Category: Public gardens

Posted on in Gardening, House Plants, Public gardens, Surviving Winter

Stay Dry, See Tropical Plants

wwseymourconservatory-tacoma-wa_lah_0512I love to visit Washington. The state is a gardener’s paradise.  All those dreary days translate into brilliant azaleas and rhododendrons, ferny grottoes, and towering evergreens. The trick is enjoying those gorgeous gardens when it’s raining—and it rains a lot. Sure, you can visit in the summer, when days are sunny and the sky is a sapphire blue. But what about right now?

One way to get out of the February cold and wet is to visit a conservatory. (This applies to cold and snowy Colorado, as well.) And one of my favorites is the W. W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory, located in the 27-acre Wright Park Arboretum, Tacoma. This glassed enclosure houses over 250 species of tropical and semi-tropical plant, including 200 different orchids—just the antidote for a gloomy winter day.

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Posted on in Public gardens

A Tropical Paradise

botanicgardens-singapore_lah_7427Last November I took you on a virtual tour of the Royal Botanic Garden in Sydney, Australia. Today we’re going to visit the Singapore Botanic Gardens. According to Wikipedia, “It is one of three gardens, and the only tropical garden, to be honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.” One visit, and it’s easy to see why.

The gardens were first planted in 1859 and presently contain over 60,000 plants. The place is huge—it took us hours to walk from one end to the other, but then I had to stop and appreciate every plant (and bird) I passed.

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Posted on in Public gardens

Gardens Fit for Royalty

royalbotanicgardens-sydney-nsw-australia_lah_7215

One of the joys of traveling is that you can visit gardens in other parts of the world—places with different climates growing plants totally unlike those in we have here in Colorado. I just returned from a long overseas trip that included visits to botanic gardens in both Australia and Singapore. Talk about different! On the one hand, the tropical blossoms and exotic ferns were a delight to the senses. On the other hand, there is no way I could ever grow any of them at home, except as houseplants. And even then, our low humidity would discourage most of these species.

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Posted on in Public gardens, Surviving Winter

Winter in the Gardens

DBG_LAH_3996-001Dead leaves, bare branches, brown grass. It’s hard to create a landscape that looks attractive when everything appears to be dead. Yet, we live in a place where winter can last six months, or more. I want my yard to be attractive all the time, not just during the growing season.

With that in mind, this week I paid a visit to the Denver Botanic Gardens. They’re open in every season, so surely they’ll have ideas for making a garden worth visiting, even in the winter. How do they do it?

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Posted on in Public gardens

Chihuly in the Gardens

Chihuly_DBG-CO_LAH_9664-001The Denver Botanic Gardens are worth a visit just because of the gorgeous flowers, the fascinating plants (I always discover new ones), and the inspiring color combinations. Now they’ve outdone themselves. From now through November, 2014, the blooms and water features provide a backdrop for Chihuly’s huge glass sculptures.

Dale Chihuly is a famous artist for good reason. He creates shapes out of glass that look as if they grew by themselves, probably underwater. Think jellyfish, or sea anemones. I’ve seen chandeliers composed of hundreds, of separate glass pieces all painstakingly fitted together into one organic whole. Incredible! You can see his work at museums all over the world.

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Posted on in Public gardens, Surviving Winter

Hunting for Warm and Green

Boettcher-DBG_LAH_6632As I stare out the window at brown and dead, I’m dreaming of warm, green, lush gardens. In past years I’ve had to make do with visits to Denver Botanic Gardens’ greenhouses (left) or the Butterfly Pavilion in Broomfield, Colorado (another walk-in greenhouse full of tropical plants). This year, however, we’re heading south to where plants are green and you can walk around outside without lays of insulation. I can hardly wait.

As we aren’t leaving quite yet, I have some time to ponder which direction to go. We’re driving, we have no reservation, and we can be as random and carefree as we like—at least until the money runs out.

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Hudson Gardens: A Littleton Oasis

cleome-hasslerana_spider-flower_hudsongardens-littletonco_lah_0603Labor Day is past, but there’s no reason to sit inside and sulk. Fall means blue skies and more moderate temperatures beckoning us back outdoors. One of the best gardens to visit at this time of year is Hudson Gardens, in Littleton, Colorado. Situated along the South Platte River, you can enjoy 30 acres of flowers, shrubs, trees, and grass—from exotic annuals to water lilies.

Once a private estate, the gardens are now open to a public, and right now, there isn’t even an admission charge. You can’t beat that! (There may be a small fee during the peak summer season.)

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Posted on in Public gardens

Lakewold Gardens Estate

lakewoldgardens-wa_lah_0694It had been raining all week, quite normal for western Washington in late May. We were near Seattle, visiting our brand new granddaughter (our first) and her parents. But then, unexpectedly, the constant drizzle turned into blazing sunshine and dazzling blue skies!  Being a gardener, I immediately looked for the closest public garden to visit.

In this case, Pete and I took an afternoon off to spend some time at Lakewold Gardens Estate, just off I-5 in Tacoma. Once the home of Mr. and Mrs. Corydon Wagner, the estate is now owned by a non-profit group specifically dedicated to preserving the gorgeous plantings and lovely house. The property fronts Gravelly Lake and, weather permitting, provides spectacular views of Mt. Rainier.

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Posted on in Gardening, Landscaping, Public gardens

Be a Garden Tourist

bellevuebg_lah_6629Where does a gardener want to go on vacation? Probably somewhere with a beautiful public garden or two.

I make a point of visiting Colorado’s inspiring public gardens. I’ve written about many of them already, and I’m always searching out new ones. There we can see plants adapted to our area and get new ideas for our own yards. Once there, I invariably start making notes, taking photos, and mentally redesigning my perennial border. It’s fun, but not exactly relaxing.

When I visit gardens in other parts of the country (or the world), it’s a totally different experience. Instead of relating everything back to my own landscape, I unwind and just enjoy the gardens for what they are.

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Posted on in Gardening, Public gardens

Cool Wildflowers

alpine-paintbrush_mtevans-co_lah_4409We’re in the middle of summer, that season I’ve waited for all year. All those December dreams of dahlias, March musings of marigolds—and now it’s too hot to go outside! A friend and I have been planning, then delaying, a trip to the Denver Botanic Gardens for several weeks, hoping for a cooler day that will allow for a more enjoyable visit and better photos. Meanwhile, what’s a sweaty flower lover to do?

Head for the hills!

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