Denver Botanic Gardens’ Japanese Garden is an authentic traditional Japanese garden reflecting the unique environment of its Colorado setting. The garden is named Sho-Fu-En, meaning “garden of the pines and wind,” both of which are typical of the natural environment of Colorado. The main feature of this garden is the abundant use of beautifully aged [...]

 
Standing as testimony that gardening in Colorado does not have to be dull and boring is the Roads Water-Smart Garden, which is currently bursting in color. Bursts of yellow, purple, pink, orange and white are dotted throughout this garden. Meticulously cared for by our Curator of Native Plants, Dan Johnson, this garden is a showcase [...]

Denver Botanic Gardens is home to over 300 taxa (which includes hybrids and cultivars) of about 69 species of Iris. This diversity is distributed throughout the Gardens, though a majority is displayed in the Lilac Garden. Situated almost in the middle of our grounds, the irises in this garden are currently at their peak flowering [...]

Early mornings in the gardens are definitely  peaceful and cool, however some gardens, like some people, are not at their best until well after lunchtime. The south end of Dryland Mesa is currently one of these gardens and the cacti flowers, which are at their peak right now, are definitely late risers, refusing to open [...]

 
 
As I stroll through the Gardens every week, I am constantly amazed at how each garden changes from week to week or even day to day. I am fortunate I have the luxury to witness this weekly transformation and would like to bring this to you through this blog by featuring a garden each [...]

The green roof at Denver Botanic Gardens opened in November 2007. Within a year and a half, this garden has established very well creating a green space where once was a regular cemented roof. Situated above our former gift shop (soon to become a bistro), this one-of-a-kind green roof features native and drought tolerant plants [...]

It’s hard to count the number of staff and volunteers setting up for this spring’s Denver Botanic Gardens Plant Sale. Right now, almost 90,000 plants are being identified, priced, delivered and presented for the Spring Plant Sale “opening day” - this Friday, May 8th at 10 a.m. (members shop early from 8:30 a.m. to 10 [...]

Teddy bear cholla (Cylindropuntia bigelovii) and Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park CA

Evening primrose (Oenothera deltoides) and sand verbena (Abronia villosa) at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park CA
It is probably no surprise that many of our gardens are inspired by nature.  Though many of the desert plants cannot handle our winters - these photos [...]

When I wrote that I was unsure how to live within a Western landscape in drought, it it immediately seemed that Nature took offence and sent snow and precipitation directly at us.  We’re still in a drought, but the winter storm that forced us to reschedule Susan Tweit and Jim Steinberg certainly illustrated another way [...]

I’ve been watching the quiet declaration of drought conditions with an eye more curious than fearful.  The US drought monitor classifies the current conditions as moderate drought, or D1, which is pretty low on the scale. The gardeners around me, however, range from “not on my weather radar” indifference to head-shaking, ground-staring, “I knew this [...]