Hailed as one of the top 5 botanical gardens in the US and often referred to as an oases in the city, the Denver Botanical Garden is a must on your places to visit.  This week on the GROBigRed Blog we are talking about vacation destinations.

I had the pleasure of visiting the Denver Botanical Garden during the summer of 2016 and was deeply impressed with the diversity of plant material.  Of course the areas that I wanted to see were off limits and it was raining the day we were there.  The rain kept the attendance low so it did allow us the opportunity to walk through at our own pace with little interruption.

Per their website the Denver Botanical Garden is accredited American Alliance of Museums with seven living collections and two natural history collections.  Their mission is to connect people focusing on plants found within the Rocky Mountain region.    

One of the areas of the garden that was breathtaking beautiful is their Japanese Garden.  Well-manicured and the attention to detail is outstanding.  The water running through this section was dyed black that prevented it from distracting from the rest of the garden and put the focus on the plants.  I was also happy to see African violets being grown in their tropical garden.

If you ever have an opportunity to visit you should and allow yourself a half day to fully take in the beauty.

Hibiscus schizopetalus

Scott Evans

Scott Evans is a horticulture assistant with Nebraska Extension in Douglas-Sarpy Counties. A certified arborist through International Society of Arboirculture and Nebraska Arborist Association. Scott is also Tree Risk Assessment Qualified through ISA. Scott co-leads the Master Gardener program in Douglas & Sarpy counties. Along with volunteer management he provides his expertise with disease and insect identification, lawn and landscape weed management, plant health, and I.P.M. practices. He also enjoys growing many houseplants ranging from African violets to cacti and succulents. Scott has two Bachelors of Science, one in Biology (emphasis in Botany, Ecology and Environmental Science) and second in Environmental Geology from Northwest Missouri State University. He earned his Master of Agriculture from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.