An album with a floral few gems from Northwestern Wyoming from this summer...

Aquilegia jonesii (right), Eritrichium elongatum (left)

I have been very lucky to have friends in Cody, Wyoming who've enabled many of us at Denver Botanic Garden to host ten or so tours to the fantastic mountains surrounding that wonderful town. These are just a few of the pictures I took last summer on two of the trips I led there...as summer winds down it's fun to take a fond look back...I hope you'll enjoy them a fraction as much as I did taking these! Names and locations are with each picture...

Penstemon glaber (foothills of the Bighorns)

Penstemon laricifolius (foothills of the Bighorns)

Calohortus nuttallii (foothills of the Bighorns)

Penstemon aridus (foothills of the Bighorns)

Pulsatilla patens (on the Medicine Wheel trail)

   Pulslatilla patens (albino on the Medicine Wheel trail)

   Eritrichium elongatum (on the Medicine Wheel trail)

   Kelseya uniflora on cliff (on the Medicine Wheel trail)

   Kelseya uniflora closeup (on the Medicine Wheel trail)

Physaria (Lesquerella) paysonii (on the Medicine Wheel Trail)

Douglasia (Androsace) montana (on the Medicine Wheel trail)

   Ranunculus eschscholtzii and Veratrum rosette (on the Medicine Wheel trail)

Lithospermum ruderale (on the Bighorn Highway)

Potentilla pensylvanica (on the Bighorn Highway)

Lupinus sp. (on the Bighorn Highway)

Penstemon rydbergii (on the Bighorn Highway)

Fritillaria pudica (Clay Butte)

Viola nuttallii (Clay Butte)

Opuntia polyacantha (St. Thomas the Apostle Retreat Center hillock)

Eriogonum pauciflorum ssp. nebraskense (St. Thomas the Apostle Retreat Center hillock)

Penstemon eriantherus (Yellowstone highway)

Chaenactis douglasii (Yellowstone highway)

Packera sp. (Yellowstone highway)

Packera sp. (Yellowstone highway)

Polemonium pulcherrimum carpeting the shore of Yellowstone Lake

Polemonium pulcherrimum

Antennaria sp. (Yellowstone Falls)

Wyethia helianthoides (Yellowstone Falls)

Erythronium grandiflorum (Yellowstone Falls)

Potentilla cf. concinna (Yellowstone Falls)

Phyllodoce empetriformis (Beartooth highway)

Potentilla sp. (Beartooth highway)

Geum rossii (Beartooth highway)

Castilleja pulchella (Beartooth highway)

Pedicularis oederi  (Beartooth highway)

Silene acaulis Albino (Beartooth highway)

Smelowskia calycina (Beartooth highway)

Draba sp. (Beartooth highway)

Heuchera cylindrica (Beartooth highway)

Hulsea algida (Beartooth highway)

Astragalus kentrophyta ssp. implexus (Beartooth Highway)

Antennaria aromatica (Beartooth Highway)

Chaenactis alpina (Beartooth Highway)

Erigeron sp. (Beartooth Highway)

Sunset in Cody

Some Bison bison at Yellowstone

Cystopteris fragilis (Yellowstone)

Helianthella quinquinervis (Mt. Washburne, Yellowstone)

Floral cornucopia (Mt. Washburne, Yellowstone)

Floral cornucopia (Mt. Washburne, Yellowstone)

Eriogonum flavum (Mt. Washburne, Yellowstone)

Geranium viscosissimum  (Mt. Washburne, Yellowstone)

Penstemon rydbergii (Mt. Washburne, Yellowstone)

Erythranthe (Mimulus) lewisii (Mt. Washburne, Yellowstone)

That's it for now!

Annual fireworks at Denver Botanic Gardens!

When I first visited Denver Botanic Gardens, probably 95% of the plantings consisted entirely of annuals planted in late May (or well into June) and yanked out gleefully with the first hint of frost. In 1974 I visited in early September, and an unusually early frost had turned almost all the annuals black. Not inspiring! Gradually, more permanent, perennial plants of trees, shrubs and perennials have swallowed up most of the space. Of course, annuals are tucked into all manner of borders and containers...but there has remained a single bastion of annual plantings, which is experiencing its first full year of glory under the baton of Bridget Blomquist--one of the more recent staff at the Gardens--who has impressed me with the dramatic color combinations she's used and the lavish texture of annuals. Right now, these gardens are full of visitors all day long--it was hard to get these relatively people free pictures! This garden is a super counterpoint to the complex and varied gardens featuring mostly perennials around it. Another reason why working at Denver Botanic Gardens has been so rewarding for so long for me: one never gets bored here!

Congratulations to Nick's

Denver is blessed with dozens of wonderful independent garden centers. Nick's is second to none--not just in Denver, but in the United States and beyond: 11 acres of fantastic plants which are always in the best of health, with many rarities scattered throughout. AND they have a wonderful Farm-fresh market with the best quality produce--most of it locally produced. Last Saturday they celebrated their 30 year in business...Congratulations, Nick's!

I just happened to drop by last Saturday (Jan and I like to check in on Nick's regularly). She took a picture of me (far left) with Randy (middle) and son Richard (right) Ortega--the owners and managers who were there greeting enormous crowds of well-wishers. Of course, the give-away drinks and free hamburgers and hot dogs didn't dissuade anyone from coming (and yes, we had an unplanned lunch stop there!)...

This was (and the past tense is intentional--hundreds of people can make a dent) the birthday cake--extremely delicious--and loaded with memories of 30 years of a wonderful business venture...

While strolling around the nursery, I was thrilled to find husky, very reasonably priced pots of Dittany of Crete...three are now growing on my rock wall next to my waterfall at home--which I hope will become a perennial remembrance of a great day's celebration! Here's to the NEXT 30 years!