Posted February 27, 2009 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
Song in the Garden by James Gurney
People love to use their imagination to create new worlds. It doesn’t matter if its a child creating a fairy garden or a grown-up gardener contemplating a new design for the spring: world-building is a favorite activity of almost everyone. And the right blend of imagination and realistic techniques can make the world as compelling as our own.
James Gurney created not merely art and books, but an entire phenomenon by pairing children’s fantasy and scientific illustration techniques into reconstruction of the imaginary Dinotopia.
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Posted February 19, 2009 by Dominique Bayne, Senior Horticulturist
Growing a dwarf banana in your home can help remove toxins from the air.
I guess I have always heard, and mostly disregarded, that having a few houseplants in your home helps clean the air. The idea of billions of plants and entire ecosystems cleaning the air for the planet makes sense but applying it to less than ten plants seemed a little far fetched. I never really checked the facts as I felt that if it was another reason to get people to grow plants, even if not entirely based in fact, then so much the better. When I came across a blog entitled ‘Best Air-Filtering House Plants According to NASA’ I was intrigued. A 25 year NASA study might be enough evidence to convince even the most hardened skeptic.
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Posted February 18, 2009 by Joe Tomocik, Aquatic Collection Curator
Eighty-years young Denver Botanic Gardens’ super volunteer Larry Knowles and Nepenthes alata at our Information Desk.
There are seventy species of tropical pitcher plants, first described in Madagascar in the 17th century. Insects and animal life are captured and digested when falling into sweet smelling nectar at the base of the modified leaf extensions…pitchers. Fantasy-stories speak of man-eating pitcher plants. Rodent capturing leaves are more realistic. The tropical pitcher plants are heavily vining, and do great in hanging baskets! They are dioecious, each plant bearing male or female flowers; thus, two plants are needed to produce seed. New plants can also be grown by cuttings. See pitcher plants right now at our Information Desk.
Posted February 8, 2009 by Sarada Krishnan, Director of Horticulture
February 12th marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin. This year also marks the 150th anniversary of Darwin’s renowned work, “The Origin of Species.” Commemorating Darwin and the Gardens upcoming signature exhibition (Jurassic Gardens: Evolution & Extinction), Denver Botanic Gardens is featuring the “Plant Evolution Garden” at the 2009 Colorado Garden & Home Show. The Show runs from February 7 – 15 at the Colorado Convention Center.
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Posted February 4, 2009 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
It has been nearly a year that this blog has been up. Last February, Celia shared her thoughts about sustainability as the very first foray into the Blogosphere.
Well, she has not stopped tackling the subject. On February 12, the 2009 Passion to Action Sustainable Landscaping Symposium tackles “Muddy Waters – Who Owns the Rain?” This event is the second in what looks like an annual series. I think it would be fair to say that Celia has been working on this symposium for the whole time this blog has been up!
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Posted February 3, 2009 by Ellen Hertzman, Manager of Visitor Experience
Summer in a Jar!
Dinner last night was homemade pizza, featuring homegrown basil pesto, tomatoes from my garden, and red peppers, picked from the garden and roasted till the skins fell off. Dessert was a cobbler of farmer’s market Colorado peaches, and blackberries from my incredibly prolific vines. No, you’re not in a time warp, it is most definitely February in Colorado!
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