with a beverage and snippets of conversations with friendly passersby. Pleasant enough. However, there’s that suite of more problematic weeds, perennials that reproduce vegetatively, creating clones of themselves until their radius expands. These are the weeds we pull repeatedly, only to become overwhelmed when they return with an exponential vengeance. One such weed is Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense</em>). </p> Identifying Canada Thistle</strong> A colony-forming species, Canada thistle emerges in the spring, punctuating yards (and other disturbed sites) with rosettes of leaves. Leaves are spiny lobed and from 4 to 8 inches long, mostly smooth and green above and white-woolly below. Around the time spring transitions to summer, a flower head emerges with one to five small pink to purple (rarely white) flowers. Fun fact: This species is dioecious, meaning individual plants have either female or male flowers. At maturity, Canada thistle stands 3 to 5 feet tall. What you don’t see is most of the plant—an extensive creeping root system that penetrates the soil to depths of 6 to 15 feet. </p> Since its arrival to North America several hundred years ago, Canada thistle has spread throughout much of Canada and the United States and is considered a noxious weed (list B) in Colorado. It aggressively competes with native plants, reduces crop productivity by vying for essential resources such as space, nutrients, light and water, is unpalatable to livestock and, if left to its own devices, can form monocultures in our yards. These are all compelling reasons to manage this species, but where to begin? </p> Research suggests that a combination of approaches works best for managing Canada thistle. Below are several suggestions: </strong></p> Mow frequently or cut back</strong> the rosettes with clippers </strong>from when the plant emerges in the spring through summertime. This will prevent flower formation and will also stress the plant by reducing carbohydrate storage in roots. </p> Glyphosate:</strong> From late summer up until the first hard freeze, spot treat by applying glyphosate to Canada thistle leaves using a paintbrush. The herbicide will be translocated to the underground parts of the plant, ultimately bringing about its demise. </p> Plant regionally appropriate plants:</strong> Once your yard’s thistle population is under control, plant regionally appropriate plants including a diversity of natives and Plant Select® plants. These require fewer inputs, including less fertilizer and water. Where bare ground remains, apply mulch. Covering bare ground with plants and mulch will make your yard less prone to future weed infestations. </p> Puccinia punctiformis</em>, a rust fungus that is host-specific and pathogenic to Cirsium arvense, shows great promise in managing Canada thistle populations.</strong> This biocontrol is currently being evaluated in Colorado for appropriate application timing and best methods. To learn more or to order, visit the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Request-A-Bug</a> page.</p> Although Canada thistle is one of the more challenging weeds to manage, the good news is that with a multi-pronged approach over the course of several seasons, it is entirely possible to eradicate this weed from our yards. </p>
