Flower

Blog

Enjoy "Digging Into the Gardens" blog, written by Denver Botanic Gardens' staff. Learn about gardening, horticulture, research, conservation, special events, art, tours and much more. 

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Notes from the Field

December 15, 2023 Research & Conservation

As the newly established floristic and outreach coordinator, this year I joined our Research & Conservation Department on various field adventures across Colorado. From the prairie of the Eastern

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Cactus on the Move

May 25, 2023 Michelle DePrenger-Levin

Little is known about how Sclerocactus species spread their seed. This is a question we would like to answer because Sclerocactus glaucus has been recommended for delisting from the Endangered Species

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Conserving Sclerocactus glaucus After Delisting

May 23, 2023 Michelle DePrenger-Levin

In 2008, Denver Botanic Gardens initiated demographic monitoring of Sclerocactus glaucus, a small ball cactus found only in western Colorado. The cactus had been listed as threated on the Endangered

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Anxiously Awaiting Spring

April 14, 2021 Michelle DePrenger-Levin

Spring is the season where I switch from working in the office on a quest to discover patterns in our data that predict the behavior of rare plant populations to venturing out to the field to view

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The Thrills of Finding and Growing Cacti

January 27, 2021 Brooke Palmer

It is on the brisk days of winter such as these that I long for the summer days I used to spend out in the field collecting data on Colorado rare plants. In my opinion, very few things beat the thrill

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Rare Spring Blooms

June 6, 2019 Michelle DePrenger-Levin
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. Each Colorado
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Tracking Cactus Populations

May 16, 2018 Research & Conservation
Sneaky Spines and Careful Measurements Sweeping western slope views, slightly menacing rain clouds and beautiful, tough plants surrounded us. I listened for my field partner to shout out cactus
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Winter Planning for Summer Research Projects

February 28, 2018 Research & Conservation
Many of the beautiful places where we study plants and mushrooms are dormant and snow-covered this time of year, but the Research & Conservation department is still humming with activity! In the
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Pollination Research

June 19, 2013 Rebecca Hufft, Ph.D.
Pollinators provide critical ecosystem services. Pollinator research is important to better understand the relationships between pollinators and plants and to improve conservation and management of
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What threatens the Colorado hookless cactus?

May 19, 2009 Michelle DePrenger-Levin
What threatens Sclerocactus glaucus? Installation and maintenance of huge pipelines that move oil and gas from the well pads miles and miles to the collection facilities; roads; browsing and trampling

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