</p> </p> Yet another BRAND NEW experience is waiting for you at Denver Botanic Gardens. The Gardens has opened a new gift shop, Shop at the Gardens. The entire gift shop was re-designed from the ground up to offer our visitors the most sustainable, creative, unique garden and gift products in Denver.</p> </p> Come shop an extensive collection of gifts and toys for children, unique jewelry, garden and cook books, apparel, affordable gifts made from the most cutting-edge sustainable materials and packaging, plants and other items sure to be found nowhere else in Denver. Plus, you give back to the Gardens when you shop with us. Proceeds from the gift shop help fund Gardens' programming for the community.</p> Chuck McGlothlin (pictured above), is the shop manager and buyer. He and his very capable staff are here to help you select just the right gift for yourself, someone you love or for your home!</p> Shop at the Gardens is open year-round during regular Gardens hours and is located in the new Bonfils-Stanton Visitor Center. Admission to the Shop at the Gardens and all parking is free.</p> We'll not only offer you the most unique gifts in the City of Denver, we'll make it easy for you to shop with us as well. Think all-natural gifts. Think plants and gardening supplies. Think affordable, relevant offerings. Shop over 10,000 items that have been personally selected by our staff to reflect the Gardens’ core values of sustainability, transformation, diversity and relevance. We look forward to seeing you soon!</p>
</p> The Gardens has never looked better. So much is in bloom thanks to all of the recent rain and the expertise of our horticulturists. Although it may look like things are not fully open at the Gardens when you drive by our entrance on York Street! Rest assured we are open with over 100 new parking spaces available on the lower level (enter on York Street) in our new parking garage with free parking. The parking structure will be opened in phases. The second level, with another 100 spaces, is expected to open in the next few days. Gardens’ staff members and landscape contractors are in the process of planting 6,853 plants, including trees, vines and shrubs, on both sides of and throughout the structure. </p> The Bonfils-Stanton Visitor Center is absolutely stunning. When you enter, you can purchase your tickets to the Gardens on your right. Very soon you will be able to purchase your Gardens entry tickets using our new ticketing kiosks.</p> The new Shop at the Gardens gift shop is to your left. You’ll find all-natural gifts, plants, gardening supplies, books, and tons more--even dinosaur slippers for the kids. </p> Come visit soon. Entrance into the Visitor Center is free. </p>
</p> According to Botanic Gardens Conservation International, botanic gardens are defined as “institutions holding documented collections of living plants for the purposes of scientific research, conservation, display and education.” Plant collections form the heart and soul of a botanic garden and how we care for them determines our integrity and credibility as a botanical institution. So, how are we caring for our collections during all our current construction projects?</p> At Denver Botanic Gardens, all our plant collections are documented in a database with date acquired, provenance, location where planted and other pertinent information. Records are updated as plants are lost or moved from one garden location to another. As part of a botanic garden collections, more value is placed on plants that are wild collected than those purchased from commercial sources. During our current construction projects, as gardens were slated for change, decisions were made on what was worth saving based on their history, provenance status and whether or not they were easily available in the green industry trade. All plants worth saving were moved to another garden location or potted up and saved in the nursery or propagated for future planting. A few trees, including a Bosnian Pine champion tree was relocated using a 100 foot tree spade. In preparation for demolition of our existing greenhouses and construction of a new greenhouse complex, horticulture staff has been busy moving our collections, which includes orchids, bromeliads and other tropical plants, and production and nursery operations to our newly built Chatfield Greenhouses. Planning for this move started over a year ago and the whole moving operation has been carefully orchestrated by our greenhouse team led by Nick Snakenberg, Curator of Orchids and Tropical Collections and Mike Bone, Senior Horticulturist and Propagator. Please see the June 30 Denver Post article, which featured the move. Staff will be commuting between the two locations for the next year, but we can be assured that the integrity of our displays and collections will be maintained with care from our talented and dedicated staff. We look forward to settling in our new greenhouse facility within the next year and the opportunity it offers in expanding our public horticultural programs. </p> </p>
</p> </p> </p> Denver Botanic Gardens is home to over 300 taxa (which includes hybrids and cultivars) of about 69 species of Iris</em>. This diversity is distributed throughout the Gardens, though a majority is displayed in the Lilac Garden. Situated almost in the middle of our grounds, the irises in this garden are currently at their peak flowering stage. A few lilacs that did not get zapped by our late spring frost are also in bloom. Renovated and replanted in 2006, it is amazing to see how this garden has matured in just 3 years. Showcasing our lilac, iris and daylily collections, the Lilac Garden is in color throughout the season, transitioning from one plant type to another.</p> The original Lilac Garden at Denver Botanic Gardens was planted around early to mid 1970’s with the oldest recorded lilac in the garden dating back to 1974. The garden was renovated in 1984-85 and again in 2006 to incorporate irises and daylilies. Our collections of these three genera have increased significantly through collaborations with the International Lilac Society, American Iris Society and Mile High Daylily Society among others.</p> Ann Montague, Horticulturist who maintains this garden, has developed a section in this garden devoted to showcasing local Colorado hybridizers. Numerous varieties developed by local hybridizers were donated by Long’s Iris Garden and Iris Colorado in 2007.</p> Stop by within the next week to see irises of all colors and sizes planted aesthetically in this garden. Not to worry if you miss the irises, this garden will be transitioning to daylilies shortly.</p>
</p> Forty years ago, a family physician named Dr. Sam Mitchel turned a hobby into a real scientific endeavor by establishing a "mushroom collection" at Denver Botanic Gardens. The fungal collection at the Gardens is now the largest actively curated herbarium of Rocky Mountain fungi in the world, with over 24,000 specimens representing over 2,000 taxa. Preserved collections of plants and fungi are called herbaria (herbarium is singular), and are an essential resource for scientists, land managers, botanical illustrators, horticulturalists, explorers, historians, educators, and others needing documentation or records about plants and fungi. </p> To honor its founder, the Gardens has established an endowment to help support scientific use of the collection, and thanks to the many contributors, we have reached a landmark goal that will be commemorated by naming the collection for Dr. Mitchel. In the words of Vera Evenson, current curator of the collection and apprentice of Sam Mitchel: "Always a great nature lover, on one of his family campouts with his boys, Kirk and Scott, in 1960 he discovered an abundance of beautiful mushrooms in Colorado’s high country. Right then and there he decided to try to identify them. Finding little help locally, he began his own studies, eventually founding an Herbarium of Fungi here at the Gardens a few years later as well as a mushroom study club. That club turned into our own Colorado Mycological Society, one of our most active plant societies here at Denver Botanic Gardens. "</p> Dr. Mitchel was not paid for his mycological service - it was simply his passion. A favorite quote: "I practice medicine to make a living and study mushrooms to make living worthwhile."</p> An official naming ceremony and event are being planned for October.</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>
</p> What threatens Sclerocactus glaucus</em>? Installation and maintenance of huge pipelines that move oil and gas from the well pads miles and miles to the collection facilities; roads; browsing and trampling from livestock; weeds; and people who collect them from the wild to name a few. Why are we doing something about it? Just look at the beautiful landscape and plant community. Do you want to lose that? Neither do we.</p>
</p> The green roof at Denver Botanic Gardens opened in November 2007. Within a year and a half, this garden has established very well creating a green space where once was a regular cemented roof. Situated above our former gift shop (soon to become a bistro), this one-of-a-kind green roof features native and drought tolerant plants that thrive well in our semi-arid climate with limited water.</p> A variety of plants were selected in creating this roof to test which plants will perform well as green roof plants in our region. Departing from the regular norm of using Sedums as green roof plant materials, this roof is living proof of how, with experimentation, we can create a green roof utilizing a diverse plant palette. Designed and created by our resident green roof expert, Senior Horticulturist Mark Fusco, Denver Botanic Gardens is a pioneer in green roof research for our region.</p> </p> </p> </p> The green roof was initially established using about 60 different plant species. Approximately 1,000 plants were planted and after the first winter the survival rate was quite high – 90%. Now, after surviving a second winter, the garden couldn’t look any better. This past week, the garden was splashed in shades of yellow, pink, red, blue and white. Plants blooming currently include three different cultivars of Delosperma</em>, the bright red flowers of Echinocereus triglochidatus </em>cactus, the bright yellow flowers of Eriogonum umbellatum</em>, Euphorbia polychroma </em>and Physaria bellii</em>, pink and white Phlox </em>and blue Veronica liwanensis. </em>The Opuntias are in bud and should be blooming soon.</p> As this garden becomes well established in another couple of years, we will reduce and maybe even completely stop irrigating this garden. Plans are underway to establish green roof trials at our Chatfield research gardens. The new Mordecai Children’s Garden, anticipated to be completed in summer 2010, will feature an extensive green roof, which will be situated above the new parking garage.</p>
</p> Each year, as spring rolls around, the Research and Conservation staff load up a 4-wheel drive vehicle with our gear, head out across Colorado and the Rocky Mountain west region in search of rare plants.</p> Our first trip takes us west to the threatened cactus, Sclerocactus glaucus</em>. This lovely little cactus is found in Western Colorado along with several other rare plant species. This is also an area with intense oil and gas development, residential growth and spreading weeds. Our aim is to protect the western region by studying and protecting this tiny cactus.</p>
</p> February 12th marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin. This year also marks the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s renowned work, “The Origin of Species.” Commemorating Darwin and the Gardens upcoming signature exhibition (Jurassic Gardens: Evolution & Extinction)</em>, Denver Botanic Gardens is featuring the "Plant Evolution Garden" at the 2009 Colorado Garden & Home Show. The Show runs from February 7 - 15 at the Colorado Convention Center.</p> This display garden showcases the chronological evolution of plants starting with bryophytes (mosses), transitioning to ferns, gymnosperms (cycads) and angiosperms (flowering plants). The display also integrates garden favorites like perennials, annuals and bulbs presenting recent horticultural advancements through human-induced artificial selection. As a teaser of what is to come at the Gardens in April, a Bambiraptor</em> dinosaur nest egg is featured among the display.</p> Be sure to stop by this display garden (Garden J) at the Colorado Garden & Home Show. The accompanying interpretation will lead visitors through the plant evolutionary pathway starting about 450 million years ago.</p>
</p> What is it? Who does it? Why? Obviously we study new species to add to your gardens. We have trial gardens, develop germination protocols, even breed new species. We also head out into Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region to study plants where they grow (in-situ</em>) and sometimes collect seed to preserve genetic material, study the plants in the lab or grow individuals for reintroductions (ex-situ</em>).</p> The species we study may very well never contain the cure for cancer, might not become the next best specimen to have in your collection and might go unnoticed as a single species loss. However, these primary producers are part of the ecosystem and affect other organisms and their environment in ways that are not always immediately apparent.</p> There are over 100 plant species in Colorado alone that are at a high risk of extinction and hundreds more that are rare or are declining in number. If hundreds of species are lost, then real and obvious changes to our environment will be felt and will inevitably negatively affect us. Researchers at Denver Botanic Gardens are working to prevent these losses through long-term study of these species, reintroductions and work to mitigate the effect of invasive, non-native species.</p> We're determined to protect these gems one plant at a time (more if we can do it) not because they all have unique traits and scientific value (which they do) or because they are intrinsically worth saving (which they are) but because we don't want to suffer the alternative.</p>
John Temple’s column in the Rocky Mountain News today, ‘Simple moments, rich rewards’ was very inspiring. Not just because I work at Denver Botanic Gardens, but also because the article hits it in the nail regarding the little things in life that really matter. Every morning I look out my kitchen window and the sight of geese in the golf course behind my house or the Daphne that still refuses to stop blooming or the water bubbling in my pond or the dried seed heads of the ornamental grasses swaying in the wind all inspire me as I start my day. It is these simple pleasures in life that are truly memorable. Denver Botanic Gardens offers many such memorable moments for visitors of all ages and walks of life throughout the year. Winter in the Gardens has its own charm. As you walk through Shady Lane notice the bright red dried-up crab apples still clinging to the branches like tree ornaments. The carefully and artistically manicured character pines, rocks and water in the Japanese Garden evoke a pristine and peaceful picture. The Rock Alpine Garden almost always has something surprising to offer visitors with its varied texture and miniature plants. The Ornamental Grasses Garden with its swaying grasses reminds us of the prairie that our Denver landscape once was. Take time to notice the barks of the different trees throughout the Gardens. The amazing diversity of tree bark is something everyone misses because not many pay close attention to that. Finally, last but not least, the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory is the ultimate tropical destination to escape the outside chill of the winter. So, come on by this winter, stroll through the Gardens and discover the little surprises that the Gardens have to offer.</p>
