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.
Virtual Colorado Environmental Film Festival: Feb. 12-21
I have been making an annual pilgrimage to Golden the third weekend in February for the past four years to attend the Colorado Environmental Film Festival (CEFF). It’s always worth the trip – even if
The Thrills of Finding and Growing Cacti
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
The Importance of Herbarium Volunteers
Volunteers have always been integral to Denver Botanic Gardens’ success. In fact, our natural history collections are the result of hard work by devoted volunteers. Kathryn Kalmbach and several other
Colorado’s Native Orchids
Mention the name “orchid” and most people imagine brightly colored exotic flowers growing in hot, humid rainforests of the tropics. Many Coloradans are surprised to learn that a number of these
Learning to Code for Science
A Gardens scientist conducts a field survey that will be aided by a new web application developed in-house. In mid-March of 2020, just as the nation was locking down in an attempt to curb the initial
Flourishing in the Face of Adversity: Seeds of Success, Part 2
From May through October this year, my colleague Ellyse Varone and I scouted, identified and collected seeds from more than 30 populations of 18 different species. We overcame many hurdles—collecting
Gratitude in the Face of Adversity: Seeds of Success, Part 1
Armed with a stack of maps, a GPS and list of plant species, my colleague Alyssa and I are the first Seeds of Success crew Denver Botanic Gardens has sent to Wyoming. As our field truck creaks and
Mycology, Then and Now
The amazingly diverse kingdom of Fungi has recently gained increased attention from the world of bioscience, nature lovers and citizen scientists. Because of brilliant new technologies developed in
Colorado Mycological Society's Online Expo
The Colorado Mycological Society’s (CMS) Annual Mushroom Fair has always been a major summer event for Denver Botanic Gardens, sometimes drawing more than 2,000 visitors in a single day. While we were
Green Stormwater Infrastructure on the High Line Canal
It is unlikely that the English businessmen who commissioned the building of the High Line Canal more than 130 years ago could have envisioned its repurposing as green stormwater infrastructure (GSI)
The Denver EcoFlora Project and Teen Volunteers
This summer I worked with Head Curator of Natural History Collections and Associate Director of Biodiversity Research Jennifer Ackerfield. Knowing of my interest in aquatic ecology, she assigned me
Rare Plant Monitoring
What will the future hold for the rare and imperiled plants of Colorado? When projections are dire, efforts can be made to protect a species in several ways: • It could be petitioned to be added to