Poor drabas! Such a colorless name...and they have other image problems too--that acid yellow color and their general similarity to one another. Oh well: some of us look beyond these superficialities. We have a welter of alpine drabas we must wait until June to see in the alpine, but if you are lucky enough to have a rock garden, you can have drabas blooming early indeed. Spanish draba (Draba hispanica</em>) is always my first to bloom. I admit most drabas wait till April to come out, but these specimens, on this hot wall, have been known to bloom in February! Right now they are in peak form and buzzing with bees. Wise gardeners know that microclimate in our fierce steppe climate is everything: I like to say that the south side of our homes are like Arizona and the north side like Alaska. On this toasty Sonoran wall the draba is precocious, but in my shady home rock garden you can find the same species still blooming in May, three months later (Alaska). In Colorado, there are no green thumbs. Just clever gardeners with compasses! Aaaah! Spring! P.S.: Just found this touching quote: "So our human life but dies to its root, and still puts forth its green blade to eternity." (Henry David Thoreau, Walden</em></strong>)</p>
If you haven't been able to swing in and check out the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory in the last couple of weeks, now is a great time. We have just recently finished a bed renovation that is sure to please all who come to enjoy it. My teammates and I decided to not hold anything back on this one and included some of our favorite plants that weren't previously on display to the public. As the focal center point of the newly planted bed is the gorgeous Medinilla magnifica</em>. As the name hints, when in flower, this plant is magnificent! Medinilla magnific</em>a is native to the Philippines and belongs to the Melastomataceae family. While our new addition is not in bloom right now, be sure to visit frequently throughout the year; you won't want to miss this one. My teammate, Conservatory Horticulturist, Alan Schroder can barely hold back his excitement about the addition of two more plants to the new planting: the wavy-leaved Anthurium brownii</em> and the unique Begonia 'Pigskin'. Anthurium brownii</em> will surely grow into quite the specimen plant with its bright red venation and symmetrically wavy leaves and not to mention the unique spathe and spadix produced by the plant. Anthurium brownii</em> has a native range from Costa Rica to Colombia and it really adds a nice aroid-ean touch to the bed. Begonia</em> 'Pigskin' is a unique rhizomatous begonia with a rough leaf texture. One of the nicest aspects of the plant is how when light hits it just right, the green leaves take on a bronze-ish appearance. This begonia stays low to the ground and makes quite a nice ground cover with white to pale pink flowers, be sure to take a good long look at this one. One of my favorite additions to the new bed is the new bromeliad display we designed. Just in the front of the bed is a small embankment of lava rock that will serve as an area to rotate blooming bromeliads and orchids in and out of as we please, so that we are able to make more of our rare and beautiful plants available for public enjoyment....as well as our own! There are many other interesting plants in the bed, so be sure to come in and see for yourselves! The newly renovated bed in just inside the doors to the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory to the right of the pond...there's no way it could be missed. Hope to see you soon as the days are lengthening and warming!</p>
</p> Managing the environment versus managing people surely should be very different... or are they? Lately I have been challenged to make such an analogy and found it surprisingly compelling. Through the course of my 15 years studying invasive species biology and restoration ecology, as well as learning from the horticulturists here at Denver Botanic Gardens, I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a bad plant... but that certainly there is plant "behavior" that we may deem harmful, such as when tamarisk trees dominate a riverbank to such an extent that nothing else can possibly grow.</p> Are tamarisk inherently "bad"? Of course not: they play an important role in their native ecosystems in Eurasia, and as it turns out, can also provide habitat for some birds and fulfill other ecosystem services in "invaded" ranges. That is, they can have both "good" and "bad" behavior. Which they do depends on the interaction of the tree with its environment. </p> Put tamarisk seeds in an area with lots of water where desirable native trees have been displaced through poor management or other causes, and they will dominate and further degrade the ecosystem through salt deposits and increased fire frequency. Alternatively, if the land is well managed and desirable species are doing well, tamarisk will not be invasive and individual trees can actually be a benefit to the overall ecosystem. </p> You may already see where this analogy is going.... I believe strongly that there is no such thing as an inherently "good" or "bad" person/employee/team member. However, any individual has the capacity to behave poorly and/or not contribute; it is up to an effective leader to make sure that A) the environment is managed well to promote "good" behavior and B) that the right people are in the right positions (i.e. they are doing jobs best suited to their skill sets and interests). </p> According to Jim Collins (of "From Good to Great"), one of the features of highly successful organizations and businesses is that they prioritize personnel decisions. This may be simple, but it certainly isn't easy. In the last couple years, we have seen Denver Botanic Gardens flourish in new and exciting ways; it is certainly a testament to this principle. Every new hire here thrills me because I know that the environment here promotes excellence, and that we work hard to put the right people into the right positions. We will be losing one of our finest leaders soon; Betsy Cheroutes, director of development ,is beginning a much deserved retirement. I have learned much about leadership from her and will dearly miss being able to pop in her office for a quick bit of advice. However, I know to anticipate great things from her successor in this positive environment. The tamarisk trees taught me that.</p> This blog post was written by Anna Sher, Ph.D.</em>, adjunct researcher and former director of the Research & Conservation Department at Denver Botanic Gardens.</em></p>
After viewing the Monarch butterflies at Sierra Chincua, our next stop is the town of Patzcuaro. Located 53 km southwest of Morelia, Patzcuaro was an important ceremonial center of the native Purepechas people before the pre-Hispanic period. The town center consists of streets paved in cobblestones and is anchored by a magnificent church, bounded by buildings constructed with adobe and tile. After breakfast, we head out to Lake Patzcuaro. We board a boat to the nearby island of Yunuen, where we are greeted by local children who hand out flowers to the ‘turistas’. We spend an hour touring the island taking in the local culture and trying to identify the local flora and fauna. The birders within the group had a great day identifying many colorful birds. Among the plants were a species of Oenothera</em>, poppy (similar to Argemone</em>) and a beautiful specimen of the poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima</em>) in full bloom sans any leaves. Our next stop is Jenitzio Island, with its monumental statue of José Maria Morelos, a leader of Mexican independence, at the top of the hill. The inclined streets are lined with handicraft stores and restaurants. We climb the steep hillside and at the top is the huge statue of Morelos made of stone bricks. Within the statue are paintings by Ramon Alba de la Canal and other great Mexican muralists that recreate the life of Morelos. Numerous steps take you to the spiral staircase at the top which is the arm of the statue from which is a narrow viewing window that gives a spectacular view of the lake, the nearby islands and the surrounding mountains. Post-lunch we visit the town of Santa Clara which is known for its copper workmanship. We visit a copper artisan’s workshop where we are demonstrated the whole process of creating copperware. Of course, this leads to a shopping spree for copper artwork…more things to carry back home!</p>
This time of year, while rather bleak and cold outside, really gets me excited for what's growing on in the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory. As I was watering this morning, I could not take my eyes off of the absolutely beautiful Brownea ariza</em>. The big, bold, red flowers always seem to slow time down for a few minutes and remind me of how much beauty really exists in my "office." Brownea</em> is a member of the large Fabaceae, or bean, family. The genus itself is not a particularly large genus, with about 30 species. Brownea ariza</em> is a smaller tree, and sometimes can take on the form of a large shrub. All members of the genus are native to Tropical South America. Brownea</em>, as well as many other members of the family, put forth new leaves in a very interesting and unique way. The young, tender leaves emerge looking rotten or diseased and as the leaves mature, they grow into their "normal" state, this most likely occurs to prevent predation upon the new growth. Brownea ariza</em> also exhibits cauliflory, which means that the plant flowers and fruits from its main woody stems or trunk rather than from new growth. A few other famous cauliflorous plants are: Theobroma cacao</em> or chocolate, Callistemon</em> or bottlebrush, and Cercis</em> or redbuds. Because of the cauliflorous flowering habit, the large flowers are very hard to miss. It's right around this time every year that our Brownea</em> really starts to push out many blooms, and this year is no exception. The plant is packed with them right now with quite a few of them right around eye-level. The flowers, unfortunately, only last a couple of days, so be sure to come in and enjoy them while they're here in force. The Brownea ariza</em> is located just to the left of the fork in the path after entering the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory through the main doors, you can't miss it. (And of course, keep an eye out for all of the gorgeous blooming bromeliads!) There are two good vantage points for enjoying the Brownea ariza</em>, one being directly in front of the tree from ground level, the other being from the balcony just above the main entrance to the conservatory near the Green Roof Exhibit. I also feel obligated to point out that the newly planted Brugmansia sanguinea</em> has a few buds, so check that out while you're here too! Hopefully I'll see you soon, as you absolutely don't want to miss this fantastic display of winter color in the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory.</p>
</p> Rohdea japonica in winter glory</dd> </dl> Some plants don't overwhelm at first. These obscure, strange little plants in the Lily Family are tucked here and there around Denver Botanic Gardens. As you can see below, the flowers are modest. From September to spring, the glowing red-orange berries they produce delight the far too few winter visitors out and about to see them.</p> As with every other of the tens of thousands of plants in our collection, an enormous amount of lore and history accrue to Rhodea.</em> This is one of a handful of cult plants that have been collected and cherished in Japan for centuries: there are forms of Rohdea</em> bought and sold daily in Tokyo for thousands of dollars. They are practically objects of veneration in Japan. Strangely, even the common green forms are rarely available commercially in America.</p> How we obtained an enormous number of these over the last ten years, through the graces of a volunteer (Bill Stuffelbeam) to a superb collector and gardener in the Washington D.C. area (Bobby Lively-Diebold) is a saga unto itself.</p> Suffice it to say that a botanic gardens and its collections are the accrual of an enormous mesh of relationships and a culture that makes the filming of a trifle like Avatar</strong></em> rather like painting by numbers...come to think of it, these plants are almost something you'd expect to see on Pandora!</p> Come check them out when you come to be dazzled by the spectacle of our new Moore exhibition: they are in the shady part of Plantasia and impossible to overlook. A modest counterpoint to that imposing exhibit!</p> </p>
It's hard to believe that in a mere three months the giant mounds of claret cup all over the west will be studded with their waxy, badminton birdie flowers. Wouldn't you enjoy seeing this in person? Well, you still have a chance to join me and a handful of intrepid hikers as we reprise a fabulous trip we took two years ago to Canyonlands. Late April is when no end of treasures there are at their peak. A dozen kinds of milkvetches (Astragalus </em>and Oxytropis</em>), lots of phloxes and even the first penstemon (see below) </p> You may be tearing along the highway and think there are paper tissues littered there: No! It's sheets of ghostly white evening primrose (Oenothera caespitosa</em>):</p> </p> One of the biggest surprises was finding a true primrose growing and blooming fabulously on the cool, moist "bandshell" caves of canyonlands. This is closely related to high alpine primroses I saw last summer in Kazakhstan!</p> So are you ready to sign up? Find out more about this trip, click right here and sign up. Come join me in late April as we see these and lots more gems of the Colorado Plateau. After a long, cold winter, what would warm the cockles of your heart more than dreaming of Canyonlands?</p>
In July of this year, the Biennial of the Americas will be occurring here in Denver. It is a celebration of art, culture, and the Western Hemisphere in general. So this got me to thinking, what better way to celebrate the Biennial here at the Denver Botanic Gardens, than to celebrate the family Bromeliaceae</em>. Bromeliaceae, or the Bromeliad family, deserves its recognition as the plants in this family, with one exception, only occur in the Americas. Bromeliads exhibit a plethora of different colors, forms and habits. You may be interested to know that bromeliads are some of the most recent plants to evolve and hence are still rapidly evolving. They fill almost every niche in almost every ecosystem from Southern North America to Southern South America. The sole member of the family that is not native to the Americas, is Pitcairnia feliciana</em> which is native to Western Africa. It most likely arrived in Africa from South America through a mechanism called long-distance dispersal, and that truly is a long distance to travel! Bromeliaceae</em> is broken into three subfamilies: Bromelioideae</em>, Pitcairnioideae</em> and Tillandsioideae</em>. Members of all three subfamilies are well represented in our collection, many of which are on display in the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory. Now, of the three subfamilies, my favorite would have to be Tillandsioideae</em>. It consists mostly of plants that many people have enduringly called the ‘airplants.’ The Tillandsia</em> and their relatives are very thoroughly displayed in the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory from the obscure terrestrials, to the unique and elegant epiphytes for which the family is so well recognized. A very famous tillandsia that I’m confident almost everyone knows of is the famous ‘Spanish Moss.’ That’s right, it’s not at all a moss, but is one of the smallest bromeliads and goes by the name Tillandsia usneoides</em>. The long, hair-like strands that you see are actually chains of hundreds of individuals and are capable of growing up to two inches a day! Many people believe that T. usneoides</em> is a parasite, well, that is simply not true. As an epiphyte, it grows on trees only for support and takes no nutrients from the tree. Occasionally T. usneoides</em> may accumulate in such great numbers that it breaks a dead limb off, or shades out some of the tree’s leaves, but that is about the extent of the damage caused by this unique epiphyte. So now, next time you are in the American South, be sure to correct your travel companions when they point out that ‘parasitic moss.’ Bromeliaceae</em> is easily my favorite plant family and with good reason. I really love them all: from the tank-forming Neoregelia spp.</em> with their brilliant colors to the long, elegant chains of T. usneoides</em>, they all have captured my heart and mind. Make sure to come in and see the family in all of its glory in the Boettcher Memorial Conservatory, and while you’re here, be sure to make comparisons of the different shapes, growth habits and colors exhibited by the beautiful bromeliads. As an added bonus, many bromeliads are in flower this time of year, so there is one more reason to stop in, defrost, and enjoy this uniquely American plant family.</p>
Contrary to popular belief plants are not as dormant in winter as one would think. Even in a rather harsh climate like Denver there are flowers that bloom outside through the colder months. Adonis amurensis</em> is one such plant that blooms while the year is young. Galanthus elwesii </em>is another early bloomer that has stired to action in the last few weeks. Both can be found in the Rock Alpine Garden. These two hardy souls join the Helleborus niger</em> that has been in bloom for two months in the Rock Alpine Garden and was the topic of a previous blog at Christmas. The Adonis</em> is hidden in the far southeast corner of the rock garden under a buckeye tree next to the neighbors house. The Galanthus </em>are lurking in the far western part of the rock garden, behind the Cactus and Succulent House against the Cheesman Park fence. Both are still rather close to the ground but with some warmer days their stems will lengthen and soon they will come into full flower. Despite their delicate demeanor both will easily tolerate temperatures into the single digits with no snow cover. A light covering of snow will bring them through even colder temperatures. Soon other earlier bloomers such as Erica</em>, more Helleborus</em>, Crocus</em>, Iris reticulata</em>, and Cyclamen </em>will join them. Spring is just around the corner!</p>
