`Under a rainbow at Denver Botanic Gardens

Is there anything that gives better value than a garden membership? Not for my money. That’s why I joined Denver Botanic Gardens.… Read More

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May 30, 2026

One of the first things I did upon arriving in my new city was join the local botanical garden. Is there anything that gives better value for your membership fee than a garden? Not for my money.

Our short-term rental is just 10 minutes away from Denver Botanic Gardens. Once you join, general admission is free — an encouragement to go often. I like dropping in late in the afternoon for a pre-dinner stroll.

The garden stays open until 8 pm every day in summer, ideal for photography and enjoying a mellower time of day among the plants.

On recent visits, California poppies were blooming. I like them here against a pot of rich-purple ‘Dark Knight’ prickly pear.

An agave was flowering too — a calligraphy brush of a bloom spike.

Yuccas too with flower spikes of white bells

This waterwise garden — overlooked by the lucky tenants of a nearby apartment tower — was bright with poppies and penstemons.

California poppies look so good in a spiny garden, adding ferny softness and color.

Poppies and purple prickly pear, this one showing off a fuchsia flower

Claret cup cactus was flowering scarlet.

Gloriously spiny ‘Snow Leopard’ cholla

And in a wider view, ‘Snow Leopard’ with agaves, poppies, yucca, and penstemon

A cute little rabbit was nibbling grass, unconcerned with human visitors.

Kintzley’s Ghost honeysuckle with its silvery, disk-like bracts

Evening visitors relaxing by a pond

I love seeing all the people just lounging in the garden, soaking up the beauty.

Burning bush (Dictamnus albus)

Alpine Jerusalem sage

Sea urchin-like yuccas with colorful flowering groundcovers

Tetraneuris daisy anchored in a rocky crevice

The Rock Alpine Garden was glorious on recent visits, bright with spring flowers and fresh grasses on mounds of blocky stone.

A backdrop of conifers adds to the mountain-evoking beauty.

Alpine plants in a hypertufa trough planter, all the same shade of dusty pink

Side view

Me, blissed out by the garden’s beauty. Austin readers, you’ll recognize Athena the Owl on my Wildflower Center T-shirt, a sweet goodbye gift from my Texas gardening friends. (Miss you guys!)

Crevice container garden with a waterfall backdrop

Inviting path

Every afternoon, dark clouds have threatened rain. This time a rainbow appeared over the garden.

‘Forever Gold’ shrubby cinquefoil is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Another look at shrubby cinquefoil, a new-to-me plant

More gold in spurge flowers

I like this arrangement of crevice garden pots and want to do something similar in my future new garden.

In the Asian garden, this secluded bench under a pine tree always calls to me.

Fernleaf peony with its outrageously red flowers

Ranunculus

A very tall mullein (Verbascum songaricum)

So pretty

One more to appreciate the silver leaves too

This crevice garden always amazes me. It looks like one of those wooden puzzles that fits together just so — or a giant loaf of bread!

Love-in-a-mist

A beautiful Victorian greenhouse — wouldn’t this be an idyllic wedding venue?

A closer look

Beautiful!

Rocky Mountain columbine, my new state flower

The Japanese Garden

A pretty variegated iris

Oh look — faux bois! I didn’t know faux bois (concrete that mimics wood) would survive in a climate this cold. Do they take it indoors in winter?

Regular readers may know I developed a fascination with faux bois during the writing of my book about Texas gardens. Every garden in San Antonio seemed to have a piece, and I took a faux bois road trip to explore San Antonio’s trabajo rústico tradition.

Outside the garden walls along the street, yellow baptisia and purple salvia were popping among bright notes of variegated iris.

Nacogdoches, Texas, gardener Jared Barnes grows yellow baptisia too — clearly it’s a plant with some range.

What a joy to explore this garden each week and get to know its plants.

Next up: An exhibit of Jaume Plensa’s art at Denver Botanic Gardens.

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Digging Deeper

My new book, Gardens of Texas: Visions of Resilience from the Lone Star State, is here! Find it on Amazon, other online book sellers, and in stores everywhere. It’s for anyone who loves gardens or the natural beauty of Texas. More info here.

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