Posted March 21, 2011 by Panayoti Kelaidis, Senior Curator & Director of Outreach
Ariocarpus fissuratus
The annual Cactus and Succulent Show at Denver Botanic Gardens is this Saturday and Sunday (see details below). Most of us have a cactus or maybe an aloe or two basking on a sunny window. Nowadays, stickery plants like these are more fashionable than ever. I was just in Los Angeles a few months ago and there were succulents EVERYWHERE–in containers, on balconies, along the street parking strips. I took the picture above at a friend’s greenhouse in Pueblo (that’s a spectacular Texas cactus you are not apt to see in supermarkets). It’s very sensitive to overwatering.
There will be experts on hand at this show to tell you about plants like these and advise you on the very best ones to grow in your garden.
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Posted March 18, 2011 by Ebi Kondo, Senior Horticulturist
Our Japanese Garden Sho-Fu-En 
was built in 1979, and has been loved and supported by the community as a symbol of friendship between the U.S. and Japan.
It has been very sad days for everyone at Denver Botanic Gardens, as we continue to watch the news and learn of the disastrous impacts from the largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan and the resulting Tsunami. Thousands of lives have been lost, and thousands more are missing, have been injured and have lost their homes. The aftershocks continue, impacting other parts on Honshu, as people struggle to carry out rescue efforts.
Denver Botanic Gardens extends its deepest condolences to everyone impacted by this disaster and has provided a ‘Wish Tree’ in the Bonfils-Stanton Visitors Center for people to visit, pray and reflect.
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Posted March 18, 2011 by Featured Instructor
Honeybees have been myst
eriously disappearing across the planet, literally vanishing from their hives. Known as Colony Collapse Disorder, this international crisis is explored in the award-winning film Vanishing of the Bees. The environmental group Beyond Pesticides and Denver Botanic Gardens will host a FREE screening of the film Wednesday, April 6 at 7 pm.
Imagine half a million adults skipping town and leaving their children behind. Picture an opened suitcase filled with bundles of cash at a bus stop and yet no robber wants to snatch it. Colony Collapse Disorder displays these very symptoms. Not only do the bees abandon their hive, but the queen and the brood as well. Even the predators that usually raid the hive for honey stay far away. At first, this occurrence sounds like an urban legend or an exaggerated tale. It’s not. The situation is both dire and all too real. Bees are
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Posted March 18, 2011 by Ellen Hertzman, Manager of Volunteer Experience
Clock Vine
Even though the sun is luring you outside, don’t forget to visit the Tropical Conservatory and Marnie’s Pavilion, as well. The longer days and stronger sun affects these plants too, and they tend to bloom prolifically this time of year.
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Posted March 17, 2011 by Andrea Thurber, Volunteer Coordinator
The signs of spring are appearing throughout the Gardens; the arrival of the early blooming crocus, the 60 degree weather, and, of course,
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Posted March 14, 2011 by Erin Algiere, Former Exhibitions Project Associate
Karen Cleaver, Thunbergia mysorensis, watercolor on paper.
Artworks from the Gardens’ Botanical Illustration Certificate Program are being featured in an offsite exhibition at Republic Plaza in Botanica Spectaculum II, in Celebration of Earth Day. The show includes botanical-themed works from 22 local artists, curated by Andra Archer, and 17 works from students and instructors of the Botanical Illustration program, curated by Mervi Hjelmroos-Koski, Manager of Botanical Art & Illustration.
Join the artists at an opening reception at Republic Plaza on Friday, March 18, 2011, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
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Posted March 12, 2011 by Panayoti Kelaidis, Senior Curator & Director of Outreach
Muscari azureum
Catalogs call them “minor bulbs”–those little gems that brighten up our gardens in late winter. I am frankly astounded that you see so few of these in Denver gardens (or anywhere in the Rocky Mountain region). For any number of geobotanical reasons, there are only a very small number of early spring ephemerals in our native flora. But the Mediterranean region and Central Asia
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Posted March 11, 2011 by Ellen Hertzman, Manager of Volunteer Experience
Crocus!
Spring fever, anyone? It’s hard to resist finding any excuse to be outside these days. A leisurely stroll through the Gardens will be well rewarded this week.
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