Everything in its Right Place: My Plant Mapping Internship
When you’re a kid growing up in the Rocky Mountains, there’s a lot that you take for granted. The stunning mountain views, the vibrant wildflowers, the sweeping plains. I never took the time to
2022 Science: Year in Review
Our 2022 Science Year in Review is complete. This beautiful report showcases the breadth of our work last year. After a couple of years navigating a “post-pandemic” world, our team traveled to
The life of a conservation seed collection: A story in five chapters
Chapter 1: Birth A young scientist – let’s call her Alex – and her enthusiastic sidekick load up a Jeep Cherokee with an herbarium press and paper bags. They are heading off to the mountains of
The Benefits of Deep Mulching
There are many ways to increase soil health in your garden. One of those is using deep mulch to cover beds. Often used in combination with other sustainable farming practices like crop rotation and
Creating a Climate-friendly Summer Garden
Summers in Colorado are typically filled with extremes: extreme heat and extreme drought. This has been the year of extreme moisture; an unusual but welcome addition to the tolerant Colorado garden
Why does biodiversity matter?
Why does biodiversity matter? This is the sort of question that feels so immense, so integral to our scientific endeavors that it can be surprisingly challenging to articulate, though the conservation
August Walking Tour – Water Gardens
With cooler, rainy weather and a late June hailstorm punctuating the early weeks of our growing season, the water gardens got off to a slow start this year. Fortunately, aquatic plants are resilient
A Wrap on the Summer Teen Volunteer Program
As Mother Nature preps us for the fall season with immense downpours and crashing thunderstorms, volunteer services’ Teen Volunteer Program finishes strong. This year, our teen volunteers contributed
Cryptic Fungal Diversity in Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi & Beyond
Attaching an appropriate species name to a mushroom can be a surprisingly challenging task. Like most organisms, fungi have been primarily classified by their morphology, the physical characteristics
Light Up Your Holiday Party at the Gardens
The holiday season is a time for showing appreciation and gratitude toward the people in your life. Celebrate your colleagues and accomplishments at a fabulous end-of-year party. For an unforgettable
Mushrooms Sprang in the Wet Spring
It was a wet, wet, wet spring in Denver. I moved here in 2017 and I have not experienced such a verdant spring since my arrival. As such, I got more than my fair share of mushroom inquiries. Recently
From Leaf to GTACCG: Sequencing DNA from Physocarpus
Botanists rely on external traits like leaf shape or flower size to make comparisons among plants and categorize them into taxonomic groups such as species or families. As a Ph.D. student in the