When I was in art school, Spiderwoman Theater, an Indigenous women’s performance troupe, performed at the school. During the Q&A, one of my classmates asked the artists what their tribe thought of them doing modern performance art. Their answer: Many Indigenous people view art as a part of life – just as music, food and nature are a part of life. Everything is connected. This reply has always stuck with me, and this interconnection is always apparent here at Denver Botanic Gardens. Art, music, food and nature are intertwined. Follow this walking tour to explore some of these connections. </p> The gardens that surround the UMB Bank Amphitheater</strong> represent our Colorado landscapes. Although the Summer Concert Series has passed us by, the musical sounds of the plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides</em> ssp. monilifera</em>) leaves fluttering in the wind can be heard in the Grant Family Cottonwood Border.</strong> Don’t forget about the zipping of the hummingbirds moving from Roads Water-Smart Garden</strong> to the Ponderosa Border</strong> in search of a snack and a place to rest. Once Blossoms of Light®</strong> opens for the holiday season, you will get to hear new music that accompanies the synchronized light show in the amphitheater. </li> Meander over toward the Science Pyramid</strong>, and you will find the artwork “Feature Fountain” by Wright McLaughlin. This four-tower fountain is a popular spot to sit and have a bite to eat, listen to the rushing waters and look out onto many of our aquatic gems of waterlilies and cannas (Nymphaea</em> and Canna</em>). Don’t leave until you walk through the annual display of gorgeous blooms of black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta</em>), dahlias (Dahlia</em>) and more in the Fountain Bed Garden.</strong></li> Now, head down the path past the Ornamental Grasses Garden</strong>, making sure to take in the beauty of the sculpture “So Proud of My Children” by Nicholas Kadzungura, which is surrounded by the soft colors of Kudos Mandarin Hyssop (Agastache</em> ‘Kudos Mandarin’), and make your way through June’s PlantAsia</strong>. </li> You will notice some exciting renovations on the southside of June’s PlantAsia</strong>, as well as within the Birds and Bees Walk</strong>. Here you will find many places to sit and enjoy mature trees like lacebark pines (Pinus bungeana</em>) or walk along the boardwalk to see our brand-new “habitat hotel district” (artistic walls for insects to nest and overwinter). We couldn’t be more excited to share this habitat paradise with our visitors!</li> Getting tired? Head over to the Hive Garden Bistro</strong> for a bite to eat and a cool drink (I recommend an agua fresca). There’s never a bad time of year to sit on the deck and enjoy the views of Monet Pool</strong>. As we move closer to fall and winter, the view from the deck will transition from a sea of blooms in the pool and the creative, artistic kitchen garden, Le Potager Garden</strong>, to pumpkin displays for Glow at the Gardens™</strong> and then Blossoms of Light</strong>. </li> </ul> The coming months still offer musical soundscapes for our fall and holiday events, delicious food and drinks from our restaurants, and artwork throughout the grounds (explore the galleries in the Freyer – Newman Center </strong>during your visit) and nature. So. much. nature. Enjoy what life has to offer: art, music, food, nature. Everything is connected. </p>
There are many ways to increase soil health in your garden. One of those is using deep mulch to cover beds.</p> Often used in combination with other sustainable farming practices</a> like crop rotation and intercropping, deep-mulch farming uses a thick layer of organic material, such as straw or wood chips, to cover soil. One of the main benefits of deep-mulch farming is that it can reduce the amount of time and energy needed for weeding and watering, as the mulch helps to retain moisture and suppress weed growth. Additionally, as the mulch decomposes, it feeds the soil ecosystem and improves the structure and fertility of the soil. </p> The initial cost of purchasing or gathering enough mulch material can be a significant upfront expense, particularly for larger farms or gardens. However, you can often find landscape companies that will drop off truckloads of wood chips for little or no charge.</p> Certain types of mulch, such as straw, can harbor pests like slugs and pill bugs. This can be a problem if the pests become a nuisance or cause damage to crops. However, mulch also provides habitat for beneficial insects, like spiders, that help control pests. </p> Overall, the pros and cons of using deep mulch will depend on the specific circumstances of your garden, such as the size and type of crops being grown, the local climate, soil conditions and the availability of mulch material. </p> Ready to deep-mulch? Here is some additional reading to help you prepare:</p> Types of Mulching, Advantages of Mulching in Farming</a></li> Deep Mulch Gardening – The Good AND The Bad</a> </li> </ul>
You may have heard of the Plant Select® program—a collaboration between Denver Botanic Gardens, Colorado State University and green industry partners. Its mission is simple: to introduce plants that are not only beautiful, but also tough, water-wise and perfectly suited for gardens in the Intermountain West.</p> Behind the Scenes: How Denver Botanic Gardens Shapes Plant Select®</strong></span> </span></h3> At the Gardens, we play a big role in this work. We trial new plants onsite (see an excellent overview of the process here</a>), manage demonstration gardens at both York Street and Chatfield Farms, and offer Plant Select plants at our annual Spring Plant Sale.</p> But here’s something you may not know: the Gardens also helps discover and develop new plants for the program. With over 17,000 plant varieties in our living collections, we have an unmatched resource to draw from. In fact, more than 70% of Plant Select introductions begin here at Denver Botanic Gardens with our staff.</p> Better Plants for the Intermountain West</h3> In recent years, our horticulture research team has launched a focused plant breeding program to create cultivars and unique varieties tailored for our region. Sometimes this means selecting naturally occurring traits from wild populations; other times it involves advanced tools that allow us to shape plant genetics more precisely.</p> Plant breeding is hardly new—it dates back nearly 10,000 years, when early farmers began selecting plants for better yield, flavor, or appearance. At its simplest, it’s just crossing two compatible plants to combine desirable traits. Over the last century, techniques such as mutagenesis and ploidy manipulation expanded what breeders could achieve, and today, gene editing and transgenics allow us to target traits with unprecedented accuracy.</p> At the Gardens, most of our work still relies on traditional breeding methods. That means crossing plants with traits we want to combine—say, the flower color of one species with the drought tolerance of another. By pairing a highly ornamental plant with a drought-hardy relative, we hope to create varieties that are both beautiful and better adapted to hot, dry conditions. It’s a long process, often requiring multiple generations before the right combination is achieved.</p> We also use mutagens, substances that can trigger changes in a plant’s genome. While these changes are random, they often produce predictable outcomes, such as compact growth, novel foliage color, or reduced fertility. We use this technique with plants that already have strong ornamental appeal and environmental tolerance but may benefit from a unique twist or refinement.</p> Beyond Beauty: Our Breeding Goals</h3> Unlike ornamental horticulture at large, our breeding priorities go beyond aesthetics. We aim to develop plants that are not only striking in the garden, but also resilient in our increasingly harsh climate and supportive of pollinators and ecological health.</p> In other words, we’re not just breeding plants to survive here—we’re breeding them to thrive. </p>
Scattering a few ounces of seed onto dry Colorado soil can feel more like hoping than planting. Folks who’ve tried store-bought wildflower mixes might know the frustration: despite following instructions, results are often inconsistent. Mixes may bloom for a season or two but can be patchy, lack coherent design, are soon overrun by weeds, or collapse into stands dominated by one or two aggressive species.</p> Still, direct seeding remains one of the most appealing ways to transform non-functional turf, medians and other tough spaces. Seeds are inexpensive, species are easy to source compared to potted plants, and installation is simple. Our horticulture research team at the Gardens has been investigating ways to make direct seeding more reliable, creating mixes that are beautiful, resilient and long-lasting.</p> Setting Parameters</h3> One challenge with many commercial mixes is the lack of crucial details. Sowing rates are often given in pounds per acre, which is nearly impossible to scale to a backyard or small urban lot. Even worse, weight is misleading: a gram of lupine seed equals about 30 seeds, while a gram of Artemisia can be nearly 10,000. To improve accuracy, we calculate sowing rates based on the number of seeds per unit area (i.e., 300 seeds per square foot). This method allows us to balance species more precisely and adjust mixes to specific sites.</p> Another problem is growth form diversity. Most mixes emphasize only wildflowers, overlooking grasses and shrubs—two of the most resilient growth forms in Colorado ecosystems. However, the right ratio of these various growth forms is crucial. Too many aggressive grasses or shrubs, and diversity disappears. But when balanced, each growth form contributes to a stable and enduring plant community.</p> Choosing the Right Species</h3> Species selection is just as critical. Every plant has unique traits: germination timing, bloom period, lifespan, stress tolerance and competitiveness – among many others. Many mixes rely heavily on species that sprout quickly, which may look good at first but fail to sustain long-term diversity or season-long blooms.</p> Our approach uses trait-based design. We include fast-germinating species that suppress weeds in the first year while leaving room for longer-lived species to establish. We also screen new species for how they perform over multiple seasons, tracking which ones persist, coexist well with others, and extend bloom time from spring through fall.</p> Timing Matters</h3> We’ve also studied how sowing season affects establishment. Standard advice is to sow in autumn so cold weather can break seed dormancy. But our trials show that spring sowing—using seeds pre-treated with cold in refrigeration—often yields higher germination, especially when paired with supplemental irrigation in the first year. Losses from winter die-off, predation, and moisture stress may explain why fall seeding performs less reliably.</p> Built to Last</h3> Direct seeding may never be as predictable as planting nursery-grown perennials. But with thoughtful design, it can be just as successful. By refining sowing rates, balancing growth forms, carefully selecting species, and timing sowing strategically, we’re creating custom mixes that are diverse, resilient and built to last in Colorado’s challenging conditions.</p> </p>
