One of my favorite places during spring at Denver Botanic Gardens is Oak Grove. It represents everything I love about spring: the color green, rebirth and colorful flowers, just to name a few. When I was assigned this garden many years back, it was a mix of hybrid oaks and ground covers surrounding a circular concrete pad. I thought about all the potential this garden had, and my head started filling with ideas. One of those ideas was how beautiful Oak Grove could be in spring. So, I made this a reality over the next decade by installing a mulched path that would lead visitors on a walk through the woods, where they would be greeted by beautiful understory perennials, shrubs and trees along their journey.</p> I’m happy to announce that this spring, we will begin a new Oak Grove renovation. The purpose of this renovation is to focus on diversity. Most of the renovation will be happening in the north section of Oak Grove. We will be removing some of the current ground cover and adding several different new ground covers. Throughout April, May and June we will be focusing on prep work and then adding approximately 200 new perennials, shrubs and trees to enhance our visitors’ experience. Oak Grove will remain open during most of this transition, so our visitors can still enjoy the garden and watch our renovation in progress.</p> The blooms in Oak Grove will start looking their best starting in mid-April. In the meantime, be sure to see ‘Blue Giant’ and ‘Pink Giant’ Scilla forbesii </em>(also called glory-of-the-snow and formerly known as Chionodoxa</em>), all along the southwest edges of Oak Grove, in addition to a few of the primroses that are just coming up.</p> Starting in mid-April:</h4> One of the first things you will notice when you enter Oak Grove during spring is sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum</em>), a lush, green groundcover that is topped with tiny white flowers. The flowers are fragrant and edible and have a sweet, nutty flavor. The leaves smell like freshly mowed hay when dried.</p> Next, you will probably see the sprays of small, intense blue flowers atop the green, velvety leaves of Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla</em>). As you wander around the inner circle you will encounter brightly colored primroses (Primula vulgaris</em>) and the dainty, fairy-like flowers of barrenwort (Epimedium </em>× rubrum </em>and E. × versicolor </em>‘Sulphureum’) along with the pink heart-shaped flowers and golden leaves of bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis</em> ‘Gold Heart’, formerly known as Dicentra</em>) amongst the fresh, new fronds of various ferns.</p> As you head up the mulched path passing the new leaves of emerging hostas and various wood ferns, you will immediately notice the blue and pink blooms of hundreds of Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica</em> ‘Excelsior’ and ‘Queen of the Pinks’). These colorful bulbs have naturalized and hybridized throughout the garden creating different shades of pink, blue and white. Continuing along the path, you are sure to see the bright yellow flowers of Oregon grape (Berberis repens</em>) and the brilliant, scarlet-purple flower buds of the forest pansy redbud (Cercis canadensis</em> ‘Forest Pansy’). These shrubs and trees are perfect understory plants because they grow well in shade and dappled sunlight.</p> As you head up the path and through the woods you will reach a clearing with wooden benches where you can enjoy sitting under the trees and listening to the rushing waterway behind the benches. If you look closely ahead, near the split rail fencing, you may notice an unusual dark, rose-colored blossom hanging like a pendulum from a medium sized tree. You have found our pawpaw tree (Asimina triloba</em>). These unusual flowers will eventually develop into a large, delicious fruit that tastes like a cross between a banana and a mango.</p> I hope that you have enjoyed your walk through the woods. Whenever you need to relax and de-stress, come back and visit us anytime. </p>
We often think about the rose as a focal point of gardens in spring and summer, however sometimes we forget that late summer and early fall are some of the best times to enjoy their great displays of flowers, even though they are not blooming as prolifically as they do in the spring.</p> Under our harsh mid-summer weather conditions, hot temperatures, dryness and the stress of strong sunlight, the colors of the flowers may fade. And the Japanese beetles feast on our roses from late spring to mid-summer, causing damage to some of the blooms. The absence of these conditions can make later in the summer a delightful time to see the roses!</p> During the cooler weather in early fall (especially morning and evening), the color of the flowers intensifies as it is meant to do. When our horticulturists identify a rose by its flowers, fall is the best season to do so.</p> Some of the more popular modern roses we see in the Gardens today are shrub roses, such as Floribunda, English rose and hardy Canadian rose. They were cultivated to have a longer blooming season from spring to fall, a greater variety of colors and compact sizes, and cold hardiness and disease resistance habits. These better accommodate our sustainable ways of Western gardening.</p> Be sure to see the displays of roses in the Ellipse garden and the Romantic Gardens on your next visit.</p>
September is a great time to take a walk through the flowers in Lainie’s Cutting Garden. By this time in late summer the plants are in full bloom and at their peak for harvesting. This garden was designed with ease of cutting in mind with annuals planted in the center beds and perennials and shrubs bordering the entire garden. </p> As you approach Lainie’s Cutting Garden you will notice that the center beds are laid out in concentric circles creating an almost labyrinth-like path through the garden. Enter the garden through the south entrance across from Oak Grove and give the flowers a quick scan. The garden is small in comparison, but it is packed full of beautiful colors, shapes and textures creating a lush living arrangement. Each of the center beds are designed and planted with a color theme in mind and as you walk from east to north to west the colors progress through each pigment of the rainbow.</p> As you take a right around the circle the first plant you will notice stands high above the rest, Leonotis nepetifolia</strong></em>, or lion’s ear</strong>. Lion’s ear features perfect ball-shaped structures that adorn the tall main stem with small orange flowers protruding out of each ball. This flower is perfect for using in fresh or dried flower arrangements. Come back this winter and you will be able to see it on display in the Romantic Gardens’ dried arrangements.</li> Another plant that shares the orange palette of the garden is Amaranthus cruentus</strong></em> ‘Hot Biscuits’</strong>. This cultivar of amaranth is a bit different than most of the red and pink varieties. Hot Biscuits features bronze-colored plumes that bloom throughout the summer and into fall.</li> As you continue walking you will see a very interesting ball-type dahlia, Dahlia</strong></em> ‘Double Jill’</strong>. Double Jill gets its name from the many colors that it features on each flower. No one flower is ever the same with different combinations of white, orange and yellow. Dahlias make great cut flowers, and the ball types seem to attract less Japanese beetles!</li> As you make your way around the pink section of the rainbow you may notice a familiar smell in the air that is Ocimum basilicum </strong></em>‘Cardinal’</strong>. Cardinal basil is in its full expression this time of year showing off its dark pink blooms and lush foliage. Basil makes a fantastic filler for flower arrangements and with flowers and fragrance you can’t go wrong.</li> Finally, you make your way to the end of the rainbow where purple is the featured color. The standouts in this section are Eustoma grandiflorum</strong></em> ‘Can Can Purple’ </strong>and Eustoma grandiflorum </strong></em>MARIACHI® Lavender</strong>, also known as lisianthus. The flowers on lisianthus often remind people of roses with their soft petals and double flower heads. They can be a bit top heavy, so we plant them tight and provide a lot of support as they grow. These flowers add a lot of drama to fresh arrangements, and they will hold up for weeks.</li> </ul> This is just a handful of the many flowers that are on display in Lainie’s Cutting Garden. Come back again and again to discover something new; the garden is always changing. </p> Gallery photos by Angie Andrade</em></p>
Why water your garden in the winter?</h4> Colorado winters can vary dramatically when it comes to snowfall and precipitation totals. In the Mile High City and its surrounding suburban communities, any snow accumulation lasting longer than a few days is rare and drought conditions are the norm. Because of this, urban gardens can often suffer from winter drought conditions causing long term challenges especially for newly planted trees and shrubs. </p> Although many perennial plants shed their leaves and go into dormancy during winter months, they are still very much alive and their root systems, buds and stems continue to grow. When there is insufficient moisture, this stresses the plant and inhibits essential metabolic processes from occurring properly. Examples of this include winter kill in lawns and perennial plants not reemerging in spring as the ground thaws. Drought stress can also be seen in trees and shrubs for several years after the drought occurs since it can affect growth rate, leaf production and overall vigor. Drought stress can also make plants more susceptible to disease and insect damage. </p> Best methods for winter watering:</h4> Winter watering should be done 1-2 times per month from late fall into early spring and should be conducted on warm days when temperatures are above 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the soil is thawed. It should be done using a hose and watering wand or attachable sprinkler around midday allowing enough time for the water to infiltrate the soil before freezing. Placing several empty cups in the garden and watering until each cup has accumulated half an inch to one inch of moisture will ensure that you have adequately watered the soil around the roots of your plants. Using a deep root waterer is also a great way to water trees and shrubs. Once finished, hoses should be removed from the faucet spigot and stored to prevent freeze damage to water pipes, hoses and watering wand attachments. </p> What plants in the garden need to be watered in winter?</h4> Plants that should be watered through the winter months include deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and groundcovers as well as perennial flowering plants. Newly planted trees and shrubs are the most crucial as this supplemental watering will allow them to establish more quickly and help them reach their maximum potential growth the following spring and summer. Evergreens are prone to winter desiccation, a process in which more water is lost through the foliage than is absorbed through the roots of the plant, resulting in yellowing or browning of the foliage. It is not necessary to water xeric plants such as cacti, succulents and many drought tolerant native plants as consistently throughout the winter as these plants are well suited for experiencing long periods of drought without detrimental long-term effects.</p>
