In winter, Denver Botanic Gardens connects us to the wild in a way that no other season can. Stripped of the froth and finery of summer, it feels more rugged and spontaneous, as if some things are just the way they happen naturally. Our imagination becomes freer to believe the dead tree trunk angled through a grove in Gates Montane Garden or the waterfall tumbling nearby into a pond are unplanned, and we are drawn to the very things we seek out in the wild – contemplative places and expansive views.</p> Come with me on a snowy day as we wander side paths and explore the nooks and crannies of the Gardens in search of a cultivated wild. I’ll share some of my favorite vignettes and features that on a quiet winter day may just transport you to an untamed faraway place.</p> The stonework in the Steppe Garden</strong> is home to treasures and one of my favorites is a trickling fountain sandwiched between two big slabs of buff rock. Crouch down at the opening and imagine you’re as tiny as a Lilliputian then take in the grandeur of this pint-sized chasm. </li> In Dryland Mesa</strong>, just before the main path curves north toward Monet Pool, you’ll find a side path that leads up rustic steps through an outcrop of boulders. Hunker down at the bottom and look up toward a weathered Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma</em>) and you could be deep in the Rockies on a hike.</li> Walk the southernmost path in the Rock Alpine Garden</strong> and look down a meandering brook across a rugged vista of boulders, shrubs and trees. On a cool winter’s day, you can almost taste mountain air. Of course, one reason we love vistas is that they exceed our expectations and even though this one is small, it’s exhilarating.</li> Trees are what give the Gardens its sense of grandeur and in winter the evergreens anchor us most in nature. Stand at the base of the giant yellow cypress (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis</em> ‘Pendula’) in the southwest corner of the Rock Alpine Garden</strong> and look up. Its upcurved branches draping down with green foliage feel as if they command the sky.</li> According to scientific theorists, humans are soothed by fractal patterns in nature, those that repeat at different scales, and now is the time when these patterns pop at the Gardens. Evergreen succulents and subshrubs stand out against a neutral palette of spent perennials – from large spiraling rosettes of Adam’s needle (Yucca</em>) in Roads Water-Smart Garden</strong> to the geometric wonder, prickly thrift (Acantholimon</em>), in the Steppe Garden</strong> – nature’s little geodesic dome.</li> In the wild, hikers often talk of feeling recharged by wind blowing around them and through the landscape, and in the Ornamental Grasses Garden</strong>, a similar feeling can be had. The grasses here are almost always in perpetual motion. The tiniest waft of air can send the delicate seed clouds of sand love grass (Eragrostis trichodes</em>) quivering or the wands of silver grass (Miscanthus</em>) swaying as gently as feathers.</li> </ul>
Together, we do so much more.</p> Denver Botanic Gardens is excited to announce Colorado Gives Day coming up on Tuesday, December 6</strong>. For 24 hours, Colorado comes together to raise funds for local nonprofits, and we’re excited to be part of the day! On Colorado Gives Day, we’ll be celebrating. We’re celebrating you, because without our supporters, the Gardens would not have had the success we’ve had over the past year. </p> Your support on Colorado Gives Day enables work that impacts lives and communities. Denver Botanic Gardens’ mission and values inspire us to serve a personal purpose for each visitor, bringing delight, enlightenment, healing and perspective. From top issues such as water scarcity to regenerative agriculture to creating a relevant and accessible public garden for all, we don’t shy away from the hard work at hand. </p>
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is the primary law protecting rare and imperiled species and their habitats in the United States. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is responsible for adding or removing species from the list, planning and implementing recovery actions, and managing interagency cooperation to restore and protect healthy plant populations and their environments. For these tasks, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service must use the “best available science.” </p> Luckily, Denver Botanic Gardens’ research staff and dedicated volunteers are out every year collecting data on rare and imperiled plant populations across Colorado. Two main ways we contribute to increasing scientific understanding of rare species is through long-term monitoring and genetic analyses. </p> We conduct annual or biannual censuses on three rare species reviewed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and have also contributed to population genetic data on two listed mustards from northwest Colorado. </p>
Glittering cottonwoods twinkle overhead while cheery lights drape a charming barn and adorn Chatfield Farms like a glistening frost. In the distance the foothills of the mountains are still visible against the twilight sky. It’s just the right kind of chilly—that crisp Colorado winter evening brisk—and as you sip decadent hot cocoa and marvel at the stunning light display, a few flakes of snow start to drift down.</p> Inside the barn, a merry party is in full swing with delightful décor—snowflakes, evergreen garlands, poinsettias and pinecones—and scrumptious appetizers, melty fondue, chef-made charcuterie, creative entrees and heavenly desserts. </p> Sound like a postcard-perfect holiday party? It is! Host your own holiday party at Chatfield Farms</a> this winter and experience the magic of the season. Booking options are offered every day of the week, with discounted prices Monday through Thursday, and room to accommodate 50 to 500. Daytime and evening spots are available, so whether you want to throw a brunch bash or a nighttime soiree, options abound. </p> This winter we partner with Biscuits & Berries catering</a>, which offers seasonal winter packages. They also have a full-service menu for larger parties wanting to have a more formal holiday sit-down event. With menu items such as toasted pistachio arancini, smoked pumpkin risotto, dulce de leche butter cookies, Stranahan’s whisky bread pudding and hot chocolate with toffee you won’t be disappointed. </p> Add on tickets to Trail of Lights</a> and give your guests a truly unforgettable holiday experience! Follow a winding path glistening with lights that illuminate the Colorado countryside, see lights synchronized to music, singing Christmas trees, light tunnels and illuminated antique and model tractors on display. </p> Contact our private events team at Chatfield Farms today to book your date. Call 720-865-4339 or email chatfieldrentals@botanicgardens.org</a>. </p>
As the weather turns cold, we seek coziness, covering ourselves in layers of clothing, nestling into blankets and if we’re fortunate, taking sanctuary in heated habitations. When it comes to the extreme weather of the steppes, we live by the words of the Rolling Stones: “Gimme shelter or I’m gonna fade away.” These lyrics ring as true for us as they do for the multitude of vertebrate and invertebrate animals and microorganisms that exist in our gardens.</p> Through gardening, we align ourselves intimately with other creatures. These collateral beings are our kin, and we must consider our actions in relation to their health as we create, sustain or destroy garden spaces. The garden is their home, and we must remember that a bare garden is a space bereft of the raw materials of shelter.</p> In his article “Sustainable Fall Garden Clean-up”</a> my colleague Michael Guidi expertly outlined the aesthetic and biological advantages to leaving dead and decaying organic matter in the garden throughout the fall and winter seasons. The basic rules are easy:</p> Don’t cut back your gardens until spring (and if possible, leave some parts completely uncut until the following summer).</li> After cut back, leave organic matter of different sizes and materials in your garden (homes for animals and free mulch).</li> </ul> If you feel like you must cut back or clean up, consider not cutting back everything or leaving piles of the organic matter in your garden or somewhere out of sight in your yard.</p> Although we may feel compelled to clean our gardens, we must transmute our vision of a prepared space from one that is ready to fulfill our short-term needs (the promise of easy planting and harvesting in an organized space) to one that serves our long-term needs (a healthy biosphere that will support our gardens and crops for decades to come).</p> As you walk through Denver Botanic Gardens in the autumn, notice that while some spaces are thoroughly cleaned, much of the Gardens is left full of plant material through the winter months. These spaces, with their senesced skeletal forms and earthly hued layers of detritus are left intentionally to serve as spots of biological generation:</p> Josephine Streetscape:</strong> The Josephine Streetscape (both the east and west sides) is a dense mixture of shrubs, grasses, trees and perennials that aren’t cut back until very early spring. When it is cut back, the plants are cut roughly and dropped directly on the ground, creating the mulch for the garden and leaving lots of layers and hollows for life to find shelter in.</li> Ponderosa and Bristlecone Borders:</strong> The Ponderosa and Bristlecone borders are naturalistic gardens that reflect different plant communities of Colorado’s montane ecosystems. These gardens provide a depth and complexity that is helpful for wildlife to feel safe and nestled in.</li> Oak Steppe and Shrub Steppe: </strong>The interstitial spaces of the Gardens are important to support life since they often contain heterogeneous mixes of lots of different plant forms. The oak steppe and shrub steppe beds of the Steppe Garden are liminal areas, at the edges of the main garden. They are left full of fallen leaves and detritus giving animals an out-of-the-way home.</li> The Lilac Garden: </strong>The Lilac Garden has a thick and wild understory that is left full of stems of different sizes, heights and states of decay and grasses and seed heads that are crucial for use as nesting materials.</li> The Laura Smith Porter Plains Garden: </strong>The shrubs and grasses of the Plains Garden are left to grow, collapse on themselves and grow through their own detritus for several seasons at a time creating a complex matrix of life and decay and allowing for different cycles of vertebrates and invertebrates to breed and live within.</li> </ul> This short list highlights the winter habitat potential of just a handful of places that you can visit and investigate, but areas of refuge continuously thread throughout the Gardens. I hope you enjoy seeing the winter garden with new eyes.</p>
So, you have walked, biked, bused, scootered or driven to Denver Botanic Gardens on York Street and are ready to explore all the beauty that is within our 24-acre property. Before you make a beeline for the entrance, stop. Take some time to explore just beyond our walls.</p> What many visitors might not know is the gardens that surround our main property are curated with as much care as the ones inside and are some of the most sophisticated and transformative gardens we have. An added perk is these gardens are accessible 24/7!</p> If you begin along the Josephine Street streetscape</strong>, you can explore a naturalistic grassland area. This garden gives you an innovative idea of what is to come in the world of residential landscaping in the coming years. Stroll along Josephine Street throughout the year and observe the transformation that happens from spring through winter. As the idea of adding water-smart meadows to our yards takes hold, you can be inspired by this sophisticated design and beautiful shadows of species from sagebrush (Artemisia</em>), evening primrose (Oenothera</em>), beardtongue (Penstemon</em>), grasses (Poa secunda, Koeleria macrantha</em>) and more. </li> Walk up Josephine Street and turn left onto 11th Avenue</strong>. Here you will find the perfect shrubs for a Colorado Front Range garden. You will see several Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa</em>) and curly-leaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius</em>), which offer feathery plumes and year-round interest.</li> Now, head across York Street to our newest building, the Freyer – Newman Center</strong>. You can enjoy a tasty beverage and read a book in Copper Door coffee shop’s courtyard and admire a different kind of leaf – one of our newest sculptures. Leaf</em> is a sculpture by Lesley Change and Jason Klimoski and highlights the relationship of our art and science collections housed in the Center. Each of the panels contain a cutout of a Colorado native plant specimen held in the Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium. If you continue south, you will come across our medicinal courtyard</strong>. You will find many medicinal herbs here like pot marigold (Calendula officinalis</em>), purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea</em>) and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis</em>).</li> Are annuals and perennials your passion? Head down York Street and enjoy the beautiful blooms of our Mile High Garden</strong>. Not to be outdone by the flashy trumpet vine (Campsis radicans</em>), the annual and perennial blooms put on a real show from April through October. As you get closer to the Bonfils-Stanton Visitor Center</strong>, go a little bit further to see the intricate willow artwork of our very own Horticulturist Coordinator Jennifer Miller. The woven gold-leaf willow (Salix</em> × fragilis forma vitellina</em> ‘Kaat’) might not be found in any garden center, but maybe it will inspire you to see what you could add to your own garden.</li> </ul> August is the height of gardening season and one of the best times to have a look at what Denver Botanic Gardens has to offer; no ticket required, anytime of day, access to all, just outside our walls. Enjoy the journey.</p>
Planning your event can be stressful, with a host of moving parts, people and details to coordinate. But with proper planning and the use of fun and memorable vendors your event can stand out. Follow these easy tips to create an event that not only saves you the headache of coordinating but that also “wows” your guests with an experience they won’t soon forget. </p> Give your guests not just an event, but an experience. </h4> To make your event stand out, offer an experience rather than just a space. Although having a great venue can help make a great event, you may want to tour some of our add-on spaces to offer your guests a variety of engaging environments and experiences. At the Prairie Garden Terrace</a>, you and your guests can cozy up around the fire pit to watch as the sun dips behind the mountains. Or sip fine cocktails under the canopy of a tree twinkling with warm market lights. We are also proud to offer our newly finished Lavender Garden pergola, situated next to the butterfly house. Be surrounded by a field of lavender while overlooking the historical Hildebrand Ranch. If you’re planning your event in the fall or winter, you can take advantage of Corn Maze</a> and Trail of Lights</a> to add an extra special experience. </p>
