Denver Botanic Gardens
Encyclopedia
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
located in Denver, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
in the Cheesman Park
Cheesman Park, Denver
Cheesman Park is an urban park and neighborhood located in the City and County of Denver, Colorado, United States.-Geography:Cheesman Park is located in central Denver, southeast of downtown...
neighborhood. The 23 acres (93,077.8 m²) park contains a conservatory, a variety of theme gardens and a sunken amphitheater, which hosts various concerts in the summer. Woody Allen's
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
1973 movie Sleeper
Sleeper (film)
Sleeper is a 1973 futuristic science fiction comedy film, written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman, and directed by Allen. The plot involves the adventures of the owner of a Greenwich Village, NY health food store played by Woody Allen who is cryogenically frozen in 1973 and defrosted 200...
filmed some scenes at the gardens.
Location
There are three diverse locations that are part of the Denver Botanic Gardens as a whole. The main location, and the formal garden, is the York Street location in east-central Denver. Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield (near Chatfield State ParkChatfield State Park
Chatfield State Park is a state park located in Douglas and Jefferson counties of Colorado, United States.-Wildlife:Over three hundred bird species both migrant and resident frequent Chatfield...
) features natural meadow and riparian areas, as well as a historic farm and homestead. Mt. Goliath, on the route to Mount Evans
Mount Evans
Mount Evans is a mountain in the Front Range region of the Rocky Mountains, in Clear Creek County, Colorado. It is one of 54 fourteeners in Colorado, and the closest fourteener to Denver...
, is an alpine wildflower garden (along hiking trails).
The Denver Botanic Gardens, along with nearby Cheesman Park
Cheesman Park, Denver
Cheesman Park is an urban park and neighborhood located in the City and County of Denver, Colorado, United States.-Geography:Cheesman Park is located in central Denver, southeast of downtown...
and Congress Park
Congress Park, Denver
Congress Park is a park and a neighborhood in the City and County of Denver, Colorado. In 2007, the neighborhood had 11,247 residents and 6,388 housing units.-Boundaries:...
, sit atop what used to be Mount Prospect cemetery. Although the majority of bodies were removed in 1893, the interred continued to be removed as late as the 1950s. As recently as 2010, graves were uncovered during renovation of the park's irrigation and sprinkler systems.
The Gardens
Denver Botanic Gardens features North America's largest collection of plants from cold temperate climates around the world, as well as 7 diverse gardens that mostly include plants from Colorado and neighboring states.The world's first Xeriscape Demonstration Garden was created at the Gardens in 1986, and 2 years later its name was changed to Dryland Mesa. It was based on the "7 Principles" of Xeriscape
Xeriscaping
Xeriscaping and xerogardening refers to landscaping and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation...
, and includes drought-tolerant plants from the arid West and Mediterranean areas.
The Japanese Garden is called Shofu-en—the Garden of Wind and Pines. It was designed by Koichi Kawana in collaboration with Kai Kwahara.
The York Street location of the Botanic Gardens opened Denver's 1st publicly accessible green roof.
See also
- Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory
- List of botanical gardens in the United States