Have you ever thought of your garden as a work of art? Maybe you spend months planning and plotting, considering what plants will look best where, or maybe you take a more abstract approach and scatter seeds like the paint in a Jackson Pollock painting. Whichever type of gardener you are, you are using visual thinking strategies, just like artists. Wander gardens and galleries this summer to learn more about the connections between gardens and art. </p> Start your explorations by visiting Blue Grass, Green Skies: American Impressionism and Realism from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art</a> opening June 7 </strong>in the Freyer – Newman Center. Impressionist artists were famous for painting en plein air</em> (outdoors) so they could directly observe the effects of sunlight on their subjects. What better place to paint outdoors than in a garden? Many American Impressionist artists were garden enthusiasts, including John Henry Twachtman, whose lush home garden became a painting destination for fellow artists, or Childe Hassam, who spent summers painting the seaside gardens on Appledore Island in Maine. </p> After browsing the exhibition, head into the gardens to discover gold frames highlighting garden compositions reminiscent of American Impressionist landscapes. Artists and gardeners think about the same things in their work—emphasis, patterns, color combinations, textures, shapes and more all play an important role in creating a beautiful, cohesive garden, just as they do in a work of art.</p> “Art, to me, is the interpretation of the impression which nature makes upon the eye and brain,” Childe Hassam once said. Nature and art go hand in hand, whether you’re a painter, a gardener, or just someone looking to spend an afternoon outdoors. </p> Full credit for "California Landscape"</em>: William Wendt, "California Landscape," oil on canvas, 1920. 31 5/16” H x 70 3/16” W. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Gift of James O. McReynolds, Robert Coulter McReynolds and Mrs. Edwin L. Harbach, in fond memory of their mother, Frances Coulter McReynolds and their father, Dr. Robert Phillips McReynolds. </p>
The City Nature Challenge</a> is a yearly community science event for folks in cities all over the world to observe and document biodiversity in their own backyards, and 2025 was the 10-year anniversary. To participate, people make observations of any organism – plant, animal, insect and more – on iNaturalist</a> for a few days in late April to early May. This is followed by a short identification phase – where a community of naturalists work on identifying all species observed. The biodiversity data crowd-sourced through iNaturalist contributes important information to scientists and land managers. </p> In the Denver-Boulder metro area, more than 9,714 observations were submitted by 764 people of 1,260 species! We nearly doubled our number of observations and observers compared to 2024, and we broke our previous record in 2020 of ~7,000. This year, our most observed species was Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana</em>). Fun species observed included a silver fox</a>, long-eared owl</a>, Abert’s squirrel</a>, bobcat</a>, prairie violet</a>, beaver</a>, black-crowned night heron</a>, little brown bat</a>, American mink</a>, elk</a>, moose</a>, Northern Harrier</a> and black bear</a>. We even had 145 research-grade observations of 26 species</a> that are listed as rare, endangered, or threatened by NatureServe or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (over twice as many as last year). </p> For 2025’s global challenge, there were 3.3 million observations of almost 74,000 species made by 103,000 people from over 62 countries around the world. This brings the total number of observations made during the past 10 years to almost 13 million! The leading city for numbers of observations, species, and observers was La Paz, Bolivia. </p> Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s City Nature Challenge. We are looking forward to participating with you next year.</p> Shout out to the winners of the Denver-Boulder City Nature Challenge:</strong>Most observations: @Phyllisholst with 405 observations of 150 speciesMost identifications: @Andershastings with 2,265 observations </p>
When we think of spring, we think of flowering trees, cool breezes, slowly emerging perennials, birds singing and – of course – bulbs! </p> The explosion of tulip bulbs at the Annuals Garden and Pavilion at York Street may be the talk of downtown, but in the southwestern foothills at Chatfield Farms</a>, daffodils are the primary spring stunner. Although some tulips dapple the various gardens across the farm, deer – and sometimes even elk – predation doesn’t allow for such grand mass plantings as the gardens at York Street. Daffodils, despite their cheerful, sunny appearance, are actually toxic, containing a substance called lycorine. With a bitter taste and causing digestive upset, deer and other garden visitors intent on munching should steer clear of daffodils. </p> You can find many different varieties of daffodils across the landscape at Chatfield Farms. Some, like ‘Ferris Wheel’, ‘Pink Charm’, and ‘Precocious’ are known for their huge flower size and flower power. Others, such as ‘Angel Eyes’, ‘Kokopelli’, or ‘Elka’ may be some of the smallest flowering daffodils you’ve ever seen. </p> Other tiny treasures that may catch your eye include dwarf reticulated Iris. Some of the earliest and smallest bloomers across the farm, Iris reticulata</em> also qualify as deer resistant. Varieties such as ‘Pauline’, ‘Rhapsody’, and ‘Eye Catcher’ can be found in some of the drier gardens at Chatfield Farms, attracting hungry bees.</p> When horticulturists at Chatfield Farms still find themselves craving tulips and decide to try their luck, success has been found in planting Tulipa linifolia </em>and Tulipa turkestanica</em>. Despite being only 4 inches tall, Tulipa linifolia</em> shines bright red in the garden. With a long bloom period and snubbed by most deer, this little tulip is tried and true. Tulipa turkestanica</em> can grow up to 8 inches tall with multiflowered clusters that bees are drawn to; it is a reliable and hardy early bloomer that has been completely untouched by deer. Both tulips have very small bulbs, which make planting in the fall a breeze, and are great choices for smaller gardens as well as rock gardens and xeric gardens.</p> Be sure to swing by Chatfield Farms to enjoy our early season color and find your favorite deer resistant bulb! </p>
A recent visit to Melbourne, Australia, inspired countless garden ideas. I am so grateful for this experience, and I’d love to share some of the garden beauty and trends I picked up that can be translated to Colorado gardens. </p> One of my biggest takeaways is that gardens are so diverse! There are many, many styles of gardening, and even more ways to interpret those styles. During my brief visit, I saw naturalistic, Indigenous, formal, boutique and farm styles. I also saw gardens celebrating various Australian landscapes, as well as several categories of show gardens at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show</a>. Seeing so many interpretations of “gardening” further solidifies my belief that gardens are deeply personal, artistic spaces. Let this be your reminder to explore your creativity in gardening!</p> Another takeaway is that native plants—often also called Indigenous plants—are trending on the other side of the world as well as here. It seems like this is truly a plant palette of our times. Climate change is pressing on every corner of Earth. The need is present and growing for plants that can withstand the difficulties ahead. Many gardeners seem to be placing their bets on the plants that have been</em> withstanding these difficulties for A LONG TIME. </p> Reconnecting with Indigenous groups and reincorporating their stewardship practices also spans the globe in its relevance. Every region has its own beautiful, place-based Indigenous heritage. Across all boundaries, landscape practitioners have the opportunity and responsibility to celebrate and support Indigenous voices. Here and abroad, this is the right thing to do. Additionally, including Indigenous people into gardening practice immensely enriches land stewardship outcomes.</p> Finally, I observed heavy usage of non-plant elements to give gardens character. Hardscaping, water features and art all enhance a space. Show gardens seemed to take this even further by using props to emulate daily life: cups of tea, books, drying laundry. I took this as a reminder that a garden is a personal space for you</em>. Leave room under the shade tree for a lawn chair. Plant herbs close to your kitchen. Put a bird feeder by the window for easy viewing. You can make your garden a place you want to be, a place that fills what you’re looking for.</p> I can only try to summarize the richness of Melbourne’s gardens in less than 500 words, but I hope you feel inspired to make your space your own, create abundantly, honor the Indigenous peoples and plants where you live, and continue to find joy in gardens aplenty. </p>
