August and September are prime months to see the water gardens in their full glory. This is the season that every water gardener daydreams about during the winter. The design and planning of the displays during those cold, dark months, along with the work of propagating and planting during the spring, have paid off with a colorful rainbow of aquatic blooms.</p> Tropical waterlilies (Nymphaea</em> hybrids), Water Platters (Victoria</em> ‘Longwood Hybrid’ and Victoria</em> cruziana</em>) and marginal aquatic plants (named for their growth along the margins of a pond in water-logged soil or shallow water) including Canna </em>hybrids and Red-Stemmed Thalia (Thalia geniculata f. ruminoides) </em>are all at peak growth and bloom. Hardy waterlilies also continue to flower during this time.</p> While this is a great time to enjoy the fruits of their labor, there is still work for our horticulturists and volunteers to do in the summer months to ensure the display ponds look their best.</p> Grooming</strong></h3> Volunteers and staff work in the ponds three to four days a week performing general maintenance. This includes removing aging leaves as they begin to turn yellow and decay, as well as removing spent blooms, which last an average of three days for most waterlily varieties. This routine grooming accomplishes three goals – it keeps the water garden displays looking their best, prevents older plant growth from decomposing in the ponds (which would feed algae), and it ensures that the plants are able to put all of their energy into producing new growth, rather than seed pods if the blooms have been pollinated.</p> Fertilizing</strong></h3> Along with grooming the plants weekly, volunteers and staff also fertilize all of our aquatic plants twice a month from early June through late August. The exceptions to this schedule are the Water Platters and Gorgon Plants (Euryale ferox</em>), which are fertilized weekly with increasing doses of fertilizer as they grow through late September.</p> Specially formulated aquatic plant fertilizer tablets called Pondtabbs (10-14-8) are used to feed all of our aquatic plants. Each of our plants grows in its own container of soil, and the tablets are pushed into the soil around the root system of each plant at a dose of one tablet per gallon of soil, with a higher dose given to our Water Platters and Gorgon Plants.</p> We stop fertilizing our hardy aquatic plants in late August in order to encourage them to taper off their growth and begin preparing for winter dormancy. Tropical waterlilies are encouraged to form tubers in the soil by also discontinuing their fertilization in late August. These tubers will be harvested in October and stored for use in subsequent seasons.</p> Other Routine Maintenance</strong></h3> In addition to grooming and fertilizing the plants, the Gardens also performs routine maintenance of the water in the ponds. A non-toxic, food-grade black dye is added to the ponds weekly as needed in order to maintain the dark coloration seen throughout our displays. This dye performs multiple tasks - it blocks out sunlight to deter the growth of single-celled and string algae, hides the planting containers and creates a reflective surface that makes the aquatic plants stand out even more.</p> Beneficial bacteria is also added to the waterways weekly as needed. These microscopic organisms work to break down excess nutrients in the water, which in turn keeps the growth of algae to a minimum.</p> Another part of our routine maintenance is “tweaking” the displays as the plants grow throughout the season. With each plant in its own container, it is easy to move plants to keep them from growing into or over each other. Water gardeners are also able to move plants to the ponds’ edges as they come into peak bloom so visitors can get a better view.</p> We hope you will take the opportunity to visit in the coming weeks while the water gardens are looking their best. Stay tuned for a fall update detailing our work preparing the aquatic plant collection for the upcoming winter months!</p>
</p>On select evenings each summer, the Gardens transforms into one of Denver’s most unique outdoor venues for the Summer Concert Series. Concert-goers carve out their favorite spots on the grassy slopes of the UMB Bank Amphitheater, wander the Gardens as twilight sets in, and enjoy intimate performances from their favorite artists in the shadow of the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory.</p>For a behind-the-scenes look at how these artists get to the stage, we talked to Roger Menell, the concert director/talent buyer at Swallow Hill Music, for insights into the process that leads up to the line-up announcement each year.</p>How far in advance of the first concert does Swallow Hill begin the search/booking process for artists?</strong>As soon as the Summer Concert Series ends, we earnestly start the booking conversations for the following summer, but it can sometimes start even earlier. I can think of one instance where we confirmed a booking for the following year while the current season was still underway. It usually takes a few months of back and forth communication with talent representatives before the shows start confirming.</p>What are the most important factors you consider when you are booking the Summer Concert Series?</strong>There are so many factors to consider! However, the most important ones are:</p>Can the artist fill the amphitheater with fans?</li>Is the artist a good fit for the venue? Will their sound work in this unique environment?</li>Will the Denver Botanic Gardens/Swallow Hill community want to support this artist?</li>Does the booking compliment the rest of season? We try to book a mixture of musical styles and also try to balance familiar names with some fresh faces.</li></ul>How are opening acts selected? Are they typically part of the tour, or do they book separately?</strong>It's about half and half, but some shows have no opener at all. Usually, about 40% of the headliners will bring an opener as part of their tour, 40% of the openers are booked separately by Swallow Hill, and 20% of the shows have no opener. If you attend a show called “An Evening With…”, there is no opener for that show.</p>What are the biggest challenges to booking the Summer Concert Series?</strong>The greatest challenge is competition with other venues; there are lots of places to play in Denver in the summer. Dates are always a huge challenge, as well. A tour may be coming through Denver at a time that falls outside the time frame of the concert series, or the tour may occur on dates that the Gardens are unavailable.</p>How many Swallow Hill team members does it take to run a concert at the Gardens? </strong>At the show, we'll have around six staff members from Swallow Hill on site. However, this doesn't include our contracted employees who take care of the technical aspects of the production, such as lighting and sound. We're also backed up by our administrative teams in finance, marketing etc. back at our office. Denver Botanic Gardens also provides a team of staff for each concert to manage setup, security, visitor entry, VIP reserved areas, and more. It takes lots of people to produce these concerts!</p>Are there any shows you think we shouldn’t miss?</strong>Sure! You shouldn't miss The Mavericks (July 28) or Herbie Hancock (August 14). However, those shows are already sold out! We only have tickets remaining for 3 of the 15 shows at the Gardens: Randy Newman (August 7), Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home “Love and Comedy” Show (August 13 at Chatfield Farms) and Lucero with special guest Paper Bird (August 27).</p>The Summer Concert Series, presented by UMB Bank, is produced as a partnership of Denver Botanic Gardens and </em>Swallow Hill Music</em></a>.</em></p>
