Monday, October 21, 2019

The Greenhouse Complex, Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory, and Green Roof—all at the Denver Botanic Gardens

That's a mouthful, right? I could have tried to make it easy, but decided to stick with the awkward title. Why? Because I found the Denver Botanic Gardens a little confusing. I studied the map and tried to familiarize myself with the different areas, but I still ended up confused. I'm sure if I lived in Denver and visited regularly it would all make sense.

The buildings we're visiting today are 4, 31 and 22 on this map. They're all connected, but yet don't have sequential numbers on the map. Isn't that confusing? Anyway....this first photo shows the Greenhouse Complex, and along the front (but still undercover) is the Orangery. There were potted oranges...

And colorful seasonal plantings.

Bam! That's bright.

Unfortunately (BIG SAD FACE) you couldn't actually go into the greenhouse complex.

And you guys, there were A LOT of cool bromeliads in there.

Along with tillandsia growing in the window frame.

Imagine the treasures lurking in there...

Its's almost painful, right? Well, it was for me.

I don't know which one of these was more impressive, the nepenthes or it's castle.

Oh wait, the nepenthes, definitely.

Now we're in 31, the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory. The sign reads, in part: "Why Bring the Tropics to Denver? When the Gardens moved to this location from City Park in 1959, the trustees and then director, Dr. Aubrey C. Hildreth, realized the value of a conservatory—a landmark for Denver, an educational opportunity, and a chance to expand the Gardens' collections. Since then, the increased importance of rainforest education and stewardship of threatened plants have been added to the Conservatory's relevance."

There were a lot of bromeliads here too, not many had labels however—or at least not ones I could see.

This fern reminded me of one I saw at Dick's greenhouse (here) I should have asked him if it was something he thought I could keep alive, and if so, bought it. I do love it.

Oh! This one had a label, Vriesea hieroglyphica.

This guy was trying to pass unnoticed, which is hard when you're as big as he is.

There was an upper level, a sort of tree house of bromeliads. Naturally it was closed for construction or some such thing.

So we went up to the Green Roof instead (22 if you're following along on the map): "A Living Laboratory; The plant species in this garden are being tested for their suitability for green roof use in this climate. Traditionally, green roofs are built in climates with more rainfall than ours. Green roof gardens in Denver and along the Front Range have different requirements. We use this space to experiment with irrigation frequency and plant choice, and methodically document the results"

It looks pretty darn good...

They're going to have to replace the agave though...

Back down on the ground here's a shot of part of the conservatory building. I wish we had one of these in Portland...

Weather Diary, Oct 20: Hi 59, Low 47/ Precip .03"

All material © 2009-2019 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

19 comments:

  1. The patterned foliage everywhere you look is amazing. I want that mini greenhouse for my living room. Imagine the ferns and Begonias I could grow in the winter.

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    1. I bet you could have a similar one constructed...

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  2. The fern looks like it could be a Drynaria species. My experience is limited to resisting buying it (for now), but I've heard D. rigidula is a fairly easy plant.

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    1. So of course I Googled that name and this is the first thing I read: "The Drynaria ferns, commonly known as oak leaf ferns, are tricky epiphytes that are likely beyond the reach of all but the most dedicated fern enthusiast."... I'm not sure if that scares me off, or makes me want it even more!

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  3. I'm heartened to find that you found the layout and map confusing too. I was so frustrated. I wish I'd seen that green roof, it looks wonderful. I was conflicted about the greenhouse area, I was afraid it would be very hot inside, I'm glad I didn't decide to try it since I would have been frustrated further to find it was closed. Love the Nepenthes in the cage.

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    1. I avoided the greenhouse area during my first visit since I knew I was coming back on Monday and thought it would be good to save for the case of rain. And yes...so confusing!

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  4. Pretty darn impressive. I'd have been frustrated with the closed greenhouse too but the conservatory was wonderful. I couldn't help but think how much happier my bromeliads would be in a moist environment like that. I love the frog pic (or was that a toad?).

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    1. Maybe you can install an underground misting system for your bromeliads? Okay, just kidding...

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  5. The greenhouse looks fabulous. I would have plastered my face up against the glass and moaned. Stunning Bromeliads. That froggie/toad looks like it gets plenty to eat.

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    1. I actually stood up on one of the wooden benches so I could get a better look inside. Yes, that garnered a few strange looks from passersby.

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  6. You must be one of lucky flingers that was smart enough to go back after Fling ended. I never saw any of this !

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    1. I was ready to dash in the greenhouse area if it started raining during our visit, but as it was yes, I explored when I went back on Monday.

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  7. I wandered over to that area, but didn't spend much time--there was so much to see at the botanic garden. But if I'd known about the green roof...

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    1. So much to see and so little time! Luckily I'd planned a return visit on Monday.

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  8. I adore the terrarium housing the nepenthes. It has a victorian look, and yet (thankfully) not too ornate. In the bright chartreuse combo (3rd picture), what is that spotted ferny goodness?

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    1. It's not a fern, but I'm spacing it's name darn-it!

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    2. Ahh... it's a Calathea lancifolia

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  9. What a droolworthy collection of bromeliads especially the purple one below the Conservatory sign. Yummy! Could spend a huge amount of time exploring the indoor collections.

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    1. I wonder if they ever offer tours of the closed greenhouse? Now that would be fun!

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