Red Butte Garden and
Arboretum
Salt Lake City, Utah
September 2008
This 160-acre garden opened in 1985.
About 30 acres is developed gardens, the rest is a natural
area with trails through a rugged natural landscape. The
plant collection features more than 1,500 species from
around the world. The garden is a participating institution
of the national organization, the Center for Plant
Conservation.
The entire place is set into the side of a hill. You enter
through a nice visitor center with maps and interpretive
materials, and a small gift shop. Within the building, you
need to go up a pretty long staircase to go out to the
gardens, but when you walk out onto the courtyard, the view
is spectacular.
A beautiful wisteria arbor is the entry to the Herb Garden.
The vine wasn't in flower but the pods and foliage still
make a striking entryway.
The Herb Garden itself is nicely laid out and features a
wide variety of plant material but I was disappointed by
the lack of interpretive signage. I think the real interest
of an herb garden lies in the uses of plants so without
interpretation I found it rather mundane. There were some
signs. A nice one talked about the use of plants in
beverages. However, there was almost nothing about the uses
of individual plants. Maybe there was a brochure that
provided information, but we didn't find it.
Passing through another wisteria arbor takes you in to the
Medicinal Garden then into the Fragrance Garden. These
three gardens are all similar. All are slightly sunken
gardens with sloping plantings surrounding them, and all
feature a well laid out system of beds and paths. However,
all share the same problems as well. Maybe it was the time
of year but they all have a certain sameness and monotony.
Despite their sunken nature, everything feels very flat -
the plants are all the same height, the hardscape is all
low. When things are in bloom in spring and summer, I'm
sure this failing is well hidden, but in fall and winter
it's a definite problem. There are certainly interesting
contrasts in color and texture, but added relief would
improve the experience.
At the north
end of the garden is a lovely small pond. During our visit
there was a lot of construction going on at one end of the
pond. They're building a new amphitheater and rose garden.
I'm sure the new additions will make this an even more
spectacular area of the garden.
A real highlight of Red Butte is the new Children's Garden.
From the topiary at the entrance to a sculpture of the Tin
Man sunning himself, the garden is full of fun and
whimsical features, as well as opportunities to learn about
plants and gardening.
There are a lot of great things about this garden, not
least its spectacular location tucked against the mountains
and canyons. Wonderful features in the garden include an
arbor of espaliered pear trees,
handsome walls and
spectacular perennial borders.
I'd love to go back and see the new Rose
Garden and Amphitheater when finished, and see everything
at a different season.
To se more photographs of Red Butte, click
here.
Click here to visit the website of Red Butte
Garden and Arboretum.