As the days shorten and we head into autumn, we start seeing pumpkins everywhere – they are used as decorations on stoops and inside houses; they flavor various culinary specialties from pies and soups to lattes and beer; and let us not forget their importance in the competitive sport of punkin’ chuckin’. But what exactly is a pumpkin? Is it a vegetable? Is it a fruit? Or is it simply a decoration for Halloween?</p> Botanically speaking, a pumpkin is a fruit. And even more specifically, a pumpkin is a type of botanical berry called a pepo. This specialized term is used to describe fruits of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae</em>), which are modified to have a hard outer rind and lots of seeds, such as squashes, cucumber and watermelon. Pepo </em>derives from the Ancient Greek word, pepon</em>, meaning “large melon.” After many derivatives came the word we use today, pumpkin</em>. However, the term pumpkin </em>has no real botanical or scientific meaning, as all pumpkins are technically squash. </p>
If you are thinking about proposing this holiday season, we have a beautiful, private spot where you can pop the question surrounded by merriment and love. During Blossoms of Light</a>, you can reserve the Victorian Secret Garden for your proposal with our Merry & Bright engagement package</a>. The Victorian Secret Garden is a secluded gazebo just off the main path with a fantastic view of the incredible light display. Twinkling lights, snow flurries and the aroma of hot chocolate in the air, holiday cheer all around…what better place to propose? </p> The Merry & Bright engagement package includes the following: </p> Two tickets to Blossoms of Light </li> Private reservation for 30 minutes in the Victorian Secret Garden </li> Permission to bring one bottle of champagne</li> Professional photography of the engagement (see webpage for details)</li> </ul> Start a lifetime of happiness by proposing at a spectacular spot in our gardens! Reach out to our York Street team at 720-865-3551 or private.events@botanicgardens.org</a> to book your engagement. Our proposal reservations are now open! </p>
The “Flora of Colorado, Second Edition” release is just around the corner. You’ll be able to get your copy mid-November at the Shop at the Gardens. With the first edition published in 2015, it was definitely time for a revision. The second edition is chock full of updates and more informative content to help you identify plants confidently and as easily as possible. You will find numerous tools to help you in your identification journey – from updated nomenclature reflecting our most current phylogenetic knowledge, to more informative dot-distribution maps (instead of county-level distribution maps), an updated introduction detailing the different plant zones in Colorado and much more. An additional 400 color photographs, for a total of nearly 1,300 color photographs representing more than 40% of the flora are also included!</p> I am often asked what goes into writing a “Flora.” The process is certainly time-consuming and a labor of love. The first thing you need when compiling a “Flora” is a list of all species present in the area you are covering. I use a database to keep track of all the species present in Colorado. In this database, I can also keep track of any updates in nomenclature, as well as rare or endemic status, flowering times and elevation ranges. Herbarium specimens are vital to this database and form the foundation for the list of species in Colorado. For the second edition, I used the SEINet portal to look for species that were new to the state either from a range extension, a new invasive species or a new species to science, resulting in over 100 species added to the “Flora.”</p>
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>
