</p> Think you need lots of water for a diverse, vibrant, and beautiful garden? Think again!</p> On the Front Range, water is always a concern. It rarely falls from the sky, and it’s hard to justify soaking flower beds and gardens at home when your water bill ticks higher every year. And while you may think that you’d have to convert your yard to a cactus grove to create a garden that doesn’t need a lot to drink, the truth is that you can still have flowers, grasses, succulents, trees, and a wide variety of other plants that do well in dry soils.</p> In fact, at Spring Plant Sale, three entire divisions are dedicated to plants that are specifically selected to thrive with very little water. Shoppers focused on sustainable gardening practices should make these divisions a priority. Whether you have a single container on a balcony or acres of property to landscape, our expert horticulturists and horticultural volunteers can help you select just the right plants to fit your needs.</p> Plant Select®</strong> Plant Select® is the country’s leading brand of plants designed to thrive in high plains and intermountain regions, offering plants that provide more beauty with less work so gardeners of all levels can achieve smart, stunning, and successful gardens using fewer resources and with a more positive environmental impact.</p> Rock Alpine</strong> The Rock Alpine Garden is proof that dry, rocky soils can sustain a vibrant and colorful array of plants, and there’s no reason you can’t have one of your own. Shop thousands of individual plants uniquely suited to high and dry climates, or create a container full of them at the Trough Shop. In addition, stop by this division for unique yard art and bonsai.</p> Water-Smart</strong> Water-smart plants are not just drought-tolerant: they thrive in dry soils and, in many cases, only need to be watered 6-12 times per year. And don’t assume that less water yields duller gardens: water-smart plants offer a huge variety of bright, colorful plants that also happen to keep your water bill low.</p> In addition to these three divisions, keep an eye out for “I Save Water” stickers on plant info signs in other divisions to help you plan a water-smart garden of your own.</p> Admission to Spring Plant Sale is free on Friday, May 12 from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. and on Saturday, May 13 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tickets are required for the Plant Sale Preview Party on May 11. Get here early to get the best pick of the plants, and don’t forget to bring a wagon to haul them around! Click here</a> for more information.</em></p>
On select Fridays, 1-1:30 p.m., Gardens docents will be leading a drop-in tour, “Behind the Science: Explore the Natural History Collections.” Tours are included with Gardens admission and no reservations are needed. All ages welcome but tours are most appropriate for ages 8+. Group size is limited to 15.</p> To find out when the next “Behind the Science” tour is in 2018, go to the Gardens calendar</a>. Under the “More Filters” section, select “Tours” and "Included with Admission," and then click on the orange SEARCH button.</p> In the basement of Boettcher Memorial Center, you will discover the thousands of preserved plant and fungal specimens that reside in the Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium of Vascular Plants and the Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi and view a small selection of insects that are housed in the Arthropod Collection.</p> Why are Natural History Collections important, and why does Denver Botanic Gardens have them?</li> What is a herbarium?</li> What is the difference between “herbarium” and “herbaria”?</li> Or, maybe you have heard about our recent renovation and are wondering what it entailed!</li> </ul> These are just some of the many questions we hope to address during the tour. There is much to discover within our Natural History Collections, from the artistry of pinned insects to the informative labels which will allow anyone from anywhere in the world to use the collections for decades to come.</p> On the tour, docents can also show you the process for how we collect our plant specimens and how to view our collections from home.</p> For questions, email info@botanicgardens.org</a> or call 720-865-3500.</p>
</p> The Gardens are beginning to bloom, and they will only become more stunning as the days get warmer and sunnier. What better backdrop for your next gathering?</p> Though we began booking events for this summer over a year ago, we’ve had a few excellent dates open up on our summer calendar. We’d love to help you celebrate with your friends and loved ones while they Gardens are truly showing their finest colors! </p> On select dates from June-August, you can save up to 25% off your facility rental fee when you book.</strong> With indoor and outdoor rental sites at both York Street and Chatfield Farms, our venues can host intimate gatherings for small groups or large parties of up to 1,000 people.</p> Whether you are interested in the formal, linear symmetry of our York Street venues or the rustic, pastoral settings available at Chatfield Farms, Denver Botanic Gardens provides a beautiful environment for events of every size. </p> Contact us for more information and rate details.</p> York Street: private.events@botanicgardens.org</a> | 720-865-3551 Chatfield Farms: chatfieldrentals@botanicgardens.org</a> | 720-865-4339</p> Offer applies to new bookings only. Some exclusions apply. Cannot be combined with any other discounts. </em></p>
Spring has arrived in the water gardens at Denver Botanic Gardens. Hardy waterlilies are breaking dormancy, developing submerged leaves and their first few floating leaves of the season. Aquatic iris, cattails, pickerel plant and lizard’s tail are also showing a flush of new spring growth.</p> Beyond these changes which can be seen when visiting the Gardens, there are many behind-the-scenes preparations taking place. From propagating plants from seeds, tubers, cuttings and divisions to creating planting designs for each water garden, the horticulture staff and volunteers are busy laying the groundwork for the upcoming summer months.</p> Seeds</strong></h3> The giant water platters (Victoria</em> ‘Longwood Hybrid’) that will grace the pools this summer got their start as seeds in our greenhouse in late March. These were provided to us by Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA, where this hybrid was originally developed by Patrick Nutt in 1960.</p> The pea-sized seeds were placed in a heated tub of water in our aquatics greenhouse with the temperature maintained at 86-88 degrees F. The average germination time is 7-10 days. Once the seeds develop their first leaves and roots, we plant them in 2” containers of sand with a tablespoon of peat moss in the bottom to bring the pH down a bit. The heat can then be turned down to 75 degrees. As the plants grow, they are repotted into larger containers, with a final container size of 8-10” diameter.</p> In early June, the heat will be turned off in the greenhouse tubs to allow the platters to adjust to the cooler water temperatures they will grow in outdoors. They will then be transplanted into 20-24” solid tubs filled with clay loam and placed in the Monet and Science Pyramid ponds in late June.</p> The platters are heavy feeders and require weekly fertilization throughout the season. Be sure to visit often to observe their rapid growth during the summer months. You may also find baby ducklings taking an afternoon nap on the strong and buoyant leaves.</p> Gorgon plants (Euryale ferox</em>) are also grown from seed in the greenhouse during this time. These seeds will germinate in cooler water than the Victoria</em> waterlilies, and have even been known to pop up in our outdoor ponds from seeds that overwintered in the muck at the bottom. Those grown from seed in the greenhouse will be planted outside in May.</p> Tubers</strong></h3> Many of the tropical waterlilies you will see during the summer in the water gardens are started from tubers that were harvested from lilies the previous fall. These are stored in our tuber fridge at 55 degrees and are then pulled out in April and placed in tubs of water heated to 75 degrees in the greenhouse. They will be placed outside in late June along with the Victorias.</p> Leaf Cuttings</strong></h3> Umbrella palm and dwarf papyrus, two tropical marginal aquatic plants used in our display ponds, are easy to propagate by taking leaf cuttings. These cuttings are taken in mid-March from larger “mother” plants that are stored in the greenhouse for the winter months. The cuttings are placed in 4” containers of clay loam which are then placed in a tray of water on top of a heat mat maintained at 85 degrees. The bottom heat provided by the mats is necessary to get the cuttings to root in quickly. Within 7-10 days, the viviparous leaves will put up new growth. These small plants will then be sold in the aquatics division of our Spring Plant Sale over Mother’s Day weekend.</p> Divisions</strong></h3> Another spring chore that provides us with additional plants for both our Spring Plant Sale and our water garden displays is dividing. On Sundays during the spring, Colorado Water Garden Society members gather for morning work sessions at the Gardens to help divide and repot hardy waterlilies outside along with tropical marginal plants including cannas, taro and papyrus in the greenhouse.</p> Design Work</strong></h3> The designs for each water garden are created in January and February. An effort is made each year to add new plant varieties to the collection, and these are ordered from wholesale nurseries in early March. New plants are ordered for the spring plant sale and all are potted on Sunday work days with the Colorado Water Garden Society members’ help. Interpretive signage is also created during this time of year to help educate visitors about any new additions to the aquatic plant collection.</p> We hope you will join us throughout the spring, summer and fall to enjoy the water gardens at Denver Botanic Gardens. Stay tuned for another blog post this summer with more details about the work that goes into maintaining aquatic plants during the height of the season.</p>
Geophytes are an important part of the steppe climate. Some of the most recognizable geophytes are bulbs. Bulbs offer not only spring beauty but interest throughout the season. Bulbs can also be an important source of food. #steppesuns</p> This first spring in the Denver Botanic Gardens' Steppe Garden </strong>is an exciting time. Right now the part of the garden dedicated to Central Asia is bursting to life with hundreds of spring bulbs. Bulbs are a crucial part of the grassland biome we call steppe. Many of these bulbs arise very early in the season to capitalize on the slightly warming soils and the lack of competition from taller grasses that will block out light and gobble up all the water. These bulbs use their specialty water and carbohydrate storage system to give them the resources needed to put on their spring spectacle.</p> Once the blooms have ended, they capture as much light as they can before the competition wakes up and bullies them out of the scarce resources. Many of my favorite plants are bulbs and now is the time I get to revel in their glory and crawl along the ground to get up close and smell their sweet fragrance and peer inside their oft pendulous faces.</p> Bulbs are also a critical source of food for early pollinators, being some of the first plants to bloom. Hungry bees that are just waking up from a winter respite have these brightly colored and sweet-scented flowers to welcome them to a new year. I imagine that spring bulbs are to bees as coffee is to me; that one joy in the morning that gets you motivated and gives you the wherewithal to conquer all that comes your way. Many bulbs have poisonous parts making them unpalatable to pesky herbivores and giving us and the pollinators a source of beauty and inspiration, especially after a long drab winter.</p> Many of the Gardens' staff are passionate about bulbs. Sonya Anderson has worked hard scouring the globe to find the bulbs to bring us this intricate display that starts in February and will, in one form or another, carry us through until November. The pinnacle is still, however, spring with Tulipa, Fritillaria, Crocus, </em>and Corydalis</em>. This year is just the beginning. As many of these bulbs naturalize and fill in, the displays will only get better and more beautiful as we welcome in spring, sunshine, and the promise of better weather and the chance to get our hands dirty again with the task of gardening.</p>
</p> The Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary last year, is a favorite destination for Gardens visitors year-round, but it’s particularly popular in the winter. Warm, humid, and filled to the ceiling with tropical plants, the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory offers the perfect respite from the gray, chilly days outside the dome.</p> Most days, the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory closes to visitors each evening. But attendees of Off the Clock</em>, our series of theme-night-style events, have the special opportunity to experience this vibrant space after dark. Walking along a pathway lined with lights, guests can get a taste of what happens in a tropical forest after the sun sets.</p> Docents wearing glowing lanyards are stationed along the path to chat with guests and answer questions about the plants that thrive in the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory. Without too much waiting, guests can spot insect and amphibian residents of the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory that don’t typically come out during the day. Plus, the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory offers guests a warm and beautiful thoroughfare for guests to access activities scheduled in Marnie’s Pavilion and the Orangery during the event. </p>
Everyone says they love trees. Practically every one of the millions of trees in the Front Range was planted by someone. Dutch Elm disease removed most American elms fifty years ago, and Thousand Cankers is busy wiping out the Black Walnuts right now. And Emerald Ash Borer is not likely to be contained in Boulder County much longer. If, and when, the insect appears in Denver Metro, it is possible that a million trees could die in a few years: the cost for removing these is likely to cost over a billion dollars in Colorado alone.</p> The other costs: the loss of cooling by trees (these are the lungs of the city, and the air conditioners) will result in greater fuel costs for air conditioning. And the greatest loss is that of beauty. Trees are the living sculptures that line our lives as much as they line streets. The study of Biophilia has shown that trees and nature have an enormous impact on psychological well-being. The loss of either is a subtle blow to our psyches.</p> If Ash trees, a major component of our street tree palette, do disappear will we just replace them with a new monoculture? More and more nurseries are selling trees propagated asexually, greatly diminishing the genetic diversity of our Urban Tree Flora. Compare the leaves on these Burr Oaks selected from a row at Chatfield Farms grown from the same seed lot—this is genetic diversity in action!</p> Why does diversity matter? Not only does a wider palette of trees provide a richer paint box with which to color the canvas of our cities—diversity provides buffers for potential pests and diseases. Monocultures are far more prone to rapid spread of both of these threats. Be sure to attend the tree conference to learn more.</p> 2017 4th Annual Tree Diversity Conference</strong> Friday, March 10 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m., York Street Registration includes lunch</em></p> Learn More and Register Today</a></p> This Tree Diversity Conference brings five of the leading authorities on Street Trees to Denver.</p> The Director of America’s National Arboretum in Washington, whose focus professionally has been on Street Trees.</li> A nurseryman from Oregon who’s explored the world for plants, and who has a home in the desert which rarely gets more than 10” rainfall.</li> A nurseryman from Littleton, CO who went on to convene the biggest short course on trees in the hemisphere.</li> The director of a statewide network of Arboreta in our neighboring state, unique in the world for its outreach to their community.</li> And the Top Gun Arborist of Denver who’s led the charge to identify and monitor every street tree in Denver City and County.</li> </ul> These seasoned Arborists will be as enthralling and entertaining as they are knowledgeable. Be there (or stick to astroturf)!</p>
</p> Each summer, guests flood the Gardens for a summer concert series in our outdoor amphitheater, and the events are well-known in the Denver area. But did you know that Denver Botanic Gardens has its very own concert series designed just for kids?</p> For each Bumblebee Jamboree </em>concert, kids can dress up like their favorite pollinators and buzz around in Mitchell Hall to the tunes of a local children’s entertainer. With lively music, outgoing performers, and plenty of space for kids to dance and play, these concerts are delightful for kids and their parents alike.</p> At the end of each concert, don’t miss your free coloring sheet or your chance to get a 4-pack of tickets to the Denver Children’s Museum while supplies last!</p> Jeff and Paige</em></strong> March 18, 2017</em> - Get tickets</a> Jeff and Paige bring fun-filled love of the outdoors and ecology to their concerts, bringing concepts like insect anatomy, energy conservation, and plate tectonics to the whole family. Their messages are delivered in a playful manner that captivates children and adults alike. The pair have released five albums and have won numerous awards for their music. Learn more about Jeff and Paige here</a>.</p> April - TBA</em></p> Advance purchase recommended. Purchase tickets online</a> or at the Bonfils-Stanton Visitor Center. Tickets are limited, get yours today! Concert admission includes admission to the Gardens.</p>
Roses are red, Violets are blue, Sugar is sweet, And so are you.</p> This simple, well known love poem may bring a smile or cringe to your face. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and for better or worse, it causes us to think of those we love, lost or hope will someday love us. The rose is an oft-used token of love, but plants and Valentine’s Day may have more in common than you think. Plants like to get it on and can also help you get in the mood.</p> Did you know that many plants have or produce fruits with aphrodisiac properties? Cacao – used to make chocolate – grow in pods on Cacao trees. The aroma of vanilla, derived from some orchids, is very sensuous. Mint has long been considered a sexual stimulant. Basil is associated with the voodoo love goddess Erzuli and has been used in love spells for divination and ensuring fidelity. Believe it or not, garlic has been used as an aphrodisiac since the Ancient Egyptians. A combination of apple cider vinegar and honey is said to stimulate the production of sex hormones in both women and men, and doubles men’s stamina.</p> The Gardens’ has several Valentine’s Day-themed programs that are sure to educate and possibly arouse feelings of romance. We also a kid-friendly Valentine’s Day program!</p> Orchid Showcase</strong> Through February 20, 2017 Spend some time with your love while strolling through the display of exotic orchids in Marnie’s Pavilion and the Orangery. Included with admission.</p> Orchids 101</strong> February 4, 2017 Orchids, just like all exotic and mysterious things, can be challenging to deal with. Never fear, Orchids 101 class is here! Learn about basic orchid biology, ecology, cultivation and propagation, with demonstrations of proper watering, repotting and mounting techniques.</p> Love Potions from the Vine Tour</strong> February 10, 11, 12 and 14, 2017 The steamy jungle has no shortage of plants thought to have powers to inspire or sustain desire. This docent-led tour through the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory features plants that may be used as aphrodisiacs and also reveals the secret romantic lives of tropical plants</p> Seedlings: Roses are Red, Violets are Blue</strong> February 8-10, 2017 Children ages 18 months – 6 years old can discover the sweet scent and beautiful colors of these famous February flowers.</p>
