The American West is a shrubby place. Our region’s arid climate and ecology limits the growth of trees, leaving grasslands and shrublands to reign supreme. Our dry shrublands are alive with varying shades of silver, blue, seafoam green and camo green, often demonstrating their beauty through textural displays, sinuous forms and persistent fruits or seeds rather than showy flowers (although some have these, too). Early autumn is a great time to behold the glory of our wild shrublands and to consider how these plant communities can be used as inspiration for our gardens.</p> Here are a few places at the Gardens where you can experience shrub-forward plantings, inspired by the shrublands of western North America.</p> Laura Smith Porter Plains Garden</strong></p> From the Gates Montane Garden, take the boardwalk path over the stream</strong> to the west end of the Plains Garden. As you walk along the path adjacent to the pond</strong>, notice the rocky ledge plantings to your left. Leadplant (Amorpha canescens</em>) rises up among a mix of bunchgrasses, yucca and white sage. Cooler temperatures will ensure that the golden currant (Ribes aureum</em>) and skunkbush (Rhus aromatica </em>var. trilobata</em>) will have turned bright red.</li> Further along the path</strong>, see the spherical fruit of buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis</em>) and colorful stems of red twig dogwood (Cornus alba</em>) thriving in the wetter soils alongside the pond. </li> Head east at the intersection of the path.</strong> Notice the fine texture of sand sage (Artemisia filifolia</em>) rising up through prairie grasses to your left. This plant’s display of arching inflorescences is mesmerizing in mass plantings. </li> Once you reach the eastern entrance to the Plains Garden</strong>, look across the path to see a heavy crop of red fruits amid the evergreen blue-green foliage of Fremont’s mahonia (Berberis fremontii</em>).</li> Now head east</strong> toward the Hive Garden Bistro and Sacred Earth. </li> </ul> Sacred Earth</strong></p> Begin at the entrance</strong> to Sacred Earth across from Dryland Mesa and stroll through a quintessential western landscape of rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa</em>) and big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata</em>). The stiff upright forms of rabbitbrush—still likely covered in sulfur yellow flowers—and twisting forms of silver sagebrush are a simple but visually striking combination.</li> Moving along the path</strong>, to your left skunkbush (Rhus aromatica</em> var. trilobata</em>) will likely be ablaze with red fall foliage. More subtle fall colors will be on display with chartreuse leaves of desert olive (Forestiera pubescens</em>) as you round the corner along the water feature.</li> Head towards the aspen tree covered berm to the east. </strong>Here, layers of shrubs ramble through the understory in a riot of forms and textures. Keep an eye out for snowberry (Symphoricarpos oreophilius</em>) and whitestem currants (Ribes inerme</em>). Creeping Oregon grape (Berberis repens</em>) will be abundant with heavy clusters of blue berries and seasonally deep purple to red foliage. This plant is a staple for tough dry shade locations and will naturalize under most garden conditions.</li> </ul> The Gardens has great examples of shrubland-inspired gardens that aren’t exclusively native and xeric. Make sure to check out the Roads Water-Smart Garden </strong>to see how low-water shrubs can be integrated into a compelling design with regionally appropriate perennials. The Steppe Garden</strong> is great place to see shrubs from semi-arid regions similar to Colorado from around the world. See my colleague’s blog post</a> about shrubs with silver foliage in the Steppe Garden.</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>
