Posted February 25, 2008 by Doris Boardman, Web Technology Manager
We’ve had the poison dart frogs here in the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory since early November when they were still pretty young. Conservatory staff members have been raising fruit flies, dusting them with vitamins, and feeding them to the frogs every day since then, and we are amazed at how much the frogs have grown.
The calling is done by the male frogs, who are trying to impress potential mates with their beautiful trilling song.
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Posted February 22, 2008 by Celia Curtis Adamec, Public Programs Manager
What makes a landscape sustainable? There are so many answers to this question; everyone has a different idea. If you are one of the many who think that reducing turf areas around your home is a big step towards gardening with less water (and it is), then you might want to attend our Lifestyles Al Fresco class next Wednesday, Feb. 27.
Curtis Manning of Curtis Manning Design will present a wide range of cutting-edge ideas to make your backyard into a true four-season living space. Come and hear the latest, most innovative concepts in outdoor amenities: outdoor fireplaces; patios; built-in grills and kitchens (which are all the rage these days); pergolas and more. While this program is not geared towards sustainable landscaping as such, it is chock full of creative ideas that can be utilized in this manner, and it’s a one-time offering at Denver Botanic Gardens this year. This is your only chance to hear about these cutting-edge ideas for garden rooms.
Posted February 22, 2008 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
As I was walking through the crossroads toward the Boettcher Memorial Education Building, I met local garden writer Marcia Tatroe and her husband Randy photographing Yucca and Dasylirion. We chatted about the lovely day, and then Marcia turned me on to some Crocus blooming in the Water-Smart Garden. What a lovely cheerful yellow! It was perfect for the day and the hour.
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Posted February 18, 2008 by Celia Curtis Adamec, Public Programs Manager
Not many people spend much time fretting over buckwheats; unlike the rose, iris, conifer or even cactus, there are no societies dedicated to the study and appreciation of these modest but very useful plants. After a half century of enthusiastic gardening, Panayoti Kelaidis, Director of Outreach at Denver Botanic Gardens, believes that no family of plants delivers more bang for the buck than this delightful–and yes, delicious–family.
Not only does buckwheat make great muffins, rhubarb (a well-known member of the buckwheat family) makes a great pie, and the throng of sulfur flowers in the Western mountains is perhaps the single most useful genus for the Colorado xeriscape.
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Posted February 18, 2008 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
During our recent stairwell work in the Boettcher Memorial Education Building, all of our staff and visitors had to avoid the public stairwell and use the elevator or the stairs near my office. One day, I found a child and chaperone looking for their school group. I volunteered to guide them to the classrooms to see if their group was there. We stepped behind the scenes, through a shadowed hallway to the stairs. At the bottom, the stairs open into a hallway between the research department offices and the herbarium. As we passed through, I explained “This is where the scientists work.”
And as we headed towards the classrooms, I realized how cool that was.
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Posted February 14, 2008 by Doris Boardman, Web Technology Manager
A native of Turkey and the Balkans, Galanthus elwesii (giant snowdrop) is found throughout these countries and into Bulgaria, northeastern Greece, eastern Serbia and Montenegro on into the Southern Ukraine. It differs from the common snowdrop Galanthus nivalis in its galucous leaves and more eastern distribution. It is traditionally one of the first flowers to open outside at Denver Botanic Gardens each year and often opens by mid-January. Right now it is about 2″ tall but as the month progresses it will reach about 5-6 inches.
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Posted February 13, 2008 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
Rocky Mountain Gardening is just that–gardening through the length of the Rocky Mountains, which means that the climates are vastly varied. Denver is a mile above sea level and seems dry and windy, but compare that to the top a fourteener (that’s a mountain reaching 14,000 feet)! I’ve already heard stories about gardening in idyllic mountain towns, in sheltered valleys, in urban college towns, and on windswept steppes. So it’s a very diverse experience and books (or blogs) should be crafted to the challenges here and avoid recycling untested information from other parts of the country. I think for many of us moving into the Rocky Mountains the challenge is adapting to new gardening, growing and best-use assumptions.
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Posted February 11, 2008 by Celia Curtis Adamec, Public Programs Manager
By necessity, as a botanic garden located in the high, arid west, we have specialized over the years in the art and science of making plants thrive in this challenging climate. Gardening in the Rocky Mountains is all about sustainability. It begins with choosing plants that will not wither in the summer heat or perish in our long, cold winters; that will thrive on little or no water and are still beautiful and easy to care for.
There is also the matter of water, our most precious resource. Many of our regional gardening techniques are geared toward using as little as possible and getting the most from every drop. Sustainability of ecosystems is a growing field of interest. A backyard is no longer just a pretty garden; it is a habitat, a place to feed, shelter and protect our native plants, pollinators, birds and other wildlife.
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