Roses are red, Violets are blue, Sugar is sweet, And so are you.</p> This simple, well known love poem may bring a smile or cringe to your face. Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and for better or worse, it causes us to think of those we love, lost or hope will someday love us. The rose is an oft-used token of love, but plants and Valentine’s Day may have more in common than you think. Plants like to get it on and can also help you get in the mood.</p> Did you know that many plants have or produce fruits with aphrodisiac properties? Cacao – used to make chocolate – grow in pods on Cacao trees. The aroma of vanilla, derived from some orchids, is very sensuous. Mint has long been considered a sexual stimulant. Basil is associated with the voodoo love goddess Erzuli and has been used in love spells for divination and ensuring fidelity. Believe it or not, garlic has been used as an aphrodisiac since the Ancient Egyptians. A combination of apple cider vinegar and honey is said to stimulate the production of sex hormones in both women and men, and doubles men’s stamina.</p> The Gardens’ has several Valentine’s Day-themed programs that are sure to educate and possibly arouse feelings of romance. We also a kid-friendly Valentine’s Day program!</p> Orchid Showcase</strong> Through February 20, 2017 Spend some time with your love while strolling through the display of exotic orchids in Marnie’s Pavilion and the Orangery. Included with admission.</p> Orchids 101</strong> February 4, 2017 Orchids, just like all exotic and mysterious things, can be challenging to deal with. Never fear, Orchids 101 class is here! Learn about basic orchid biology, ecology, cultivation and propagation, with demonstrations of proper watering, repotting and mounting techniques.</p> Love Potions from the Vine Tour</strong> February 10, 11, 12 and 14, 2017 The steamy jungle has no shortage of plants thought to have powers to inspire or sustain desire. This docent-led tour through the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory features plants that may be used as aphrodisiacs and also reveals the secret romantic lives of tropical plants</p> Seedlings: Roses are Red, Violets are Blue</strong> February 8-10, 2017 Children ages 18 months – 6 years old can discover the sweet scent and beautiful colors of these famous February flowers.</p>
The name of the Japanese Garden at Denver Botanic Gardens, 松風園 Sho-Fu-En, means ‘The garden of pine and wind’ and was inspired by the Rocky Mountain wilderness. </p> During our growing season, we often think of evergreens as a background to colorful flowers and leaves. Winter precedes the vivid colors of spring and summer which then fade away in the fall. Now the evergreens become the focus in the Japanese Garden as most plants go dormant until next spring.</p> December is a wonderful time of the year in the Japanese Garden. We welcome various shades of green against the greys and browns of the early winter landscape. The ancient ponderosa character pines display their movement and structure showcasing the rugged Rocky Mountain scenery. The pines cast their shadow on the lake and the water reflects gentle winter sunlight, changing its appearance throughout the day.</p> In the early morning after a cold and snowy December night, you will find the quiet beauty of 松風園 on the snowcapped flexible ponderosa pine branches. Snow flocks the juniper’s needled branches and the Russian hawthorn’s red berries. Atop the fresh snow we often find a variety of animal footprints, evidence of the mysterious activities of nocturnal creatures in the garden. These slowly melt away under Colorado’s bright winter sunlight.</p>
We all have favorite seasons. Mine has always been autumn, probably because it’s the time of year I wish would last twice as long. Everything seems mature in the plant world and determined to go out in a blaze of glory.</p> </p> Autumn at Denver Botanic Gardens has definitely reached a new level in recent years. We turn our eyes to Chatfield Farms, with a mind-bending Corn Maze and the down-home Pumpkin Festival. Now, York Street has Glow, along with Día de los Muertos and a variety of harvest classes and ghost tours. In other words, it’s very busy and all good fun.</p> Autumn also wraps a few things up. This year has been simply remarkable. Yes, the Walker exhibit was stunning. Yes, Chatfield Stables Pavilion is a wonderful new asset. And of course, the expansion of the Sensory Garden and the opening of the new Steppe and All-America Selections gardens are fantastic milestones.</p> Certainly, the refurbishment of the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory, in its 50th year, seems almost like a spiritual fulfillment.</p> All terrific. But the true test is right there in our mission – to connect people with plants, especially plants from the Rocky Mountain region and similar regions around the world, providing delight and enlightenment to everyone. Are we using a vast array of assets to make those connections in powerful, relevant ways?</p> You bet we are.</p> The Gardens’ Urban Food Initiatives is an obvious example. How about Dr. Sarada Krishnan’s wide-ranging work on behalf of the Crop Trust to support sustainable and genetically-diverse coffee production? Whole countries have economies based on coffee and they are simply too vulnerable. Did you know about the teamwork between Chatfield Farms and the Research and Conservation Department that is restoring the natural flow of Deer Creek through our southern property?</p> Then there’s therapeutic horticulture, children’s education (including classes at the Plains Conservation Center), yoga, cooking classes, tours, library programs, lecture series, new publications and botanical illustration – you get the idea.</p> The harvest season, in any culture, is when you take stock of good fortune and hard toil. Thank you to all the volunteers and staff, the donors and supporters, who made this year such a profound success.</p> The cycle of a year is a natural thrill ride, especially when your focus is on the natural world. Before everything gets tucked in for a long winter’s night, it’s a privilege to celebrate the culmination of summer’s dreams in autumn’s light.</p>
Welcome to the Steppe Garden. This unique garden showcases plants from steppe regions of the world. The featured steppe regions and associated continents are:</p> South Africa</strong>, which is divided into summer rainfall habitat, winter rainfall habitat and cultivated material.</li> Central Asia</strong>, which exhibits plants from all across Eurasia.</li> South America</strong>, which showcases plants from Argentina and more specifically Patagonia.</li> North America</strong>, which is largely showcased by the cottonwood habitat and the associated grasslands. There is also a section that showcases plants from the Intermountain West.</li> </ul> All of these areas have specific interpretation to assist you in discovering more about the steppe phenomenon.</p> Tour</h3> As you enter the garden from the main east/west path you are instantly greeted by a large rock mass. This, along with the other rock features, do several things for the garden. All steppes are influenced by geology, specifically the proximity to a greater mountain range that creates a rainshadow that influences when and how precipitation and water comes into the steppe. These rock massifs also help give a visual break and help to guide the visitor through the garden. The way that mountains erode influence the very soil structure and composition that are incredibly important aspects of the flora that grows there.</p> Entering the Steppe Garden you will notice three large stone structures. These curious objects are planters that all have specific uses and showcase important microcosms within the greater steppe biome.</p> One of the planters showcases plants that are called “living stones.”</li> The central planter has a small trickling fountain to illustrate the importance and scarcity of water in the steppe.</li> The last planter highlights cushion plants, an adapted growth form.</li> </ul> These planters were painstakingly constructed by the Gardens’ stonemasons and are not only works of art but are becoming living interpretations of specialty conditions and a unique way to grow plants from very specific ecological niches.</p> South Africa is one of the larger areas in the garden and rightly so as the flora of South Africa is one of the largest in terms of diversity and endemism (only found in one geographic region) of all of the regions. Plants from South Africa are incredibly important to our garden spaces and have been grown and hybridized for many years. Some classic examples of plants that are seen and used every day are Pelargonium</em> (geraniums in the vernacular), Gladiolus</em> and Delosperma</em> (ice plants). A major goal of the South African portion of the garden is to highlight plants that have been influenced by human selection or breeding and compare or contrast them next to plants that have been collected in the wild or are species that have not been manipulated by human influence.</p> Central Asia is the largest of the steppe regions and has been crucial to human movement and influence for many thousands of years. The great Silk Road runs right through the heart of Central Asia and was responsible for the movement of goods as well as plants. Many of the classic garden perennials owe their lineage to this vast part of the world. Some classic examples of plants from here are peonies, tulips and delphiniums. The collections in this part of the garden focus on plants from the western portion of the Eurasian supercontinent.</p> South America is a wondrous and fascinating part of the world. The plants that we grow from there are quite unique but have a sense of familiarity about them. Grasses dominate the massive expanse known as the Estepa Patagónica</em>. These grasses are the structural web that dominates the visual plane and gives home and protection to important flowering plants. The flora of Patagonia is the region that currently has the least amount of representation. Don’t worry: Gardens staff is working hard at acquiring plants through our network of colleagues and partners that we have been developing for many years. Keep your eyes on this area as there will be many new-to-cultivation plants grown specifically for this space.</p> North America is the part of the garden that we may be most familiar with. It is our home and our backyard stomping grounds. Much of the work of our research department takes place throughout the North American steppe. To understand what steppe is, one must study and learn about our own sense of place and all of the factors that bring us to call the Front Range of Colorado home. The plants of the great North American steppe are crucial to our way of life. Much of our native steppe has been replaced by monocultural farm lands or ranches grazed for animal production. Our steppe is imperiled. Learning about the native plants that grow there as well as having refuge for them to be protected is vital to working towards a healthy ecosystem.</p> No trip to the Steppe Garden can be complete without a stop in the Science Pyramid. This is a place to explore all of the elements that can help you find a deeper knowledge of steppe. The Steppe Garden and Science Pyramid are a central part of the gardens, both physically and institutionally. We are residents of the steppe and as we explore the similarities and differences of the great steppe regions, we gain both a sense of place as well as the ability to redefine what it means to garden here.</p>
