Greetings friends of the Gardens, I hope this article finds you well. I would like to formally invite you all to come experience the newly renovated Cactus and Succulent House located in the Rock Alpine Garden. Starting your step count from the edge of the Bonfils-Stanton Visitor Center and into the Gardens it will take about 575 steps to get to the front door of the Cactus and Succulent House. Assuming you like succulent plants as much as I do, I suggest you make no other stops on your way as you perform your own individual step counts while also anticipating the awaiting beauty. </p> I took over the care of this collection in October 2020 and began making preparations and plans to refresh excitement of this public display and put these plants in a more naturalistic setting. Most of the more than 215 species located here are frost tender and prefer high light. This collection highlights the range of sizes, shapes and colors available in succulent plants. One of the many reasons you should not wait to see this display is the fact that most of the species from Africa are much more active in growth and flowering during winter months while the outdoor gardens sleep.</p> A few of the more notable specimens include a large-branched Alluaudia procera</em>, endemic to south Madagascar. It is a member of family Didiereaceae. Researchers have yet to figure out where this plant family originated. Alluaudia’s</em> leaves are produced from brachyblasts, a specialized structure that mimics a cactus areole. </p> Another interesting specimen is the Tim Burton-like Ceropegia stapeliiformis</em>. Undoubtedly one of the coolest flowers in existence, this sprawling, cylindrical plant is native to South Africa. Guests of the Gardens can expect to be delighted with flowers from March – October.</p> A plant that was not collected for use in cultivation until the early 2000s is the miniature gem Crassula ausensis</em> ssp. titanopsis</em>. It is native to southern Namibia and has become a staple in succulent collections.</p> One of the most eye-catching plants in this display is the zany, wild and strange Albuca spiralis</em>. It is a bulb from South Africa and has many different forms in the plant trade. One can’t help but bask in the natural beauty of this species. It goes dormant in the summer months shortly after flowering, and the soil needs to be kept on the dry side.</p> I hope you enjoy the new cacti and succulent plant display when you visit us this year!</p>
</p> In just a few days, the Gardens will dress up for Halloween for Glow at the Gardens™</a>, our nighttime celebration of all things pumpkin. Using all real pumpkins grown by local farmers, our team of pumpkin artists will create nearly a dozen larger-than-life pumpkin sculptures, hand-carved showpiece pumpkins, and of course, hundreds and hundreds of classic jack-o’-lanterns. While we love the elaborate sculptures, the classic jack-o’-lanterns hold a special place for us: after all, there is no symbol of Halloween more quintessential than the jack-o’-lantern!</p> But… why? Where did this tradition actually come from? Why do we all buy an over-sized gourd, carve one side into a scary face and plop it on the porch with a candle for all to see? The truth is that no one is really sure! The practice likely evolved from traditions stemming from a variety of cultures. There are, however, a few stories and themes that seem consistent from source to source.</p> Most agree that the word “jack-o’-lantern” developed in 1660s English folklore and was another name for a "will-o’-the-wisp": a phenomenon of faint lights appearing over bogs and wetlands that was commonly associated with magic and fairies. Variations of the will-o’-the-wisp story are present in folklore all over Europe.</p> It is also known that gourd and vegetable carving has been observed in numerous cultures for hundreds of years. The Irish seem like the most likely candidates for bringing the idea to the United States, as they are known to have carved turnips and beets into ghoulish faces representing goblins or spirits. In the United States, where pumpkins were readily available, the turnips and beets were no longer the ideal canvas.</p> Another legend is that of Stingy Jack, a blacksmith who managed to hoodwink the devil through a series of clever ruses into never claiming his soul. Upon his death, he was fated to linger on earth for all eternity and has only a burning coal to light his way, becoming known as "Jack of the Lantern."</p> Regardless of its origin, the jack-o’-lantern is easily one of the most important elements of American Halloween celebrations. Whether it’s a single jack-o’-lantern on your stoop or a display of hundreds of spooky faces side by side at Glow at the Gardens, there’s nothing like a hollowed-out pumpkin with a candle inside to evoke the nostalgia of trick-or-treating, costume contests, haunted houses and spooky October nights.</p> Join us Oct. 21-25, 2019 to celebrate the jack-o’-lantern in all its glory at Glow at the Gardens. Tickets are extremely limited and are expected to sell out in advance. Purchase tickets </strong>online</strong></a> or at the Bonfils-Stanton Visitor Center at 1007 York Street. </strong></p> New this year! Stop by the Gardens York Street location on Saturday, Oct. 26, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., to take home a jack-o’-lantern from the show for free, while supplies last!</strong> Gardens' membership or admission required for entry.</p>
</p>With the temperatures still soaring into the high 80s, it’s hard to believe that it’s already time to prepare our gardens for fall bulb planting. But, if a thriving bed of brilliant or pastel blooms is your goal for this spring, now is the time to begin! </p>Like any type of gardening, bulb planting can feel overwhelming if you’ve never done it before. Fortunately, we have a team of experts that can give you a leg up on making your flower beds the envy of the neighborhood.</p>Planning</strong></p>Before buying your bulbs, consider the following:</p>Will you plant them in a shady or sunny location?</li>When do you want your flowers to bloom? In general, crocus, snowdrops, dwarf iris and Siberian squill are very early bloomers. Grape hyacinths, tulips, daffodils, fritillaria and common hyacinths come next. Alliums, bearded iris, Dutch iris and foxtail lilies bloom in late spring or early summer.</li>How much water will you give your bulbs? How often do you run your irrigation?</li>Do you want bulbs that come back year after year without replanting or will you want to change your bulb display, using different types and colors?</li>Do you have lots of squirrels in your area? Focus on planting bulbs that squirrels don’t like to avoid them digging up and ruining your display. </li></ul>Purchasing</strong></p>When buying bulbs, make sure they are firm and healthy looking. Some surface damage is okay as long it doesn’t compromise the bulb’s performance. At Fall Plant & Bulb Sale, our horticulture staff can assist you with making these evaluations.</li>Make sure you read the instructions on each bulb package to understand when they need to be planted, how deep and what sort of care they require.</li>If you aren’t planting your bulbs immediately, be prepared to store them in a dry, dark place that is cool but not freezing. Bulbs should not be stored in a refrigerator where fruits and vegetables are also stored.</li></ul>Planting</strong></p>Amend your soil if needed to ensure good drainage, which is essential for all bulbs. </li>For planting spring blooming bulbs in the Denver area, the best time to plant is October when the average soil temperature is about 55˚F. If you plant too early, the warmer soil temperatures may burn the flower already developing inside the bulb and it won’t bloom.</li>For fall blooming bulbs, plant them immediately and they will bloom this fall.</li>In general, plant bulbs 3-4 times as deep as the height of the bulb with the tip facing up and the root zone facing down. Imagine 3-4 bulbs stacked on top of each other. Some bulbs are exceptions to this rule, so refer to the instructions for each bulb. If your soil has more clay, plant them a little shallower. If your soil is sandy, plant them a little deeper.</li>When planting lots of bulbs across a large area, dig the entire area to the desired depth. Then, place your bulbs as desired and fill back in with the soil you removed. This will go much faster than digging individual holes!</li>Water the bulbs very well after you plant them. This watering is important for the root formation that begins shortly after planting.</li>Fertilizer is not necessary with the initial planting. Bone meal for bulbs is not recommended in most Denver soils.</li></ul>Post-Bloom</strong></p>After the plants bloom in the spring, leave the foliage to die back on its own. By doing so, the bulb receives maximum energy through photosynthesis for next season’s bloom.</li>To hide the fading foliage, plant summer-blooming annuals or perennials near the bulbs.</li>If you planted bulbs that naturalize, don’t deadhead and let them go to seed so they will increase.</li></ul>
This spring was the first growing season of my prairie restoration experimental research plot at Chatfield Farms. Millions of pounds of seed are planted every year for ecological restoration and the demand for native seed exceeds its supply. I am interested in understanding how the source of seeds used in restoration relates to plant performance. </p> What performs better, seeds from cultivated plants or wild-collected seeds? For wild-collected seed, how does the environment from where they were collected relate to their performance (size, growth rate and reproductive output) at the field site? Do plants from more similar environments to Chatfield Farms perform better than plants from different environments? Are these relationships the same across many species, or do they vary among species? The results from this experiment will help land managers and restoration practitioners to choose appropriate seed sources to maximize restoration success.</p> To answer my research questions, I conducted an experiment on five study species commonly used in shortgrass prairie restoration: prairie sagewort (Artemisia frigida</em>), blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis</em>), prairie Junegrass (Koeleria macrantha</em>), dotted blazing star (Liatris punctata</em>), Rocky Mountain penstemon (Penstemon strictus</em>) and Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda</em>). For each species, I planted seeds from six wild-collected populations across the western U.S. and from commercially available cultivated seed.</p> I am tracking growth stage and life stage of each individual plant for two growing seasons, and biomass at the end of the experiment. With more than 1,000 plants involved, volunteers were integral in every step of my experiment: planting seed and repotting seedlings in the greenhouse, plot set-up and construction, planting seedlings into the ground and assisting with weeding and data collection.</p> Out of all the different types of measurements I am collecting, I am especially interested in phenology. Phenology is the timing of when organisms progress through their life stages or life cycle events. Plants are known to alter when they start leafing, flowering and set seed in response to environmental conditions. However, some of their phenology is also genetically determined – e.g. plants from environments with shorter growing seasons may always flower earlier than plants from environments with longer growing seasons. If some plant populations are not able to alter their phenology enough to keep up with the pace of climate change and the environmental conditions at the restoration site, then they may die out in the future, leading to restoration failure.</p> This blog post was written by Katherine Fu, Ph.D. student at University of Colorado Denver. Katherine is planning a career in plant ecology and conservation. Specifically, she is interested in focusing on research questions related to restoration, plant communities, succession and plant/animal interactions.</em></p>
For most of us Tibet summons images of mystery, lofty mountains, monasteries on high perches and, of course, yaks. Tibet has been called the Rooftop of the World, just as Colorado could claim to be the “rooftop” of the Continental United States, although Tibet’s 4,500-meter mean elevation is more than double Colorado’s mere 2,000! For the last 10 years, touristic travel to Tibet has been restricted and at times brought to a standstill. I had little hope to ever have a chance to go there until Harry Jans (a passionate world traveler from the Netherlands with great savvy) invited me to join a group of 20 keen alpine gardeners on a botanical trek from Lijiang (in northernmost Yunnan) where we boarded a small bus that will bring us ultimately to Lhasa.</p> Although I’m in the last leg of the journey, I feel it safe to say that few of the trips I’ve been blessed to take have reached so many heights, both literally and figuratively. Most every day for more than two weeks now we have driven well above 4,000 meters (higher than the highest peaks in Colorado) and from the tops of many passes (some above 5,000 meters) we have climbed to 17,000 feet on occasion. It is astonishing that not one of a bus full of travelers seems to have experienced altitude sickness or other mishaps; but Harry has selected carefully, perhaps, picking seasoned travelers.</p> I have read many books by the early great explorers of this region, including Frank Kingdon Ward and Frank Smythe. They invariably describe a region of virtually non-existent roads, the most primitive accommodations and almost stone-age living conditions of peasantry. I can only imagine what they would think. The highways that we’ve sped along are smooth and beautifully maintained. The hotels we’ve stayed at, even in the most modest towns, are of a level of luxury that one rarely finds outside large cities in America – immense chandeliers, marble floors, walls, often beautifully and decoratively patterned. Spacious, comfortable rooms and bathrooms with gleaming fixtures you’d not likely find in many towns in America — or Europe for that matter.</p> The homes of the farmers in the countryside are likewise sturdy, often large and attractive with beautiful patterning of bricks and trim fields everywhere, typically within stone walls crowned with thick bundles of rose canes to discourage trespassing.</p> There is a fly in the ointment, perhaps. Or better put, a yak in the pasture. More accurately, thousands, likely millions of yaks that have mown the landscape down to the nubbins in many areas, leaving only the most toxic and unpalatable herbs to proliferate. Fortunately, these are some of the showiest wildflowers: primulas in many species forming vast throngs of yellow or red; giant rhubarbs of several kinds; the daphne cousin Stellera chamaejasme, forming domes of vivid yellow (in Yunnan) or pink and white (elsewhere). But once you venture far enough or high enough you find areas that are too far for yaks to venture from their nighttime corrals, and here a flora of breathtaking variety and beauty prevails.</p> Just as each “summit” across the Great Basin seems to have its own Penstemon, Phlox, Eriogonum or Astragalus, every “La” (Pass) in Tibet unfurls a tremendous variety of new Meconopsis (poppies), Primula or Androsace. I have already accumulated more than 3,000 images in my database, and we still have a pass or two before arriving in Lhasa!</p>
Summer has finally arrived and Denver Botanic Gardens is beaming with flowers, visitors and events! This is a peak time to visit and enjoy the wide variety of gardens and plants it has to offer. Climbing plants are a key part of the displays in virtually every garden as they provide vertical interest as well as serve an essential ecological role for wildlife by providing habitat and food for many birds and pollinators.</p> As soon as you arrive and begin your journey into the Gardens, you will be greeted by Lonicera sempervirens</em> ‘Blanche Sandman’ (trumpet honeysuckle) inside the parking structure growing along the north side of the entrance with bright red blooms with yellow centers. Showy red berries follow on this vine and provide food for songbirds.</p> As you make your way to the Bonfils-Stanton Visitor Center, you will come across several additional varieties of climbing plants including Aristolochia macrophylla</em> (Dutchman’s pipe), Vitis vinifera</em> ‘Purpurea’ (purple-leaf grape), Humulus lupulus</em> (hops) and Parthenocissis tricuspidata</em> ‘Green Showers’ (Boston ivy). These fine specimens are located along the East side of York Street growing along the Parking Garage trellis.</p> As you then enter the Gardens through the Visitor Center, make your way to the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory where you will find Ipomoea carnea,</em> a species of morning glory with stunning pink flowers that weave through the arbor located on the second floor on the northeast side of the Tropical Conservatory.</p> Continue meandering through the Gardens until you reach the Romantic Gardens, where you will find Wisteria</em> frutescens</em> var. macrostachya</em> ‘Aunt Dee’. This cold hardy climber thrives in full sun, has lilac blue flower clusters and is an ideal vine for covering trellises and fences.</p> Just a short distance from the Romantic Gardens is the Herb Garden, which has a large trellis covered in several varieties of seedless grape vines, including Vitis</em> ‘Reliance’, V.</em> labrusca</em> ‘Concord’, V. labrusca</em> ‘Canadice’, and V</em>. ‘Suffolk Red’. These incredibly delicious grape varieties will inspire you to grow your own grapes in your home garden.</p> As you continue your adventure through the many gardens of Denver Botanic Gardens, you will find other amazing climbing plants. Take note of these wonderful plants and set forth to create your own vertical garden!</p>
Beginning the series after all seven seasons had been released, I arrived late to the “Game of Thrones” party. I plowed through all seven seasons within three months and was left to pine away for the release of the eighth and final season in April. I had months to think about the future of the realm and what would happen when the White Walkers battle the united Houses and the Free Folk; winter was coming.</p> I designed the 2019 Annuals Garden and Pavilion beds while binge-watching “Games of Thrones” and named each bed design after my new favorite television show. As I pored over my plans, I found it somewhat difficult to name such bright and happy designs in honor of a TV series that can be so dark and grim. I began to ask myself if the garden would seem gimmicky or it would offend visitors. After naming half of the designs, I abandoned the plan.</p> Then something unexpected happened and inspiration knocked me over the head when I saw Dior: From Paris to the World </em>at Denver Art Museum. I was struck that Christian Dior and his succeeding creative directors named each dress. The meanings of some dress names are obvious while others are more of a mystery. The names provided something additional to ponder and more significance to each design. I decided right then and there that I will always name my garden designs as they, too, are pieces of art. It no longer mattered what others thought because it is an important and fun part of my creative process.</p> I pulled parallels of the plant colors, textures and moods from settings, objects, language, battles and characters of the “Game of Thrones” world:</p> Fire and Ice </strong>is the name for the design on the west berm in the Annuals Garden. This is homage to George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Fire and Ice” novels from which “Game of Thrones” is adapted. The plant and flower colors are rich with warm burgundy contrasted with frosty whites and silvers. This bed is the backdrop for two houses that merge together in wedding ceremonies. Look for cascading, burgundy Amaranthus caudatus</em> ‘Dreadlocks’ spilling over the wall and bluish-silvery cardoon to be standouts in this bed.</li> Khaleesie </strong>graces the name of the garden bed across from Fire and Ice. it is a raised planter in the center of the garden. The color palate is similar but has more of a tonal array of burgundy, pink and silver. Lime green is added to enhance this design. It is a beautiful composition in color and many of the blossoms are exquisite—fit for Khaleesie. Towering cactus formed Nuit d’ Ete dahlias are a companion to the lime green Abutilon</em>, also known as flowering maple.</li> Drakarys</strong>, the Dragon Queen’s command for her dragons to breathe fire, inspired the bold, bright and warm colors of the two beds to the north along the water’s edge. Bright salvia called Love and Wishes and orange, tasseled Irish Poet are two new favorite annual flowers of mine.</li> Milk of the Poppy</strong> is a garden bed designed with all white and cream flowers, mixed with green. If one lingers too long here, one might fall into eternal sleep. Spiked Rocket White snapdragons pierce through mounds of Vanilla marigolds.</li> The Rains of Castamere</strong> is adjacent to Milk of the Poppy, </em>featuring soft pink, coral and peach floral tones. Dark foliage plants and grasses are mixed in with the sweet hues. I chose this design name after the song of the same name written in the “A Song of Fire and Ice” novels, because it is performed at the end of the episode “Blackwater” by one of my favorite bands, The National. I selected plants with dark gray and black hues that remind me of rain and the battle of Blackwater that took place in the episode. This bed features two types of ornamental millets: Purple Majesty and Copper Prince.</li> The Wall </strong>is the long bed to the south where upright columnar basil (Ocimum </em>‘Lesbos’) will create a hedge-like wall when fully grown. The plants in between the basil have dark hues and silvery whites. This wall planting represents The Night’s Watchmen in their back clothing keeping a watchful eye for the icy Night King and his army of the dead.</li> Weirwood </strong>is the name of the bed to the east. This bed has a very large Quercus shumardii, </em>or Shumard oak. The leaves turn scarlet red in fall. In “Game of Thrones,” Weirwood is a tree considered sacred to characters who worship the Old Gods. Weirwood trees have red leaves just like the Shumard Oak in the bed.</li> Wildling, Dorne and Highgarden</strong> are the three rectangle beds to the south. The bed named for the Wildlings is bright and features plants that attract pollinators. I thought Wildling was a great name for this design because the naturalistic and free form design reminds me of what the Free Folk live for. Bright violet cleome and tricolored ornamental peppers make a statement in this wild design. The middle Dorne bed is long with yellow and purple flowers, fit for Dornish highborns to roam. Little Gem marigold has a lemony fragrance in this Dornish bed. The Highgarden bed to the west is lush, showing fleshy hues and romantic blossoms of Versailles Flush cosmos and CHANTILLY ™ Light Salmon snapdragons. This bed is named for the prosperous city of Tyrell. It boasts billowing flowers that are pure and innocent, just like Margaery Tyrell!</li> To the south, a long planter rests underneath a gray pergola. This design has many layers of flowers and foliage plants. Black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus </em>‘Nigrescens’) and dark hues of petunias contrast with the red foliage of coleus and impatiens. This was the first bed I named; can you guess what I called it? The name of this design is Red Wedding</strong>. </em></li> </ul>
