Denver Botanic
Gardens
Denver, Colorado
August 2010
This visit to Denver Botanic Gardens was
planned so we could see the “Moore in the Gardens”
sculpture exhibit. I love sculpture in public gardens and
I’ve always loved Henry Moore’s work, so this was a perfect
time to visit. My only previous visit to the Denver Botanic
Gardens was about 20 years ago. I don’t remember any
specifics about it but I do remember it being spectacular.
While I was eager to see it again, I wasn’t sure what to
expect. Sometimes things are better in memory than in
reality. Also, I’ve seen a lot of great gardens in the
intervening years so I expect more from a garden than I did
twenty years ago. Would the garden live up to its
reputation and my memory? I was excited to find out.
This 23-acre garden opened to the public in 1959. It has
become an important and well-respected garden with great
educations and research programs. It features more than
15,000 kinds of plants in its collections. The garden is
active in conservation work and is a participating
institution of the national organization, the Center for
Plant Conservation. It is also offers an amazing visitor
experience.
This is very much an in-city garden. It features lots of
hardscaping with wide, paved pathways and lighting to
accommodate crowds and events. Everything is clean, nicely
designed and well-maintained so I wasn’t bothered by all
the concrete.
There are also lots of water features scattered throughout
the property. Most are formal, like this one, but there are
also meandering streams and quiet pools.
Most of the gardens, like the Romantic Garden, are very
formal as well. Formal gardens require a high level of
maintenance to keep from looking shabby and the gardens at
Denver are very well maintained. During our visit, we saw a
large cadre of volunteers doing gardening. This not only
keeps the garden looking great, it shows a high level of
community support and involvement.
The Japanese Garden features beautifully sculptured trees
surrounding a small pond. It is separated from the rest of
the gardens by a ring of large conifers that provide a
great visual barrier.
A highlight of the garden is the Tropical Conservatory. It
has an interesting collection of tropical and subtropical
plants, and nicely done interpretive signage. My favorite
thing is a man-made ficus trunk that several stories into
the canopy of the conservatory, allowing visitor’s to look
down on the forest. This provides a very different
perspective which I really enjoyed.
A section of the conservatory complex features a ‘green
roof’. I’ve read about green roofs, and seen pictures, but
this was my first opportunity to see one in person. There
are several nice signs interpreting the concept and its
value, which is important because the green roof itself
just looks like a desert garden.
The rock garden is very impressive, with more than 4,000
species from the world’s alpine regions. The garden is
large enough that it features a variety of alpine habitats,
including this beautiful pool.
As I said, there are lots of great water features here, and
the gardens uses them to display a great collection of
waterlilies. They add great interest and beauty to the
ponds. There are signs that tell how much work goes into
maintaining these waterlilies which adds to the interest.
In August, the entire garden is filled with color. The
planting beds full of annuals and perennials are glorious.
This is a truly spectacular garden, especially considering
the difficult gardening climate of the mountain West. I
would wish for more interpretive signage. Only a few of the
gardens have adequate interpretation. And there is a woeful
lack of plant identification labels. I’m sure labeling is
difficult with so many herbaceous plants but I’d like to
see them find a solution. A garden with such strong
education and conservation programs should have better
labeling. But that aside, this is a visually stunning
garden.
Click here
to see more photos from
the Denver Botanic Gardens.
Click here to visit the website of Denver Botanic
Gardens.