Posted April 23, 2008 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
Wow! That was a fantastic Earth Day. About 6,000 people passed through the Gardens, seeing, learning and enjoying. It’s a chance for the Gardens to show its special strengths, like the Water-Smart Garden (above). The Mayor visited to launch the Denver Daisy (Rudbeckia ‘Denver Daisy’) and many people took notice, including the Denver Post. 300,000 seed packets could mean that the city is covered in them by the end of summer. I also can’t wait to see the different ways people use them in their landscape. What will they be combined with?
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Posted April 21, 2008 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
Remember that photographic puzzler I posted? Well, yes, the answer seems to have been widely known: the Laura Smith Porter Plains Garden was undergoing its every-few-years renewal burning. The other, exciting picture above captures a bit of the day, and the other shows blackened swaths. The sedate pictures below reveal the exciting success of the burn.
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Posted April 19, 2008 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
Today the Gardens were just lovely! I took advantage the great weather and strolled past blossoming trees and bulbs, bursting buds and leafing limbs, everything downright wonderful. What a contrast from Wednesday night! I guess when the weather is so beautiful, the wisdom of carpe diem becomes obvious. Seize the day and enjoy the Gardens right now because its changing every day. True, it always changes every day, but the changes are especially numerous right now.
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Posted April 18, 2008 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
Wednesday’s sudden snow may have been inconvenient for an evening commute, but it sure was lovely. Members who turned out for their night got a real treat, as long as they enjoyed the snow. I popped out and grabbed a few shots before the flakes melted into my clothes.
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Posted April 15, 2008 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
I can’t imagine most people who find this page won’t have already discovered our home page has a new look. But it does, and so I want to say congratulations to everyone who brought it together!
One of my favorite features is the what’s blooming link which features a few, special chosen plants. As much as I also notice whats in bloom, these listings are really well-crafted and chosen to show you what’s happening. In particular, I can’t believe I nearly missed the snake’s head fritillary (at the top of the page)! At one time, this was one of my favorite plants because it came up reliably at at time of year when I had no idea what else would show. Also, almost no one else knew it and I got to share.
If memory serves me, Fritillaria meleagris is also known as “leper lily,” possibly because the “checkered” and mottled appearance of the flowers reminded medieval Europeans of leprosy symptoms or possibly because lepers wore bells about the same size and shape to warn healthy citizens away.
Posted April 13, 2008 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
The jade vine is in full bloom! There are two long, hanging columns of flowers right now, with a few more to go. Green flowers have the reputation of being subtle, but this is really wild! I was up on the mezzanine, and a cluster of garden visitors was exclaiming over it. We agreed that describing them as “green just doesn’t really cover it.”
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Posted April 7, 2008 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
One quiet afternoon recently, I took a walk in the garden and discovered how popular it was with the local birds. Many rested in high branches but others accepted my presence at roughly eye level. It doesn’t mean they posed for the camera. I certainly needed the practice try to catch moving targets.
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Posted April 4, 2008 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
I am indebted to Nick Snakenberg for turning me onto this plant about to bloom. See the slowly fattening buds? Nick wrote:
“Our Jade Vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys) is in bud and should be blooming sometime in the next week or two. Why are we so excited? Because it’s about time!!! We’ve watered and fertilized and pruned and nurtured for over nine years and are only now being rewarded with flowers. Also, it’s one of the most amazing flowers you’ll ever see…”"Our specimen is the large vine covering the mezzanine above your head immediately after entering the conservatory doors from the lobby. The best spot to view the flowers may be from the mezzanine itself, just to the south of the Dart Frog display.”
So when I finally got to see it, I realized how extrordinarily hard to photograph it was. You’ll have to come see it yourselves!
Posted in: Art in the Gardens, At the Gardens, Green Living - Comments(4)