You might think that there is nothing beautiful to see in the garden during the winter months, but if you slow down and take a closer look you may be surprised.</p> In the summer a tree’s bark is often overshadowed by its brilliant leaves, fragrant blooms and vibrant fruit, but it is a very important part of the tree. The bark serves as armor to ward off insects and drought; it is the life support of the tree, with inner layers carrying water and nutrients from the roots to the rest of the tree, and sugars made during photosynthesis in the leaves traveling down in another interior layer, the phloem; and it is the face of the tree, giving it definition, character and beauty.</p> As a tree matures, the growth of the outer layer can’t keep up with the expanding of the wood growing underneath, and so the bark begins to form different shapes and textures as it grows and repairs itself.</p> Each tree species has its own unique bark pattern, and with some keen observation you will begin to see the hidden layers of beauty that trees hold.</p> As you start your tour walking down the allée of crabapple trees (Malus </em>spp. and cultivars) in Shady Lane you will notice that the trees to your left are much larger then the trees on the right. That’s because the trees on your left were planted in the late 1970s and the trees on the right were planted after 2010 when the new greenhouses were built. Now, look at the difference in the bark. You will discover that the tree’s bark changes with age. Young trees often have smooth, flawless bark; as the tree ages the bark begins to transform and weather, creating unique patterns specific to that tree species.</li> As you enter Oak Grove, notice the similarities of their bark patterns. The large bur oak, Quercus macrocarpa,</em> in the center of the grove has very furrowed bark patterns. Can you see any other furrowed bark in Oak Grove?</li> Exit Oak Grove at the west end and turn right, back toward Shady Lane. On your left you can’t miss the bald cypress, Taxodium distichum</em> ‘Pendens’, and its magnificent bark. The curling bark keeps outer bark thin, allowing sunlight to reach the photosynthetic cork skin, giving the tree an extra boost before its needles flush out in the spring. Yes, trees perform photosynthesis through their bark, although not as efficiently as through leaves; this helps sustain the tree during the winter months.</li> As you walk around the pond to the Hive Garden Bistro, the large hackberry trees, Celtis occidentalis,</em> tower over the patio with their unique bark structure. Examine this bark and compare the difference between the trunk and the newer branch bark. Hackberries are known for their warty bark texture and this is best displayed as you look up at the tree’s branches.</li> Make your way to the cutleaf European white birch trees, Betula pendula</em> ‘Gracilis’, next to the wooden bridge near Cheesman Gate. This unique bark is not only stunning in the garden, but this white color reflects sunlight and reduces potential for sun damage, especially during our winter months.</li> </ul> Take some time as you walk through the rest of the Gardens to slow down and observe the countless patterns and textures that tree bark displays. Realizing that bark is not only a vital part of a tree’s structure, but that it also defines the tree’s beauty will help you see trees during the winter months in a whole new way.</p>
Join us on a magical “Garden of the Gods” tour to Greece!</p> Last year I had the privilege of revisiting Greece in the spring at the height of super bloom season in April. Like most Mediterranean climates, the bulk of wildflowers in Greece bloom during the first weeks of early spring as the cool late winter rains taper off and the warmth of summer beckons. To see the brilliant scarlet of poppies among the ancient marble columns of the ruins is inspiring.</p> The trip I led a year ago is being reprised this April by Sarada Krishnan, our director of horticulture and global initiatives. Coming as she does from another of Eurasia’s great civilizations, with her enormous understanding of gardening, agronomy and floristics (not to mention possessing great charm and joie de vivre), you will enjoy yourself enormously in her company.</p> I am sure you will be astonished as I was to see choice “hot rock” ferns growing out of the crevices of the Acropolis, with the panoramic views of Attica on all sides, or finding bright pink, yellow, white and chocolate brown orchids in dizzy variety in the grassy meadows of Crete.</p> Here is the itinerary</a></p> This trip is planned to coincide with peak bloom of bulbs, shrubs and herbaceous wildflowers in all the choice ancient sites of Attica as well as some of the most historic and scenic Greek Isles: Crete featuring both Knossos and Phaestos, the sacred island of Delos, the site of real Atlantis on Santorini and the rich and varied island of Naxos.</p> Where else can you combine such brilliant flowers in both the wild and quaint villages, with ancient history and the incomparable scenery of sea, stone and classic beauty?</p> Sarada Krishnan has led the Horticulture Department at Denver Botanic Gardens for 14 years, as well as creating and leading the Center for Global Initiatives, extending the Gardens’ knowledge to help create public gardens in Mongolia, Haiti and India. This fall Sarada is orchestrating an international symposium on “Steppe Feeds the World” at Denver Botanic Gardens, which will bring experts from Central Asia and other steppe regions.</em></p>
</p> When people think about private events at a public garden, weddings are typically the occasions that come to mind. But Denver Botanic Gardens at York Street hosts events of many different kinds that have nothing to do with “I do!” In fact, many companies and non-profit organizations mix a little pleasure with their business and choose the Gardens for retreats, meetings, team parties, award ceremonies, luncheons, and other business-related events.</p> Whether you are in need of a single room for several hours, or a combination of venues for a multi-day conference, our Venue Sales Associates can help you to create the perfect setting for your next corporate event. Events both large and small blossom at the Gardens year-round in a wide variety of venues, both indoor and outdoor. As an added benefit of hosting your event at the Gardens, you and your guests will gain complementary access to any Gardens that are open before, during, and after your event – the perfect chance for a post-presentation stroll or a team photo for that year-end report!</p> Take the opportunity to have your attendees bloom by hosting your next meeting at the Gardens. </p> To learn more and to set up a tour appointment, contact us at private.events@botanicgardens.org</a> or call 720-865-3551.</p> </p>
</p> The common name for this plant says it all, king of bromeliads. One glance at this striking specimen and you will know why it bears this name and why it is so highly sought after by plant collectors.</p> It has been a part of the tropical plant collection at Denver Botanic Gardens since 1978 and is currently on display in the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory along the north pathway closer to the east side.</p> The species name (hieroglyphica</em>) of this plant refers to the dark horizontal banding patterns. This plant is endemic to southeast Brazil where it would naturally grow attached to tree branches. A mature plant has 30-40 leaves up to 3 inches wide and can reach 3 feet wide at maturity. Mature plants typically bloom in late spring/summer when plants are mature. Flower spikes are quite tall, 2 to 3 feet high and bear creamy yellow flowers.</p> Be sure to seek out this plant on your next trip through the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory.</p>
My journey with Denver Botanic Gardens began in the spring of 2016 after graduating from Fort Lewis College. I joined the Research and Conservation</a> Department as an applied conservation intern with a primary focus on the Deer Creek restoration project</a> at Chatfield Farms. After two summers of working in seasonal positions, I started working on a Master’s of Science degree through the University of Colorado Denver in partnership with the Gardens under the advisement of Dr. Rebecca Hufft, the associate director of applied conservation. I am on track to complete this degree in the spring of 2020 and I am eager to apply all that I have learned to my continuing work at the Gardens.</p> Each semester as a graduate student, I have worked at the Gardens as research assistant. For the fall 2019 semester, thanks to funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Museums for America program (Federal Award Identification Number MA-30-18-0410-18), I served as a student assistant in the natural history collections helping with preparation for the move into the Freyer – Newman Center</a>.</p> The Gardens houses three different types of natural history collections: plants</a>, fungi</a>, and arthropods</a>. To ensure that these historical specimens are efficiently moved while maintaining their scientific integrity, I, along with the rest of the research and conservation team</a>, have been working diligently to account for each collection’s unique needs and considerations. For example, the 20,000 individual fungal specimens needed to be individually wrapped in protective, archival tissue paper and photographed before they can be moved to their new home.</p> Due to the enormous demands of moving our natural history collections, the majority of efforts in the Research and Conservation Department have been focused on special projects</a>. Move preparations have meant that normal specimen processing</a> has come to a halt. The priority is to get our collections ready to be moved with the intention that normal specimen processing will continue in the Freyer – Newman Center.</p> Spending more time in the natural history collections has allowed me to gain a deeper appreciation for the amount of dedicated resources that go into making and maintaining the collections. Being a part of the research and conservation team has been an incredibly humbling and powerful experience. I am so proud to be working to preserve, protect and celebrate Colorado’s biodiversity.</p> This blog post was written by Margo Paces, graduate student and botany seasonal.</em></p>
You know what they say—home is where the heart is and also where the lichens are. Actually, as far as I can tell I’m pretty much the only one who says that part about lichens. (I’m trying to get it started though—pass it on.) But it’s true, and it’s not just the lichens—it’s also where the cacti, pikas, grasses, cows, cottonwoods, sunflowers, trout, sagebrush and dung beetles are, among many others. You probably don’t have lichens growing on your couch or dung beetles hanging out in your living room watching Netflix, but your home is not just the place where you can wear your ratty old sweatpants without judgement. Your home is also the broader habitat in which you live, and the deeply interconnected network of organisms of all shapes and sizes that you share it with.</p> Welcome Home: Meet Your Habitat</em> is a new exhibition in the Science Pyramid that explores these interconnections, featuring natural and human-made objects combined with interactive digital stories about the invisible depths of our bonds with nature. Meet the plants, animals and fungi that share our home across landscapes, from prairies to ponds to cities.</p> They might not have brought you cookies when you moved in, but these organisms share our neighborhoods just like our human neighbors do. Take a look around Denver and you’ll see crows complaining to each other on top of telephone poles, mushrooms sprouting along sidewalks, moths searching for a tasty dinner in gardens and flowers soaking up the sun in parks. And that’s just the urban spaces—we also share habitat and resources with rural and even alpine areas. Relax in a bubble bath and you’re using water that once originated as snow from a pika’s chilly mountain home; water your garden and that water may end up as a cool drink for a cottonwood further downstream.</p> Welcome Home</em> features some easy, practical things you can do to steward water and other natural resources to support both our human and non-human neighbors and the health of our shared home. Need a breather? Pull up a comfy chair in the Habitat Lounge area and learn about the ways that organisms are adapted to their habitats and how you can adapt your behaviors to your own environment.</p> Don’t miss meeting the neighbors with this new Science Pyramid exhibit (also a great way to warm up if you’re enjoying the Gardens on a snowy day). Admission is included with admission to the Gardens. And if you could help me get that whole "home is where the lichens are” thing going, I would appreciate it.</p>
If the short days of winter have you longing for colorful tropical blossoms, there is no better place to get your flower-fix than the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory. There are hundreds of plants to see and many are in bloom and ready to chase your winter doldrums away.</p> As you enter from the main lobby, you are immediately greeted by a clump of Dichorisandra </em> thyrsiflora</em> </em>or blue ginger. While the common name suggests this plant is in the ginger family (Zingiberaceae</em>) it is actually in the same family as Tradescantia</em> or wandering Jew (Commelinaceae</em>). This plant blooms sporadically throughout the year and warrants a close-up look.</li> While you are in the area, look in the pond and see if you can spot our new bird residents. The Denver Zoo has loaned us a pair of Hottentot teal (Spatula hottentota</em>) for our visitors to enjoy. These small ducks are native to eastern and southern Africa as wells as Madagascar where they hang out in shallow pools and marshy areas. Having an animal presence in the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory helps underline the importance of complete ecosystems – where plant and animal life both flourish.</li> Across from the pond and along the south pathway, you can see Clerodendrum </em>x speciosum</em> or glorybower putting on a big display. There are many colorful parts to this flower. The bright orange-red petals, the pink/lavender calyx and the metallic green sheen of the fruits. This colorful vine is native to tropical Africa.</li> Along the north wall next to the elevator is a beautiful clump of Seemannia sylvatica</em> or Bolivian gloxinia. This colorful member of the African violet family (Gesneriaceae</em>) is native to South America – mainly in Bolivia and Peru. Take a look inside the flower and enjoy all the detailed patterns.</li> At the west end of the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory near the exit, you will find a cute little ornamental pineapple – Ananas lucidus </em>‘Red Smoothie'. The species parents of this cultivated variety would be found growing naturally as a terrestrial bromeliad across much of South America. The brightly colored fruit is mainly ornamental and too "woody” to be worth eating.</li> Behind the pineapple is a large clump of Costus barbatus</em> or spiral ginger. Although these look like large flowers, the red segments are not part of the actual flower itself. The true flowers are the small yellow blossoms at the top which are pollinated by hummingbirds. This plant is native to Costa Rica.</li> </ul> There are many more flowers to discover as you explore the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory. We hope you’ve enjoyed your winter escape.</p>
</p> They say life is composed of significant moments and special memories – and what better place to make yours happen than the breathtaking surroundings of Denver Botanic Gardens at York Street!</p> Immerse your guests in the unparalleled beauty of the Gardens in a wide variety of rentable spaces. Our Private Events team will walk you through the details of each of our unique venues to find the perfect space for your event. With spaces both indoors and outdoors, large and small, events of all shapes and sizes can take root and bloom at the Gardens at any time of year. </p> 2020 dates are on sale now, and the 2021 rental calendar opens on January 6. Popular dates and venues sell out quickly – so don’t delay! Your guests won’t soon forget their experience at your private event at the Gardens, and neither will you!</p> To learn more and to set up a tour appointment, contact us at private.events@botanicgardens.org</a> or call 720-865-3551.</p>
</p> The holidays are gleaming brighter than ever at Blossoms of Light™</a> this year at York Street, and thousands of visitors have already booked their tickets to enjoy the dazzling display of lights. We love welcoming first-time guests to this annual event, but we also work hard to redesign the show every year so that long-time members and visitors always have something new to look forward to.</p> How long does it take to design Blossoms of Light?</strong></p> The lead coordinators will start designing next year’s show while the current display is still up. It’s much easier to identify the areas where we need more lights, the color palettes we like and the changes we’d like to make while the gardens are still aglow with lights. After the initial walkthrough, we continue to adjust the design, modify color palettes, add or subtract trees and evaluate the experience as a whole before finalizing the design in late spring.</p> How much of the design stays the same from year to year?</strong></p> We re-assess the entire display every year, and to keep things fresh, almost every garden gets a new color palette. Usually, even if we really love the way an area looks, we won’t keep it the same for more than a couple of years. But don’t think that we forget our favorites! Palettes we like might simply move to a new location. We may also bring back colors to a certain feature after a break – this year, the teal tree in the Annuals Garden made a triumphant return! We are also always working to bring new special features to life to round out the display. This year, be sure to check out our immersive 360-degree lighting experience in Oak Grove, or the all-new projections on the Science Pyramid!</p> What factors do you consider when choosing color palettes? </strong></p> This is one of our favorite parts of the design process, but also one of the most challenging! When selecting colors, we think about the balance of “cool” and “warm” palettes, which colors look good together, where to incorporate traditional holiday palettes as opposed to more unique combinations, which colors are available in each size of bulb and more. We also think about the plant material we are decorating: would a garden look better with lots of colors, or would it be better to only select one or two colors?</p> How do you decide whether or not to decorate certain trees or plants? </strong></p> We work closely with the Gardens’ horticulturists to determine which trees and plants can be decorated. Some trees have fragile bark or branches or may be healing from a heavy spring snowfall, so we avoid those trees and exclude them from our design. For other trees, it comes down to basic logistics: if the trunks and canopies cannot be reached by ladders, buckets or climbers, then we won’t be able to decorate it. Finally, there are some areas where we would love to add more trees, but we’ve maxed out our electric power in the vicinity and don’t want to risk blowing a circuit.</p> Why are certain gardens not open during the event? </strong></p> While we’d love to open the entire property for Blossoms of Light, there are some realities of operating a night-time event in a snowy city that we must accept. Certain pathways are difficult to keep clear of snow, ice and water. We also consider how wide a path is and whether or not it is paved. Welcoming thousands of guests each night can cause crowding on narrow pathways, and unpaved paths would get messy very quickly!</p> Blossoms of Light is open every night through Jan. 3, 2020. Advance purchases are highly recommended to get the best price and to ensure admittance on your desired date. </strong></p> Get your tickets today!</a></p>
