Let’s pause for a moment and think—really think—about food. It punctuates and often defines important times in our lives, yet it is also an essential, daily element of our lives. </p> </p> It wasn’t always special. For millennia, food was a drudgery. Day in and day out, it was just a matter of finding, hunting and gathering whatever we could. Humanity’s relationship to food changed dramatically once we settled down, created cities after creating farms. For most in Colorado, and much of the developed world, the choices we have are now constant. Visit a local grocery and it’s hard to believe it if there is no star fruit or butter lettuce.</p> I am old enough to remember when many fresh fruits and vegetables appeared seasonally. While there is still an optimal time to buy Colorado peaches, some variety of the peach is always available.</p> There are too many people, however, who live in areas where the only choice for a fresh fruit or vegetable may be a banana at a convenience store. A lack of grocery stores and complicated public transportation leave many locked in a cycle of poor nutrition and ill health.</p> Several community organizations have rallied to alleviate the problem and we joined this righteous cause several years ago. The Gardens’ Community Supporting Agriculture program produced a super abundance of produce which created an opportunity to open markets in food deserts. Near that time, we teamed up with Veterans to Farmers, raising money for stipends to engage vets in our program, teaching them to farm and opening new doors to reach deep into underserved communities. More than 80 veterans have now graduated from the program and most have gone on to start their own farm operations. We call the entire enterprise Urban Food Initiatives.</p> Now we look to bolster our efforts locally and take the mission globally. With work on crop wild relatives, genetics, atmospheric water harvesting and soils management, we are poised more than ever before to help people all over the world have at least some opportunity to access healthy food.</p> Sadly, hunger and poor nutrition are problems unlikely to lessen with a growing global population. However, if we all do our part, if we stay determined to make a lasting difference, then maybe we can finally emerge into a more sensible and sustainable future for all people.</p>
If you think about hiking in the mountains of Colorado during different seasons of the year, you might recall seeing plants at different stages of their life. After the snow melts in the spring, greenery begins to emerge from the cold, solid ground. By June or July, many of the alpine plants are in full flower. And by August or September, you might notice that those flowers have turned to dried-out fruit capsules filled with hundreds to thousands of tiny seeds.</p> Those seeds are then released and fall to the ground, only to experience the harsh conditions of mountain life only a few weeks later. The tiny seeds get buried in multiple feet of snow for a few months before their life as a plant can begin in the spring. This period of snow burial and cold conditions has led seeds to evolve a type of dormancy called physiological dormancy, meaning that they need a period of cold before they can germinate in the spring. If you think about it, this makes a lot of sense, because if the seeds were to germinate in the fall immediately after they are dispersed, that tiny seedling would quickly die from the ensuing cold temperatures and snow.</p> We can use information such as habitat conditions of a plant to predict what requirements are needed for germination. For many plant species, particularly rare alpine species, there is little to no information about the requirements needed for germination.</p> For example, four rare alpine species from which seed was collected in 2018 – Castilleja puberula, Ipomopsis globularis, Physaria alpina</em> and Saussurea weberi</em> – have practically no information on what they require for germination. As such, I had to think about the environmental conditions of the habitats from where these seeds were sourced, as well as the likely dormancy classification of these species. The latter of which was done by looking at closely-related common species, as species within the same genus or family will often have the same type of dormancy.</p> Based on the knowledge of the environmental conditions of the source habitat, we can infer that freshly collected seeds likely need a period of cold in the lab setting before they will germinate. I subjected seeds to different lengths of cold stratification in a refrigerator at about 35°F, ranging from two weeks to 12 weeks, before placing them in an incubator at two different temperature regimes to mimic spring and summer conditions in the alpine environment. The experiment is still running, but from preliminary results it appears the species mostly prefer the warmer summer conditions.</p> With this baseline germination information, we can proceed with other questions and experiments that will tell us more about these little-studied species. As part of an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant, the Gardens is collaborating with other public gardens around the United States to research “exceptional” plant species, or those that cannot be stored in traditional ex situ seed bank conditions for conservation purposes. Studies in Italy and Australia have shown that alpine species in those countries are short-lived in seed banks compared to low elevation species.</p> The Research & Conservation Department at the Gardens will conduct similar ageing experiments to determine if these patterns are also present in North American alpine species. However, before these experiments can begin, we need to understand the basic germination requirements of the species to understand how viability and germination may be affected over time during long-term frozen storage in a seed bank. </p>
Inspired by nature, 15 undergraduate students in the Environmental Design University of Colorado Boulder (CU-ENVD) designed and built an outdoor classroom in Mordecai Children’s Garden over the course of six months. The space was designed to be imaginative and flexible for a wide range of activities for young visitors. Special features include kneeling table legs that can be lowered and raised to accommodate varying ages, LED honeycomb panels that illuminate the space, integrated storage cubbies and living walls with plant boxes.</p> This is the third project we have completed with the CU-ENVD program. Last year, students designed and built two mobile ticket booths for special events at York Street and Chatfield Farms. The booths have LED illuminated exteriors and clean wood interiors. The booths are built on trailer beds, so they can be towed to different locations. The other project was two vertical veggie, herb and flower gardens that are watered by our atmospheric water harvesters.</p> We enjoyed the opportunity to provide hands-on learning for the students as they tackled non-traditional settings, input from many voices at the Gardens, budget and scheduling.</p> Mallisyn Bruce, an architecture major, says “Working on this design build project was such an amazing opportunity. Being able to see our designs come to life was an experience unlike any other we have had thus far in the program. It took months of hard work and dedication. This space will be enjoyed by people for years to come and I am so grateful to have placed my mark in a place I used to love visiting as a child with my own family.”</p> Ian Klene, a planning major, adds “Being able to create a space like this while a student is an absolutely incredible opportunity. We were lucky to work with such a great client that helped facilitate our creativity and with instructor Jeremy Ehly who was able to focus that energy into a space that we hope will be cherished by children and their families for years to come.”</p> The Gardens loves the addition of these creative, functional and sustainable design elements at York Street and Chatfield Farms. We look forward to seeing how these features enhance the visitor experience.</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>
In April, staff from the Research & Conservation Department closed the office for two days and embarked on an intensive wilderness first aid course. As collectors of plant and fungal specimens, seeds, and other types of ecological data, we frequently find ourselves working in the wilderness.</p> Typically lacking clean work spaces, safe drinking water and access to emergency services, the wilderness can be an unpredictable environment to work in. To become better equipped to work in such an environment, we invited Ben and Caitlin from Longleaf Wilderness Medicine</a> to guide us through their 16-hour WFA course. Read on to learn our main takeaways from this training.</p> Know who you are exploring with</strong></p> Before heading out on a trip, it is important to take note of each team member’s allergies, regular medications, pertinent medical history and emergency contact information.</p> </p> Let’s say Margo is on your seed scouting team and, in the middle of a scouting trip, you find she has passed out behind the tree. Did she pass out because she ran into the tree? Maybe she passed out as a negative reaction to her new, regular medication. Did she fall and hit her head on a rock because of her recovering knee replacement? Maybe she’s slipping into anaphylactic shock because she is allergic to bees and was stung moments before.</p> Knowing that Margo has not had any joints replaced, takes no regular medication and is not allergic to bees helps us eliminate three of these options, better preparing us to inform medical personnel of Margo’s state when they arrive. If we are unsure of Margo’s allergies, regular medication or pertinent medical history, access to her emergency contact information points us towards someone who knows more and can help medical personnel establish a treatment plan for Margo.</p> Act within your scope</strong></p> If your medical expertise is limited to washing and dressing a scrape, drinking water when feeling dehydrated or taking an ibuprofen or two after a minor injury, those services are the best (and only) services you can offer to someone in an emergency.</p> </p> Let’s say Jenny and Andy are collecting mushroom specimens from Mount Evans and Andy trips and falls over a rock, fracturing his forearm. Jenny has recently completed her wilderness first aid certification and, in doing so, learned a variety of emergency medical skills including scanning for bleeding and bodily injuries, casting and splinting.</p> Having just witnessed the accident, Jenny uses her new skills to locate Andy’s injury and check for other signs of bodily trauma. When Andy is ready, Jenny casts and splints his fractured forearm, making it easier for him to hike down Mount Evans towards safety.</p> Would Andy be smiling if an untrained person attempted to examine, cast and splint him? Probably not, as taking those actions without sufficient training could potentially worsen his injury. Act within your scope to avoid making a bad situation worse.</p> Keep a stocked first aid kit</strong></p> A good first aid kit will include antiseptic prep pads, band aids, gauze pads, medical tape and ibuprofen. A great first aid kit will include a few more supplies, some which might not be so obvious.</p> </p> Let’s say you and Chrissy are collecting plant specimens when she accidently cuts her forehead with a hori hori Japanese gardening knife. You want to clean and dress Chrissy’s wound, but your hands are dirty from collecting and the hand sanitizer you have probably won’t take care of the dirt and grime in between your fingers and underneath your nails.</p> Gloves are an excellent first aid tool that you can use to make this next step safe for both you and Chrissy. Wearing gloves not only allows you to avoid contaminating Chrissy’s wound – it also prevents you from coming in contact with her blood or other bodily fluids.</p> Other non-obvious supplies to include in your first aid kit include tweezers for removing splinters, stingers and other debris; scissors for cutting tough gauze and bandages; a safety whistle for signaling distress; and a pen or pencil for taking notes on a person’s condition after an accident. Keeping a well-stocked aid kit will can reduce the severity of most emergency situations.</p> These are far from the only lessons learned from our 16-hour wilderness first aid training. Having undergone this training, the Research & Conservation Department has increased senses of skill and security going into the 2019 field season. Learn more about our training and others</a> offered by Longleaf Wilderness Medicine.</p> </p>
On the western slope of Colorado you will find populations of a rare ball cactus with lilac flowers that bloom a few days a year when the sun is shining and pollinators are flying.</p> Each Colorado hookless cactus (Sclerocactus glaucus</em>) flower produces over a hundred seeds and those that germinate produce two cotyledons that look like bunny ears before sprouting a tuft of spines and filling out into mini plants.</p> At 10 sites scattered across the western slope, a group of volunteers and staff from Denver Botanic Gardens and the Bureau of Land Management brave steep rocky back roads, tiny biting gnats and hot sun, or cold temperatures and sneaky rain storms to track the lives of every individual plant in our plots.</p> The reason we brave these sometimes harsh conditions is more than the benefit of seeing the beautiful landscape and fascinating plants, although that is a huge perk of the job. It is also more than creating a community of conservationists that join us every year, although I learn something new and hear great stories on every trip. The driving motive behind our efforts is that the data we collect to track the health and persistence of this rare cactus result in conservation actions that ensure this rare species can flourish in areas also hosting oil and gas extraction, recreation and cattle grazing. </p>
As the soils warm and spring begins to transition into summer, the cacti and succulents begin to take over the show for a while. These succulent gems are found throughout the grounds of Denver Botanic Gardens and are a key part of many of our displays. Too often, their short-lived floral displays are overlooked as other plants are coming into flower, but this should not be the case!</p> As you enter the Gardens, you will come to the Roads Water-Smart Garden. Notice the prickly pears, agaves, and various other cacti with their unique forms, textures, and flowers complementing and contrasting with the rest of the plant life in the garden. After strolling through the Water-Smart Garden, go to the Steppe Garden.</p> In the Steppe Garden is a dramatic display of ice plants in as many colors as you can think. Two ice plants of note are Delosperma </em>‘PJS01S’ GRANITA® Raspberry and Delosperma </em>‘PJS02S' GRANITA® Orange, two newer introductions through the Plant Select® program. After being stunned by the neon flowers of the ice plants, head west down Shady Lane to the Nexus Berm.</p> The Nexus Berm is at the west end of the greenhouse complex and has been re-designed with loads of succulents and other water saving plants to take advantage of the inhospitably hot west-facing slope. Featured here, are the WALK IN BEAUTYTM </sup>Opuntia </em>hybrids created by local horticulture legend, Kelly Grummons. The flower colors on these plants, as well as their ability to re-bloom, set them apart from all other prickly pear cacti in the trade. This is a good area to see the variability of forms, sizes, and flowers that hardy succulents bring to the garden.</p> From the Nexus Berm, follow the walkway southwest around the Monet Pond to Dryland Mesa. Dryland Mesa is never watered beyond what falls naturally. Keep this in mind as you enjoy the large chollas, many various prickly pears, and a plethora of other hardy succulents. The Yucca faxoniana</em> on the southwest corner of Dryland Mesa is truly a sight to see.</p> After Dryland Mesa, stroll through the rest of our beautiful gardens and find cacti and succulents that appeal to you… they are tucked in all over. Keep our examples in mind as you design your own water-saving succulent themed gardens. Thanks for visiting!</p>
Mushrooms have often been called “plants’ best friends,” and in recent years our wonderfully growing knowledge of our native ecosystems emphasizes that important concept even more. Throughout our state and beyond to many countries, a community of mushroom enthusiasts, citizens and scientists alike, are spreading the word! </p> Fungi are the great recyclers of the planet, breaking down woody material, needles, leaves and twigs, garden wastes, grasses and logs in our fields and forests. Besides cleaning up the fire-hazards and debris in our forest, the bi-products of this all-powerful action enrich our soils and in so doing unlock nutrients for new developing plants. Most of our native trees and shrubs share their metabolic processes with their “best friends,” mycorrhizal fungi, who live intimately in plant roots sharing nutrients with the plants.</p> Speaking of sharing, it’s been many decades since I began my passion for collecting and understanding the importance of our beautiful native mushrooms and other fungi. Especially those I found in the hills west of Boulder. Unable to satisfy my curiosity alone, I was very fortunate to make a prophetic phone call to the Gardens one Wednesday afternoon seeking information on our native mushrooms. I was happily referred to Dr. Sam Mitchel who, as a busy medical doctor at the local hospitals, volunteered at the Gardens only on Wednesday as he worked on his collection of local dried fungi housed in the newly built Boettcher Memorial Center. Sam, too, had gotten “hooked,” as he described his fascination with wild mushroom collecting, studying and preservation.</p> Sam and I hit it off wonderfully. During those following months as I learned more and more, I knew I had found a community of mushroom lovers and curiosity seekers. They didn’t just want to eat mushrooms but wanted to know and share all they were learning about these beautiful natives. From this small beginning with perhaps a few dozen collections, Sam and a few of us eager volunteers began a decades-long study of Colorado’s native fungi at Denver Botanic Gardens.</p> The community of mushroom lovers in the Denver area was not limited to the herbarium. Sam encouraged other locals also “hooked” on fungi to join and form a small intimate community of mushroom lovers, which developed into the Colorado Mycological Society (CMS). One of the families involved in those early years were members of Dr. Manny Salzman’s extended family. Fellow medics, Sam and Manny worked together to study poisonous mushrooms, developing a Poisindex technique to help medical doctors around the United States to identify toxic fungi. Manny founded the CMS Annual Mushroom Fair during those early years, which helped spread the mushroom community farther and farther out into the Denver metropolitan area and beyond.</p> In the 1960s, a few dozen enthusiastic mushroomers came together in this area. With the inspiration of Sam Mitchel and his volunteers, his herbarium and the mycological society, that number has ‘mushroomed’ into hundreds of citizen scientists and enthusiastic naturalists ready to go on collecting trips, volunteer, share their unusual collections, explore our many glorious habitats and participate in forays and bioblitzes in the region. Our well-documented herbarium collections are now approaching 20,000 specimens and the Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi is gaining a reputation nation-wide. The collections are online via a world-wide database so that the sharing goes on! Wouldn’t Sam be amazed?</p>
For most of the 22 years of Plant Select’s</a> existence, nursery operators and staff from both Denver Botanic Gardens and Colorado State University have hosted an annual meeting to report on and celebrate achievements of this program. The initial impetus was to provide a forum for Colorado’s many demonstration gardens</a> (now over 60). Meeting attendees would come to be educated about the program, study garden design and network. The program has become so popular that some members of the public now attend the annual meeting. </p> This year Plant Select</a> is welcoming participation at “Learning Landscapes” on June 11, 2019 at Denver Botanic Gardens. Guest speakers include:</p> David Salman of High Country Gardens will discuss attracting birds and essential insects to home landscapes.</li> Scott Denning, Monfort Professor of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University, will address climate change in the garden.</li> John Fielder, renowned photographer, will present on “Colorado Then, Now & 2040: Warming, Water & Wisdom.”</li> </ul> Most members of Denver Botanic Gardens realize that Plant Select is related to the Gardens but sometimes don’t know what that means. The nature of the collaboration between the Gardens, Colorado State University and the Green Industry operates on several levels within the program. The Board that manages Plant Select (those who hire and monitor the executive director) include two people from each of the three entities.</p> The collaboration goes far beyond that, however. A great many of the plants that have been selected and promoted by Plant Select originated in Denver Botanic Gardens’ collections. Staff from both the Gardens and Colorado State University spend years planting, observing and taking copious notes on the performance of plants proposed for the program, and a small army of workers from the Green Industry joins in the vetting of potential plants.</p> At one time a survey showed that it took an average of 19 years for a plant to be released to sales from Plant Select from the time it was first grown at the Gardens. This rigorous process is subsidized by Plant Select funds, which pays for the salaries of staff at both CSU and the Gardens to work on the program.</p>
The creation of the Helen Fowler Library was an important addition to Denver Botanic Gardens’ campus. It occupied several spaces before settling in its current location in 1971, when a library space was included in the plans for the Boettcher Memorial Center. Ruth Porter Waring donated funds to have the Waring Rare Book Room built and James J. Waring donated a large collection of important botanical texts from his personal collection. The room was originally meant to be a reading room for the library’s collections of rare early herbals and botanical texts. Since that time our rare collections have almost doubled in size due to the continued generosity of Denver Botanic Gardens donors. However, the Waring Room has not been able to expand to accommodate this growth, making it difficult to showcase these important books to our members.</p> The creation of the Freyer – Newman Center has answered our call for more space and updated facilities, but we still have a way to go before we can unveil our collections in these beautiful new spaces. There is still wrapping and packing to do before our rare books can be sent offsite to temperature-controlled storage, where they will be housed until the library reopens in the Freyer – Newman Center in 2020. The Freyer – Newman Center will allow the Gardens to celebrate the intersection of science, art and education. The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded us nearly $250,000 to enable world-class stewardship of the non-living collections—natural history, art and archives—that underpin and enable this intersection.</p> There is still a way to spend time with our rare collections during the transition! This past fall, University of Colorado (CU) Art Museum curators approached library staff with a request to display some of our books in an upcoming exhibition. The Helen Fowler Library chose to loan two important works to the museum: “Florilegium renovatum et auctum” by Johann Theodor de Bry from 1641 and “De historia stirpium” by Leonhart Fuchs from 1542 (one of the original book donations from James Waring). Both books are early botanical tomes that include woodblock illustrations and hand-colored plates, showcasing important findings in the history of botanical science and taxonomic nomenclature.</p> The exhibition at the CU Art Museum is called “Documenting Change: Our Climate (Past, Present, Future).” It focuses on the many ways in which the natural world can be documented and what we can glean from looking at these documents over time. The exhibition will be on view until July 20, 2019. </strong>Visit the exhibition to see some of the Helen Fowler Library’s most-prized rare books while we are in transition! </p> Learn more about the exhibition</a> on the CU-Boulder Art Museum’s website.</p> </p>
