I should begin with a picture of the pond, waterlilies and the mountain view (which will come later on) since there are those who are averse to rock gardens. I don't think a botanic garden can really claim to be one without a great rock garden--and Yampa River Botanic Park has then dotted all over their grounds. But the crevice garden, designed during Gayle Lehman's management, by Ryan Keating, propelled YRBP into the highest level of botanic gardens: it's chockablock full of treasures!
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| Lavandula angustifolia |
Of course, growing Lavender is no great shakes in Denver: but Steamboat Springs is a Ski area which had unGodly amounts of snow last winter. The range of plants here from Agaves to high alpines is astonishing.
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| Oenothera macrocarpa |
And common plants as well...
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| Acantholimon sp. |
I noticed several very happy spike thrifts...
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| Daphne x schytleri and Leontopodium alpinum |
We shall revisit this picture eventually...the daphnes are reblooming spectacularly...
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| Dracocephalum sp. |
I've grown this Dracocephalum under several different names: any one know the correct one?
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| Dracocephalum sp. (white form) |
There's even an albino flowered specimen!
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| Erigeron sp. |
In bloom and seed simultaneously...
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| Penstemon x Mexicali 'Red Rocks' |
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| Phlox nana |
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| Eriogonum umbellatum |
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| Bolax glebaria with Dracocephalum sp. behind |
A spectacular border recently re-designed by Gayle Lehman before she retired: pretty spectacular show of lilies!
Full bloom the last few days of July! Who'd a thunk it? What a clump of foxtail lilies.
More reblooming daphnes...
I believe this is
Acantholimon capitatum growing on tufa.
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| View of the original large rock garden |
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| Morina longifolia |
I saw masses of this coming into bloom in maple, birch and poplar forests at over 3500m in Sikkim just a few weeks ago. I love this thing!
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| Trough garden filled with treasures |
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| Jeff Morehead |
If you visit YRBP very often, you are sure to meet Jeff, who created much of the south end of the Gardens' glory [from scratch]. He is a bottomless font of wisdom and information about the Yampa Valley. Visiting with this very benign troll is always a highpoint of my wanderings through YRBP.
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| Lilium martagon |
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| Aconitum lycoctonum |
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Lilium pardalinum
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| Lilium pardalinum |
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| Leontopodium alpinum |
What's better than a drift of edelweiss?
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| Leontopodium alpinum and reblooming daphne |
A single clump against a background of daphne is better, that's what. More is not better. Good is better.
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| Lily pond |
This is the picture I will use to try and lure Facebookers to this post. A cynic might call it "Monet meets Bob Ross". I am not a cynic: to me it says Steamboat's gem of a garden!
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| Eryngium giganteum on a dry slope |
There is a dry meadow at the very heart of the Garden full of plants I love like Miss Wilmott's ghost.
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| Agave neomexicana behind the Yampah plants |
If you look carefully you'll spy an agave that's been growing there for years despite umpteen feet of winter snows and a supposedly Zone 3/4 climate. The pedigree of this plant traces to the Organ mountains--not the hardiest form of
A. neomexicana by any means, btw.
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| Origanum libanoticum and Delosperma FIRESPINNER |
Why a mint from Lebanon grows this well in the Yampa Valley is a mystery.
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| Eriogonum umbellatum |
Obviously a different subspecies of
umbellatum from the one I showed earlier. There's no such thing as a bad
E. umbellatum.
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Alstroemeria ligtu ex Chile
So much for hardiness zones! This alstroemeria has been growing in the garden for as long as I can remember. Plants don't read books, obviously!
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Unusually compact for
A. ligtu, and more orange than the commonly dark yellow forms.
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Geranium endresii and Anaphalis margaritacea
There are wonderful drifts of perennials everywhere--you'r just seeing a smattering!
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| Zauschneria (Epilobium) garrettii |
The less said about this the better. I'm orange with envy. (The plant I helped introduce to horticulture hates my garden).
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| Salvia haematodes |
One of a large stand of this classic sage.
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| Salvia forsskaohlei |
I have admired this growing wild on Ulu Dag: it grows much better here in Steamboat. They sited it perfectly on a slope, which it now smothers with flowers for months
That, friends, is what great gardens are all about!
Magnificent garden for a (relatively) remote place. Some people there sure know their plants and how to help them thrive.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many great gardens in Colorado. This one is a real jewel with so many different plants showcased. Thank-you by the way for introducing Zauschneria to the trade. It thrives in my Calgary garden attracting hummingbirds and visitors alike.
ReplyDeleteAmei as dicas. Parabéns pelo site. Aquele abraço!
ReplyDelete