Cactus Flowers
Bright colors are everywhere in the Gardens this week! Bring cameras or paints to capture the season, or simply stroll and enjoy.
Read more »
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.
Read more »
Cactus Color and Texture
Our cactus and succulent collection is fascinating any time of year, but in winter it offers interest above and beyond other plants that lie dormant. Gardener Nick Daniel is in charge of much of this collection, and he filled me in on his week and offered some tips for home gardeners.
Iris reticulata
An early morning, early March walk reveals surprising delights.
• Colors: the muted greys and browns of late winter are ever-so-slowly
Read more »
If you are as much a sun-lover as I am, you’ll find a winter home in the succulent jungle leading up the stairs to the Green Roof, as well as on the south-facing Green Roof deck itself.
• A Dr. Seuss World: An astonishing array of shapes, colors, and forms awaits you on this hidden stairway. For example, Encephalartos horridus is a cycad (palm tree relative) featuring twisted, pointy, blue/green fronds sprouting from a bowling-ball shaped trunk. The name—so evocative!—
Read more »
Fall is an amazing time in the Gardens! Be sure to take advantage of blue skies and cooler temperatures–come to the Gardens and enjoy these beauties. Here are a few things to look for this week.
• The Joy of Succulents: While spring belongs to Delosperma, fall showcases a number of sedums, which flower or otherwise show off this time of year.
Located at the west corner of the Rock Alpine Garden, the Cactus & Succulent House at one time served as an Alpine House. The challenges of maintaining appropriate environmental conditions for alpine plants led to the conversion of this indoor display house as an exhibit for our non-hardy cacti and succulents in 2004. Consisting of over 1,200 taxa, our cactus and succulent collection, which includes hardy, marginal and non-hardy species, is one of our seven major collections.
Read more »
Posted in: At the Gardens, What's Blooming - Comments(0)