COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT PLAN
For Living and Non-Living Collections
Adopted by the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees on August 12, 2008
Executive Summary:
Denver Botanic Gardens (DBG) is a museum of botanical species recognized as one of the top
botanical gardens in the United States with more than 32,000 plants from such far-away places as
Australia, Africa and the Himalayas. Located in the heart of Denver on 23 acres of wellmaintained gardens, Denver Botanic Gardens demonstrate an array of landscape designs and
plant collections, ranging from traditional to contemporary, native to exotic and simple to
grandiose. Additional sites at Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, a 750-acre wildlife and
native plant refuge in Littleton and Mount Goliath, a high altitude trail and interpretive garden on
the Mount Evans Scenic Byway, extend this experience throughout the Front Range. The eastern
plains of Colorado is characterized by an arid climate with low humidity. Adapting to these
natural climatic conditions, all the gardens at DBG exemplify best management practices in
water conservation.
The collections at Denver Botanic Gardens are very diverse and hence each collection is
addressed separately to assist each collection’s stakeholders make an informed and scientific
decision pertaining to the maintenance and development of their collections. The major
collections identified are:
1. Alpine
2. Amenity
3. Aquatic
4. Cactus and Succulents
5. Native
6. Tropical
7. Steppe
8. Herbarium of Vascular Plants
9. Herbarium of Fungi
10. Library
11. Art
Purpose of the plan:
The purpose of this Collections Plan is to provide uniform direction to assist in the maintenance,
expansion and development of its various collections. This document will be useful in
identifying collection priorities within the framework of the institution’s mission and vision and
within available resources.
1
Mission:
The mission of Denver Botanic Gardens is to connect people with plants, especially plants from
the Rocky Mountain region and similar regions around the world, providing delight and
enlightenment to everyone.
Vision:
Along with the adoption of the Master Development Plan in November 2007 by the Denver
Botanic Gardens’ board of trustees, four Core Values were identified that provide guidance for
the day to day operations of the Gardens. These Core Values also guide the acquisition and care
of collections. The Core Values are:
• Diversity
• Relevance
• Sustainability
• Transformation
Review and Revision of Plan
This collections plan will be reviewed annually to ascertain that all timelines are being met and if
not, determine measures to overcome this. Review will be done collaboratively by those
responsible for each task. Revisions will be made as needed to ensure success in implementation
of the plan.
Analysis of Existing Collections:
Since each of the collections have their own unique characteristics, it would be impossible to
combine them all together and perform a single analysis. Hence, each collection has been treated
separately and the following has been addressed for each collection:
a) Description
b) Collections Content
c) History of the Collection
d) Justification
e) Strengths
f) Weaknesses
g) Opportunities and Collection Priorities
h) Implementation Strategy (with Timeline)
i) Evaluation
Where garden names have been used, please refer to Appendix 1 for Denver Botanic Gardens
map and individual garden location.
2
1. Alpine Collection
3
a) Description
The plants in this collection are described as either truly alpine plants or plants that
grow in pseudo-alpine habitats such as rock crevices (Chasmophytes) or exposed
locations (Facultative Alpines).
Definitions:
Alpine: The standard definition when referring to Alpine is the area above the treeline (the tree-line is the particular elevation above which trees are not able to grow.)
This definition however is misleading as many of the world’s mountain ranges do not
have a defined tree line. Wikipedia defines alpine as areas where the mean annual
temperature is between 34.7°F and 37.4°F (1.5 and 3°Celsius).
Pseudo-alpine: The collective term used in this report when referring to both
Chasmophytes and Facultative Alpines.
Chasmophyte: Chasmophytes are those plants dwelling mainly in rock crevices.
Facultative Alpine: Facultative Alpines are those plants that grow below the tree line
in alpine-like habitats and mimic alpine plants in growth habit. An example would be
Pawnee Buttes in Northeastern Colorado.
b) Collections Content
True Alpine
592
54
188
489
Number of Taxa
Number of families
Number of genera
Number of species
Number of accessions wild collected, or
nursery grown of known wild origin
Total
128
600
1809
78
(True Alpine = Alpine/pseudo-alpine)
Denver Botanic Garden’s Alpine Collection is mostly likely the largest in the country
with regards to number of species.
c) History of the Collection
The Rock Alpine Garden was designed by Herb Schaal of EDAW Inc., and
constructed in 1980. At the time of construction it was the most ambitious rock
garden constructed in the United States.
Through the years the alpine collection has waxed and waned. In the beginning the
Rock Alpine garden was planted with a higher percentage of true alpines than the
present. Over time it was found that because of Denver’s hot summers, which can
have 50+ days of 90°F or more, true alpines proved short-lived. Plants from
continental areas similar to Denver proved to be better candidates for long-term
survival in the garden. For this reason Denver Botanic Gardens’ collection of plants
in the Rock Alpine Garden is particularly rich in central Asian plants, and is most
likely the largest collection of Central Asian plants outside of that region of the
world.
4
In 2000/2001 Wildflower Treasures was created and featured troughs representing
select locations around the state of Colorado. Many of these troughs are home to true
alpine plants from Colorado’s mountains.
The year 2001 saw the construction of Western Panoramas and specifically the
Bristlecone Border, which created a new home outside the rock garden for many
native plants from the subalpine and lower alpine life zones.
In late 2004 the former Alpine House was converted to a succulent house as it proved
to be unsuitable for true alpines.
d) Justification
The Alpine Collection is an asset to a wide variety of people, from staff and
researchers to the general public. The Alpine Collection as mentioned above holds an
immense amount of diversity that in some cases is the most complete display of
certain genera in the country outside of private collections.
Not only do researchers and staff draw important knowledge from the collection, it is
an inspiration and a guide to general visitors, providing a complex example of what
thrives in Denver’s continental climate
Since its beginning the plant collection in the Rock Alpine Garden has drawn
attention the world over from astute plant lovers. Many visitors travel to Denver
Botanic Gardens from outside the state solely to visit the Rock Alpine Garden.
Today with the addition of Wildflower Treasures, South African Plaza, the Western
Panoramas, and Mount Goliath, Denver Botanic Gardens has the largest collection of
true alpine and pseudo-alpine plants in the country.
Because of its size and established reputation the Rock Alpine Garden is the most
prominent display area for the Alpine Collection. Since its construction the Rock
Alpine Garden has been showcasing plants of the Rocky Mountain Region and
similar areas of the world. The Rock Alpine Garden was the first garden at Denver
Botanic Gardens to showcase such plants. Visitors seek enjoyment year around from
the collection, which features some of the first and last flowers of the season, as well
as color, scent and texture throughout the year. The collection has been an
educational feature since its inception through the use of not only natives and plants
from similar climates but experimentation with plants that should otherwise not thrive
in Denver’s continental climate. For the past twenty-five years the Rock Alpine
Garden has been proving that many plants listed as tender can actually thrive in
Colorado, a few examples include: ice plant (Delosperma), California fuchsia
(Epilobium), Matija poppy (Romneya), California flannel shrub (Fremontedendron)
and Garrya.
Despite its relatively young age Wildflower Treasures has become another key area
for the display of the Alpine Collection. The troughs in this garden display many
5
alpine plants in a manner that is accessible and visually pleasing to the visitor. The
use of troughs allows the gardens to display many small plants that would otherwise
be lost in larger settings.
Mount Goliath combines the beauty of a natural setting with the control and comfort
of a man-made garden and visitor center. In addition to its one of a kind location this
garden fulfills our mission through its use of plants specifically native to the Mount
Evans Massif (a massif is defined as a compact group of connected mountains
forming an independent portion of a range.) At an elevation of 11,500 feet, this
garden provides a suitable home to a particularly rich collection of true alpines, and is
likely the highest public garden in the world.
e) Strengths
The collection in the Rock Alpine Garden and Wildflower Treasures is especially rich
in the numbers of species it contains in certain genera. Those genera highlighted in
bold contain large numbers of true alpines or pseudo alpines
Genus
Acantholimon
Aethionema
Allium
Campanula
Crocus
Cyclamen
Daphne
Dianthus
Ephedra
Geranium
Helleborus
Iris
Penstemon
Phlox
Pinus
Plantago
Salvia
Saxifraga
Sempervivum
Stipa
Veronica
Species
18
10
17
20
17
9
7
24
11
17
10
25
57
13
16
14
23 (Especially Turkish)
8
7
23
20 (mostly Central Asian)
Hybrids (if particularly
large collection)
26 cultivars
6 cultivars and hybrids
11 cultivars/hybrids
23 cultivars
The collection of Ephedra, Turkish Salvia, Acantholimon, and Penstemon are
probably the largest of any public institution in this country.
The collection also holds collections of Aethionema, Stipa, Cyclamen, Helleborus,
Veronica, and Daphne that are comparable with those of the best institutions in the
6
country.
The alpine collection contained in the Rock Alpine Garden is one of the best
documented collections at Denver Botanic Gardens with over 20 spiral binders of
accession forms and maps detailing the location of the plants in the garden as well as
the source and date of planting. These notebooks continue to be updated. Data is
also recorded in BG Base
Some other strengths as mentioned by outside collaborators:
• Diversity of collections
• Examples of great plant specimens (both mature and rarely seen)
• Well-designed Rock Alpine Garden
f) Weaknesses
• The lack of large collections of “traditional” alpine genera including Androsace,
Gentiana, Primula, Saxifraga, and Draba. “Traditional” refers to what is
typically grown in rock gardens in the British Isles and continental Europe.
• Shortage of labeling/outdated labeling.
• Lack of proper interpretive materials.
• Lack of a properly functioning irrigation system.
• Lack of appropriate propagation space needed to propagate alpine plants.
• Understaffing of garden, especially if standards of collection were raised to
include more traditional alpines.
• Lack of a suitable Alpine House for difficult-to-grow specialty alpine plants.
• Lack of backup growing space to provide specimen quality plants needed for an
Alpine House open to the public.
• Lack of qualified staff for maintaining an Alpine House.
• Potentially overgrown conifers that are too large for the scale of the garden.
g) Opportunities and Collection Priorities
• Continue to focus on plants appropriate for rock gardens from climates similar to
that of the Rocky Mountain West region, with an emphasis on Central Asia, South
Africa, Western US, and Patagonia.
• Augment the true alpine collection and keep such species in the collection through
propagation.
• Continue to augment the collection to include as many species (hybrids in certain
cases) as possible of the following genera.
1. Daphne
2. Acantholimon
3. Aethionema
4. Ephedra
5. Draba
6. Saxifraga
7. Androsace
8. Adaptable species/ hybrids of Primula
7
•
•
•
•
9. Any additional genera that are underrepresented in public collections or are of
a particular interest
Make sure that Denver Botanic Gardens has not only a good collection of species,
but attractive displays as well.
Continue to acquire species new to cultivation, (Through the purchase of wild
collected seed or through Denver Botanic Gardens funded expeditions.)
Continue whenever possible to acquire material with wild collected data over
cultivated material without scientific data.
In certain cases, acquire hybrids and cultivars that are easier to grow than the true
species of certain genera. This is especially true with Saxifraga and Primula.
h) Implementation Strategy
The Denver Botanic Gardens does not have the resources to support the acquisition of a
comprehensive collection of any one genus. Hence, the focus will be on maintaining the
existing collections and diversifying the collections with plants from various climates
similar to that of the Rocky Mountain West region, with an emphasis on Central Asia,
South Africa, Western United States, and Patagonia. This will be achieved by making
seed collecting trips and by purchasing wild collected seeds from other known sources.
The resources needed for maintaining existing collections will be reliable and expanded
greenhouse space and resources needed for diversifying collections will be funding to
support seed collection expeditions and purchase of wild collected seeds.
Timeline:
Activity
Updated &
improved
labeling
Improved
interpretation
Improved
irrigation system
Expanded
propagation
space
Wild-collected
seed purchases
Secure funding
for seed
collection
expeditions
Seed collection
expeditions
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Removal of
over-grown
conifers
8
i) Evaluation
The overall implementation and evaluation of the collections plan will be overseen by the
Director of Horticulture and the Curator/Horticulturist responsible for the Alpine
collections.
Activity
Updated &
improved labeling
Improved
interpretation
Improved irrigation
system
Expanded
propagation space
Wild collected seed
purchases
Secure funding for
seed collection
expeditions
Seed collection
expeditions
Removal of overgrown conifers
Evaluation
Procedure
Every species
identified at least
once in the garden
Interpretive panel in
place and informal
survey of visitors on
educational
usefulness
A working system in
place with very
minimal handwatering
Designated
greenhouse space for
alpine plants in place
Number and kind of
species purchased
and propagation
success
Funding in place at
least 6 months before
the seed collection
expedition
Number and kind of
species collected
during each of the 3
collection trips and
propagation success
of seeds collected
Large sized conifers
removed
9
Evaluation Time
Person Responsible
End of each year
compare accession
database with the
labels displayed
December 2007
Horticulturist,
Manager of Plant
Records
During the
growing season of
2007 and 2008
December 2010
At the end of each
year
Every 6 months
At the end of each
collection trip and
monitor
propagation
results monthly
End of each year
Horticulturist,
Interpretation
Coordinator
Horticulturist,
Irrigation Specialist,
Director of Garden
Operations
Horticulturist,
Propagator, Director
of Garden Operations
Horticulturist,
Propagator
Director of
Development,
Director of
Horticulture
Horticulturist,
Propagator
Horticulturist
2. Amenity Collection
10
a) Description
This collection is unique in that it does not have a location or a defined number of
plants. The Amenity Collection is more a theme that showcases Rocky Mountain and
Plains horticulture with the express purpose of serving our local community. This
community includes plant societies, professionals in the Green Industry and
educational institutions as well as the general public. This service provides take home
messages about local plant palettes including the full spectrum of plants – trees,
shrubs, perennials and annuals. This collection demonstrates new cultivars and
hybrids suitable for the Rocky Mountain and Plains region, a semi-arid steppe
climate. It provides information on plant combinations, cultural practices and
aesthetics. It is flexible in that it changes and adapts to new horticultural techniques
and therefore its service to the community is on-going. In many ways, because of its
direct influence and benefits to our community, it becomes one of our most important
collections. It not only serves the first part of the Garden’s mission of “connecting
people with plants” it also “delights and inspires visitors” with relevant, take home
ideas and information.
b) Collections Content
This collection encompasses a wide range of plant material (Genera) that perform
outstandingly in the semi-arid climate of our Rocky Mountain and Plains region.
Constantly evolving horticultural techniques that conserve water, protect plants,
eliminate invasive species, and recycle and conserve organic materials and therefore
contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way of living are
demonstrated through the Amenity Collection. By continuously expanding and
raising this collection to a higher level, Denver Botanic Gardens remains a leading
cultural institution in the United States.
The Amenity Collection at Denver Botanic Gardens is recognized by the public for
leading the way to good stewardship of the earth and our environment through many
venues. These include trials of new plants and planting techniques, Plant Select® and
Champion Tree programs that inspire the community and diverse educational and
training resources for not only the gardeners, students and researchers, but also the
general public.
The Amenity Collection is impossible to assess from a purely numbers point of view,
however the following statistics are for some notable genera that figure prominently
here.
Genus
Hemerocallis
Iris
Paeonia
Rosa
Syringa
Viburnum
# Species
# Taxa
11
69
16
38
24
24
200
308
171
388
109
40
11
# Garden
locations
16
28
16
28
18
16
c) History of the Collection
This has been an on-going collection (not as a named collection but as a concept)
since the inception of the Gardens. It has changed and evolved with changes and
improvements in cultural practices.
d) Justification
This is first and foremost a collection aimed at our Rocky Mountain and Plains semiarid steppe climate residents and visitors. This collection’s goal is to serve and benefit
the broadest spectrum of gardeners.
There is no more direct way to connect people with plants than to demonstrate how
plants can work for each and every person in the community, for each situation and
do it in a way that delights and inspires.
e) Strengths
The strength of this collection rests in the broad spectrum of our community it
directly benefits. Its on-going ability to change and adapt through demonstrating new
techniques, growing of new plant cultivars and continuing to inspire our community
with fresh horticultural ideas and practices makes this collection extremely valuable.
It displays a unique aspect in that all parts of this collection are completely accessible
at all times to the community.
f) Weaknesses
• Inadequate resources to complete horticultural evaluations.
• Inadequate resources to interpret knowledge gained from evaluations to the
public.
• Need increased and well documented evaluations.
• Need to improve outreach to green industry professionals, educators, plant
societies, regional gardeners and visitors.
g) Opportunities and Collection Priorities
• Develop both scientific and cultural evaluations of plants best suited for the
Rocky Mountain and Plains region and then relay this information to the
community. This can be accomplished through brochures, classes and outreach.
• Educate the community on the importance and relevance of this collection to the
community.
• Create a horticulture position that would curate this collection and funds to
accomplish these resource goals.
• Obtain sufficient funding to support this collection.
• Address development plans for this collection.
• Develop approaches to meaningful plant acquisitions.
h) Implementation Strategy
To maintain and enhance the Amenity collections, the implementation strategy will
be to develop a scientific evaluation process to assess the suitability of new
12
horticultural varieties and hybrids for their suitability to the Rocky Mountain and
Plains region. Establishing the evaluation process will need funding to support staff
time and materials. This can be accomplished by actively writing grant proposals.
Once an evaluation process is in place, the next step will be to develop educational
programs and interpretation to convey evaluation results to the public.
Timeline:
Activity
Develop
protocols for
establishing a
new variety
evaluation
process
Plan and
implement an
evaluation
program
Develop and
implement
educational
program
Develop and
implement
interpretation
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
i) Evaluation
The overall implementation and evaluation of the collections plan will be overseen by the
Director of Horticulture and the Curator/Horticulturist responsible for the Amenity
collections.
Activity
Evaluation program
Education program
Evaluation
Procedure
Successful
procurement of funds
and documented
results from the trials
Number of programs
communicating the
results of the
evaluation program in
place
13
Evaluation Time
Person Responsible
Periodically until
the evaluation
program is in
place and then
evaluate results of
the program at the
end of each
program term
At the end of each
year
Horticulturist,
Director of
Horticulture, Director
of Fund Development
Horticulturist,
Director of
Education, Director
of Horticulture
Interpretation
program
At the end of each
year
The evaluation
program is well
interpreted to the
public
14
Horticulturist,
Interpretation
Coordinator,
Manager of Plant
Records
3. Aquatic Collection
15
a) Description
The aquatic collection consists of the following sub-collections:
• Hardy Waterlilies
• Tropical Waterlilies
• Historical waterlilies (Denver Botanical Gardens’ Waterlily Trials)
• Nymphaea ‘Denver’s Delight’
• Lotuses
• Victoria waterlilies
• Tropical marginals
• Hardy marginals
• Floating Plants
• Wiersema Acquisition (species tropical and hardy waterlilies)
• Carnivorous plants
b) Collections Content
Sub-collection
Hardy Waterlilies
Tropical Waterlilies
Historical Waterlilies
Lotuses
Victoria*
Tropical Marginals
Hardy Marginals
Floating Plants
Wiersema
Acquisition
Carnivorous Plants
# Families
1
1
# Genera
2
2
1
1
# Species
6
20
# Taxa
1
1
25
26
4
147
19
19
2
65
43
4
18
20
5
24
# Accessions
173
190
27
70
48
4
20
*Victoria - accessions vary each year, plants tossed at end of summer
c) History of the Collection
Since the summer of 1973, visitors to the Denver Botanic Gardens have enjoyed an
ingenuously designed waterway. Throughout the gardens, the abundance of water allows
for numerous grand opportunities to display a multitude of exciting aquatic plants from as
far north as Alaska to as far south as South America and Africa.
The world’s first water gardening society was founded in February 13, 1983, when the
Colorado Water Gardening Society (CWGS) was created in a Denver Botanic Gardens’
classroom. Soon after, the International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society (IWGS)
were created. Water gardening has grown at a rapid pace ever since, gaining an
enthusiastic following worldwide. Denver Botanic Gardens has remained a main force in
this movement through programs such as indoor aquatic displays, waterlily trials and the
captivating outdoor Fly Trap Feast display. The summer displays at the Gardens, which
16
include more than 400 waterlilies and 1,000 plants, focus attention on the enduring power
of water gardens, especially in a steppe climate.
In 1987 and 1997 Denver Botanic Gardens and the Colorado Water Gardening Society
hosted the International Waterlily Society Symposium. The first ever waterlily trials were
hosted at Denver Botanic Gardens at the 1997 symposium. Waterlilies that the Denver
Botanic Gardens have named and helped introduce, Nymphaea ‘Colorado’ and N. ‘Joey
Tomocik’, have received international recognition for their excellence.
d) Justification
The summer displays of waterlilies, Victoria waterlilies, and lotuses are extremely
popular and are enjoyed by visitors of all ages. School groups are always excited to see
the carnivorous plants in the Fly Trap Feast. The volunteer contribution of the Colorado
Water Gardening Society in support of the water gardens is extraordinary. Every spring,
volunteers assist in putting the outdoor display together and dismantle them in the fall.
Accomplished water gardeners from across the world come to see and enjoy Denver
Botanic Gardens’ renowned collection. Hybridizers, growers and nurseries are extremely
interested in this collection, sometimes traveling long distances to photograph and work
with the collection. The media, artists and photographers are frequent visitors to our
displays. During the summer, interns are trained in water gardening and the care of this
collection.
The water gardens and water gardens collection have made impressive strides in
connecting people with plants. Relationships have been built with the Colorado Water
Gardening Society (CWGS) and Victoria Conservatory. CWGS hosts a summer Water
Blossom Festival where visitors are exposed to the basics and fun of water gardening.
Extensive volunteer opportunities provide an opportunity for staff and volunteers to
cooperate in mutually beneficial experiences. The Gardens/CWGS connection is revered
and is one of best examples of mutual support.
The Denver Botanic Gardens-Victoria Conservancy relationship is another example of a
collaboration supporting our mission of connecting people and plants. The Conservancy
each year grows and donates Victoria waterlilies for our summer display. The plants are
accessioned upon arrival and de-accessioned in the fall.
e) Strengths
• Expertise allows for the cultivation and over-wintering for a multitude of plants,
including both hardy and tropical plants.
• Extensive volunteer help (especially from Colorado Water Gardening Society)
provides valuable help in maintaining collections by creating, maintaining and
dismantling the massive summer displays.
• Affiliations with most reputable nurseries, collectors, and hybridists allows for
acquisition of quality plants.
• Proximity and coordination with Victoria Conservancy ensures supply of excellent
Victoria waterlilies each year.
• Availability of greenhouse space allows for the cultivation of a multitude of tropical
17
•
•
•
waterlilies. A refrigerator maintained at 55°F is used to store numerous tropical
waterlily tubers.
Many outstanding plants have been named and introduced in coordination with
leading hybridists and nurseries.
The Wiersema Acquisition provides an opportunity to participate in a valuable
conservation program and to work with one of the most respected aquatic botanists,
Dr. John Wiersema.
Ample pools allow us to showcase the collection.
f) Weaknesses
• Most plants (totaling 700–1,000) are moved into outdoor displays for the summer.
Dismantling the displays, getting the plants into their proper over-wintering locations,
and keeping the labels/inventory correct is a monumental and challenging task.
• Opportunities for creating additional displays within the Gardens and outside of the
Gardens (outreach program) draw on the curator’s time. Creating and maintaining
effective displays is always a high priority. Plants are often in transition.
• Fluctuations in the water system create challenges in keeping the waterlilies healthy
and performing at their best.
• There is the tendency to keep excessive plants.
• Carnivorous plant collection needs more diversity.
• The knowledge of this collection is limited to just one staff person – the curator of the
collection.
g) Opportunities and Collection Priorities
• Diversify the carnivorous plant collection.
• Due to lack of space and staff resources, the collections need to be prioritized.
• Scrutinize all procedures looking to avoid duplicate and excess plants, improve
labeling and better utilize allotted space.
• Provide training to additional staff in the maintenance of the aquatic collection.
• Cooperate with Victoria Conservancy to include registration of Nymphaea ‘William
McLane’ and N. ‘Stan Skinger’.
• Continued emphasis on maintaining greenhouse space as a show case area.
• Continue with Waterlily trials.
• Upgrade the Victoria waterlily display.
• Improve educational and interpretive signs.
• Increased greenhouse space and an upgraded heating system would produce more and
larger plants.
h) Implementation Strategy
Since the knowledge about this collection is limited to just one staff member, the priority
of this collection will be to train another staff member in the care and maintenance of this
collection. The resources needed will be the allocation of funds to support an additional
staff to this collection. This collection will be reevaluated to prioritize the content of the
collection and deaccession duplicate and excess plants, and diversity of other taxa that
fully represent this collection will be improved. Interpretation of the water display is also
18
a priority.
Timeline:
Activity
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Staff training for
care of the
collection
Reevaluation &
prioritization of
collection content
Diversification of
underrepresented
taxa
Develop and
Install
interpretive sign
i) Evaluation
The overall implementation and evaluation of the collections plan will be overseen by the
Director of Horticulture and the Curator/Horticulturist responsible for the Aquatic
collections.
Activity
Staff training for
care of the
collection
Reevaluation &
prioritization of
collection content
Diversification of
underrepresented
taxa
Develop and Install
interpretive sign
Evaluation
Procedure
A staff member in
place and trained in
care and maintenance
techniques
Complete inventory
of the collection and
deaccessioning
duplicate and excess
plants
Acquisition of new
plants
New signs in place
19
Evaluation Time
Person Responsible
Every six months
Curator of Aquatic
collections, Director
of Horticulture
End of each year
Curator, Manager of
Plant Records
End of each year
Curator
End of 2007
Curator,
Interpretation
Coordinator
4. Cactus and Succulent
Collection
20
a) Description
This collection is divided into two sub-collections: Hardy Cacti and Succulents, NonHardy Cacti and Succulents.
Definitions:
Hardy Plants: For the purposes of this report a plant defined as hardy is a plant that is
expected to survive three or more years outside in USDA hardiness zone five with little
or no damage.
Marginal Plants: Plants that are expected to survive between one and three years or only
in a very specific microclimate are defined as Marginal. Some plants currently defined as
Marginal may eventually be found to be Hardy. A plant defined as marginal is a good
candidate for further study and for attempts to obtain wild collected specimens from
colonies in particularly high elevations or cold locations.
Non-Hardy Plants: Plants not expected to survive a full year are Non-Hardy and are
included in the Non-Hardy section of the collection.
b) Collections Content
Succulents are generally defined as plants that can store water in their leaves, stems or
roots. This definition is broader than that which is applied to most succulent collections
as it could include many plants, for example: bulbs, which are not generally considered
succulents. For the purpose of this report plants included in this collection are those
‘generally accepted’ as succulents. This includes all members of the following families:
Cactaceae, Agavaceae, Portulacaceae, Aizoaceae, Crassulaceae, Aloaceae and some
members of other families including Euphorbiaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Apocyanaceae,
Dracaenaceae.
In the table below, unidentified species have generally been excluded unless otherwise
stated – there are about 170 unidentified accessions in the Cactus and Succulent
Collection out of a total of over 3,000.
Number of Taxa
Number of Families
Number of Genera
Number of Species
Number of
Subspecies, Cultivars,
Varieties and Hybrids
Number of Accessions
(Including unidentified
species)
Hardy
Marginal
77
8
29
65
Hardy &
Marginal
650
9
57
334
NonHardy
612
20
154
594
Total Hardy
& Non-Hardy
1,262
20
187
953
573
8
41
274
299
12
311
118
429
1,752
205
1,957
1,054
3,011
Hardy Cactus and Succulent Collection :
The aim of this collection is to represent as complete a collection of hardy cacti and
succulents as possible. It is difficult to define how complete our current collection is as
there is no resource available stating which succulents are Hardy in Denver. There are
21
many plants that have not yet been tested.
Currently the Hardy and Marginal collection has representatives from nine different
families. It is unlikely that there will ever be many hardy succulent representatives from
Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae or Fouquieriaceae. The hardy members of Dracaenaceae
(Nolina and Dasylirion), though currently included in Dracaenaceae in BG Base have
been moved to Agavaceae in Flora of North America1. For the purposes of this report
they will also be included under Agavaceae with the intent that this be changed
eventually in BG Base. This leaves five primary families as a focus for the Hardy and
Marginal plants: Agavaceae, Aizoaceae, Cactaceae, Crassulaceae and Portulacaceae.
Non-Hardy Cactus and Succulent Collection :
The aim of this collection is to represent a good cross-section of succulents from many
parts of the world & many families for display in the Succulent House and seasonal
outdoor displays. These plants are regularly changed in and out of the Succulent House
as required.
The Non-Hardy Cactus and Succulent Collection have representatives from 20 families.
Though some families, such as Cactaceae have many more representatives than a family
such as Welwitschiaceae for the indoor collection, they cannot be considered more
important. This is partially because the aim of the indoor collection is to show as wide a
variety of succulents as possible, Welwitschia are plants that most people would rarely
get an opportunity to see. Also, in the case of Welwitschiaceae, Welwitschia mirabilis is
the only plant in the family. Similarly, many of the other families represented only have
a few succulent members; in many of these cases visitors are surprised to find that their
common garden plants have succulent relatives.
The Non-Hardy Collection is displayed in the Succulent House with the back up
collection in the Hoop House. Space is very limited and this in turn limits the number of
plants in the collection, in particular large specimens used in outdoor displays. The
epiphytic cacti are housed in the Orchid Greenhouse as the conditions are more suitable
for them here, and are used for display with the other tropical plants.
c) History of the Collection
Hardy Cactus and Succulent Collection:
There have been several growth periods for this collection. The first was when Sedum,
Sempervivum and Rosularia were planted early in the Rock Alpine Garden's history.
Additionally an extensive range of hardy plants from South Africa was developed, most
of which are now located in South African Plaza. When the Dryland Mesa (then called
the Xeriscape Garden) was built around 1987 large numbers of Opuntia and ball cacti
were added. These persisted fairly well over the next ten years or so, although many of
the rarer ones dwindled. In recent years many more cacti have been obtained from
several sources (notably Mesa Gardens) in addition to trials of the first of giant Yucca
1
Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico. 7+ vols. New York and
Oxford.
22
and Agave, particularly within the Crossroads area.
Non- Hardy Cactus and Succulent Collection:
For several years there was an assorted collection of non-hardy cacti and succulents in the
greenhouses. This collection languished for many years due to lack of staff resources.
The collection has improved in recent years resulting in the former Alpine House being
converted, in 2004, into a display space currently known as the Succulent House.
d) Justification
The main audience is the general public, many of whom want to learn more about low
water adapted plants that can be used in their own gardens. Both collections are
appealing to children as they can all quickly recognize a “Cactus” and for many children
succulents are the first plants they try to grow at home.
Denver has a strong Cactus and Succulent Society who look to Denver Botanic Gardens
as a place they can go to find the more unusual succulents and to learn more about them.
The Hardy Cactus and Succulent collection directly relates to the mission in that many of
the plants are from the “Rocky Mountain Region and similar regions around the world”.
These plants are some of the most xeric plants that can be grown in this region. The nonhardy collection provides an opportunity for the residents of Denver to view a wider
range of succulents not often seen in the outdoor landscape.
Both the hardy and non-hardy collections capture the attention of visitors. The unusual
shapes and textures of the plants provide year-round interest both indoors and out.
e) Strengths
Hardy Cactus and Succulent Collection:
Overall the Hardy Cactus and Succulent collection is strong and includes a large
proportion of plants that are hardy in the Denver area. This collection has been steadily
increasing in numbers and quality over the last few years. There is currently a fair
balance between species plants and hybrids.
• Aesthetic qualities:
Cacti and succulents provide year round structure, texture and color to a large
percentage of the outdoor gardens at Denver Botanic Gardens. They are generally
mixed in with other non-succulents that have similar cultural requirements. The
displays demonstrate effectively how to create low water gardens that are attractive
and interesting.
• Specific families:
Collections of Agaveaceae, Aizoaceae, Cactaceae (particularly Opuntia,
Cylindropuntia, and Echinocereus), Crassulaceae (particularly Sempervivum and
Sedum) are especially strong, though all have room for further assessment and
expansion.
• Plants of known wild origin:
Many of the plants in this collection are of known wild collected origin. This adds
value to the collection as the plants are as near to the pure species as is possible
23
•
without contamination from plants from other locations. Though this is a strength of
this collection it is an area that needs further work.
Testing for hardiness:
Many plants in the hardy succulent collection were the first to be tried for hardiness
in the area. Several plants are probably the largest or only specimens on the eastern
slope of Colorado, though this is hard to verify.
Non-Hardy Cactus and Succulent Collection:
This collection is not outstanding compared to other institutions. This is primarily due to
available resources. However, based on the resources available it is an interesting and
useful collection.
• Diversity:
This collection is very diverse with plants from many areas of the world and many
plant families. It shows the variety that exists in succulents. There is a good balance
between the more common plants that can be bought and grown by the typical visitor,
and the more unusual that can probably only be seen at botanic gardens by most.
• Aesthetic qualities:
The Succulent House has year-round interest with many plants being winter
blooming.
f) Weaknesses
Hardy Cactus and Succulent Collection:
• Documentation of testing
Though the extensive experimentation done with this collection is definitely a
strength and the documentation is good for living specimens, better records could be
kept of experimentation with hardiness. Specifically very little data is available,
beyond what individual staff members remember, on which plants did not survive and
why. This would be useful data in creating a list of things to try for the future.
• Taxonomy
Many of the succulent families are taxonomically unclear and are changing
constantly. This has led to synonymous names being used for the same plants in the
collections, and even for the same plant to have different labels in visitor displays.
Non-Hardy Cactus and Succulent Collection:
• Lack of wild collected specimens:
Though a percentage of this collection is of known wild collected origin, greater
integrity could be gained by increasing this percentage.
g) Opportunities and Collection Priorities
Continue testing:
• Research and prioritize plants to test.
• Collect plants from communities growing at higher elevations or from areas where
other plants from those areas have already been successful.
• Consider trying to build collections of Opuntia from known historical collections
such as Claude Barr’s and Mary Ann Heacock’s selections. Most of these should be
24
•
•
hardy and should be preserved as a collection.
Research new hybrids available and assess for inclusion in collection, for example
there are many new Echinocereus hybrids currently being produced which would
probably be hardy.
Increase communication with other local experts to see what they are growing that is
not being grown at Denver Botanic Gardens. Try to have Denver Botanic Gardens
act as a central place where information on testing can be recorded. Contacts are
available which would allow extensive trialling of plants from the Trans-Pecos region
of Texas for example.
Taxonomy:
• Eliminate use of synonymous names.
• The plant names are constantly changing and it is not possible to determine which
names / sources should be used forever, however an attempt can be made to choose
the most accepted names for the plants we currently have and to update these fairly
regularly.
• Starting points would be to find which names other similar institutions are using,
particularly Albuquerque Botanic Gardens, Huntington Botanic Gardens and Arizona
Sonora Desert Museum.
• It should be noted that there is not a taxonomist on staff and that though plant records
and horticulture staff work together on this problem throughout the plant collections,
keeping up with changing taxonomy could be a full time position.
Deaccession any unidentified plants of unknown origin:
• Unidentified plants of unknown origin, are unlikely to be identified in the future.
Unless these plants have been specifically identified as being very unusual they
should be eliminated.
• Unidentified plants of known origin can remain as future identification should be
possible.
Documentation of plant trials:
• This would be assisted by the creation of a trial area or garden
• Documentation of unsuccessful plant trials – how and why, should be recorded. For
example: if a plant rots, this is noted so that the next time it is tried cultural conditions
can be modified.
h) Implementation Strategy
The highest priority with this collection is the implementation of a trial program, which
will require collection trips to acquire seeds and vegetative materials. Additional
greenhouse space and test plots will be needed for a successful trial program. Ongoing
taxonomic work is also critical to establishing scientific credibility to this collection.
25
Timeline:
Activity
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Development and
implementation
of a trial program
Seed collection
expeditions
Taxonomic
research
Deaccessioning
of unidentified
plants of
unknown origin
i) Evaluation
The overall implementation and evaluation of the collections plan will be overseen by the
Director of Horticulture and the Horticulturist responsible for the Cactus & Succulent
collections.
Activity
Development and
implementation of a
trial program
Seed collection
expeditions
Taxonomic research
Deaccessioning of
unidentified plants
of unknown origin
Evaluation
Procedure
Program in place
with results
documented
Number and kind of
species collected
during each of the
collection trips and
propagation success
of seeds collected
Consistent naming in
accordance with
International
standards of
nomenclature
Removal of these
plants from the
collection
26
Evaluation Time
Person Responsible
Every 6 months
Horticulturist,
Propagator
At the end of each Horticulturist,
collection trip and Propagator
monitor
propagation results
monthly
Every 6 months
Horticulturist,
Manager of Plant
Records
End of the year
Horticulturist,
Manager of Plant
Records
5. Native Plant Collection
27
a) Description
The Native Plant collections at the Denver Botanic Gardens are subdivided and defined
as follows:
Sub Collections:
Colorado Native Collection:
Defined as those plants which are known to occur naturally (pre-European
settlement) within the borders of Colorado, but not necessarily exclusive to
Colorado.
Western North American Native Collection:
Defined as those plants native (pre-European settlement) to other regions of
Western North America, but not found naturally within the borders of Colorado.
b) Collections Content
Number of accessions
Number of families
Number of genera
Number of species
Number of garden
hybrids & cultivars
Number of accessions
of known wild origin
Colorado
Natives only
Other Western
Natives only
4330
16
19
655
3229
21
27
1154
278
246
755
808
Colorado &
Other Western
Natives
Total
67
486
104
577
1809
The table below shows the families with the most genera and species & subspecies
represented from Colorado and Western North America (not Colorado)
Colorado
Western North America
Family
Genera
Species &
Genera
Species &
Subspecies
Subspecies
Agavaceae
6
115
Alliaceae
4
20
Apiaceae
4
5
Asclepiadaceae
1
9
Asteraceae
49
124
49
103
Boraginaceae
4
6
Brassicaceae
5
17
8
19
Cactaceae
6
31
16
170
Caryophyllaceae
4
6
Crassulaceae
4
14
28
Cuprressaceae
Cyperaceae
Ericaceae
Fabaceae
Fagaceae
Juncaceae
Lamiaceae
Liliaceae
Onagraceae
Pinaceae
Poaceae
Polemoniaceae
Polygonaceae
Portulacaceae
Rananculaceae
Rosaceae
Salicaceae
Scrophulariaceae
4
12
16
48
2
5
4
5
4
32
6
4
6
9
6
18
11
51
13
18
7
18
2
6
21
38
11
65
5
3
4
17
1
15
14
14
54
31
9
4
5
4
9
39
15
22
16
19
3
4
5
18
39
18
16
34
14
124
c) History of the Collection
The Native Plant Collection began in 1961 with the creation of the Gates Montane
garden. This garden was designed to provide Denver residents easy access to a setting
similar to that found west of the city in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains near
Evergreen. Though not exclusively native, it did include specimens of most of the trees
native to Colorado, with some under-plantings of native wildflowers and shrubs. This
garden matured over time, but persisted largely unchanged until the mid-1990’s when
overdue rejuvenation became imperative. Many non-native and invasive species have
been removed, and the diversity of the Colorado native collection has improved greatly
since then. The garden now also includes a section devoted to the display of plants found
in the montane zones of the west outside of Colorado, including the Sierra Nevada and
Cascade ranges.
For nearly 20 years this was the only representation of native plants in Denver Botanic
Gardens. In response to severe droughts, several initiatives began to expand and diversify
this small collection in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.
Though not considered a “native” garden, the Japanese Garden, begun in 1979, brought
over one hundred native Ponderosa Pines to center stage as integral elements of the
design. This was the first of several initiatives that increased our inventory of native
plants substantially.
The Rock Alpine Garden, begun in 1979, has featured many of Colorado’s true alpines,
along with hundreds of alpine species from similar mountain ranges around the world.
Many of these are short-lived at this altitude and their presence in this garden is often
fleeting. These plantings are augmented by many other species that are well suited to the
rocky, fast-draining soils of the interior West. This collection is treated separately in this
29
document as the Rock Alpine Collection.
In 1983 the creation of the Laura Smith Porter Plains Garden brought a large infusion of
prairie natives. Its purpose was to give city dwellers a sample of what Denver had been
like a century ago: a wide open prairie where slight changes in topography, soil and
exposure fostered a subtle diversity in native drought-tolerant plant communities. This
provides an important frame of reference, especially to newcomers who are not familiar
with the climate and conditions of the Colorado Front Range. Thanks to the forethought
and early work in this effort, the essential elements of this garden still flourish with only
occasional intervention.
From 1985-1987 these gardens were supplemented with many new plant species. With
the subsequent creation of the Dryland Mesa Garden (originally the “Xeriscape
Demonstration Garden”) the native collections expanded to include many more
perennials, shrubs, trees and cacti from the arid uplands of the West. This has proven to
be an ideal venue for further experimentation with Western natives, however limited
space here severely limits future trials in this garden.
The Endangered Species Garden is our smallest native garden, created in 1992 to
highlight several rare plants found primarily in Colorado’s shale barrens along the Front
Range and on Colorado’s western slope. This garden currently maintains populations of
Physaria spp., Lesquerella spp., Penstemon spp., and Oxybaphus rotundifolia; all
endangered plants of Colorado.
The Ornamental Grass Garden was also created in 1992 to feature many of the most
desirable grasses for garden use. This touches on the reality that without intervention all
of Denver would still be grass-covered prairie, and underscores the ornamental value of
both native and non-native grasses in our cultivated landscapes.
In 1993, the creation of the Dwarf Conifer Garden added yet another dimension to the
collection. Dozens of unique dwarf conifers were acquired from Jerry Morris, a local
collector. These were produced from grafted “witch’s brooms” found on native conifers
throughout the West, and represent a largely unique and unduplicated collection of native
germplasm with great potential for horticultural use in arid parts of the West. This
collection continues to expand as new specimens are discovered.
The Watersmart Garden was established in 1994 with a focus on drought tolerant plants
from the West, and similar regions around the world. This new approach demonstrated
the many ways that natives could thrive and add regional resonance along side plants
from central Asia, the Mediterranean, South America and South Africa. This new
approach has brought many native plants into the mainstream of horticulture, and the
pallet of plants used here continues to evolve.
The gardens along York Street and the Denver Botanic Gardens parking lot were
renovated during the parking lot reconstruction in 1998. These are now primarily native
gardens with several compatible non-native perennial cultivars included to extend
30
flowering season and add diversity. This provides an important “first impression’ to
guests as they enter the Botanic gardens.
In 1999 and 2000, the remaining three borders surrounding the Amphitheater in the heart
of Denver Botanic Gardens were transformed from annual displays to native gardens.
The former annual plantings, while attractive, were indistinct from those one might have
seen at any public garden or city park anywhere in this country. These new “Western
Panorama Borders” feature signature trees of Colorado, and many of the associated
grasses, perennials and shrubs found in these native habitats. These borders now provide
a distinctly western “sense of place” in the heart of the Gardens.
In 2001, the existing Native Peoples garden was redesigned with a more specific focus on
the plants of the Four Corners region, especially the Colorado Plateau. The redesigned
garden was named Sacred Earth, and included four areas with distinct natural plant
communities and food crop areas, featuring approximately 150 different plants. For many
of them, interpretation explains the uses of and relationship to the indigenous people of
the region. This was accomplished with the help of an advisory team of Native American
community leaders from Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, regional university staff,
and the Horticulture department at Denver Botanic Gardens.
Also in 2001, The Wildflower Treasures garden was created. This is a Western
interpretation of the traditional trough gardens found in many Botanical Gardens in
Europe. It features a central plaza with large containers; each planted to represent a rare
and specialized habitat found in Colorado, planted with primarily small and specialized
native plants. This arrangement allows for more successful cultivation and interpretation
of these uncommon plants, and includes several that are endemic only to remote areas of
Colorado. This plaza is surrounded by beds devoted entirely to western native
wildflowers.
The Crossroads Garden (Yuccarama) was developed in 2001 and 2002, and focuses on
the hardiest members of the Agavaceae family. This includes species of Yucca, Nolina,
Agave, Hesperaloe and Dasylirion—all Western natives. This is a dramatic and
sculptural display that draws the immediate attention of guests as they enter the Gardens,
and emphasizes the use of drought-tolerant native and non-native plants.
d) Justification
The majority of our audience lives within the Front Range region of Colorado, and comes
especially from the metro Denver area. However, out-of-state and international guests
visit frequently, especially those interested in viewing our unique native collections and
observing the naturalistic style in which they are presented. With our broad range of
collections and changing displays, we are able to reach a broad range of audiences.
The Native Plant Collection directly meets our primary goal of connecting people with
plants, especially the plants of the Rocky Mountain region. We provide a broad range of
garden styles with diverse content for visitors to experience, from Alpines to plants of the
low deserts. While all of our “native” gardens fill a unique niche, due to their central
31
location the Western Panorama Borders are the most prominent to the visitor. These
surround the central Amphitheater and are planted in a naturalistic style. They are
strongly evocative of our natural Western landscapes, yet structured enough that they can
inspire visitors to consider similar landscape options in their own gardens. This brings the
Native Plant Collections to the forefront as the real and symbolic core of our work at
Denver Botanic Gardens.
In addition, Wildflower Treasures, Dryland Mesa, Sacred Earth, the Laura Smith Porter
Plains Garden and the Gates Montane Garden each showcase specific native habitats and
plant communities, providing a broad representation of conditions found in Colorado and
the West. The Sacred Earth garden also focuses attention on historical and present-day
uses of many native plants by the indigenous peoples of the Colorado Plateau in the Four
Corners region. A teaching space is central to this garden, and is used mainly by school
groups and special programs.
e) Strengths
Colorado has 3430 native taxa found within its borders (Source: Ron Hartman, B.E.
Nelson, A Checklist of Vascular Plants of Colorado, Rocky Mtn Herbarium, University
of Wyoming, Laramie.) Of these, Denver Botanic Gardens grows 655. The native plant
collections exist within gardens that have great aesthetic appeal and strongly evoke
images of our natural landscapes. This is one of the Gardens’ great strengths, and its
diversity is unparalleled in other public gardens of the region.
Collections of Penstemon, Yucca, Quercus, Pinus, and the families Cactaceae and
Poaceae are especially strong. A complete and lengthy assessment of each family and
genus would need to be completed in order to speak fully to the matter of strengths and
weaknesses.
Broadly speaking, the Native Plant Collections at Denver Botanic Gardens are considered
to be strong representative collections. As illustrated in the preceding data, the collection
includes great diversity, but seldom includes a complete collection of any specific
families or genera. Collections cover the entire spectrum, from barely representative to
complete collections within a family or genus. Authorities often differ on exact
nomenclature, which can alter numbers significantly, particularly in a difficult family
such as Cactaceae or Poaceae.
The following table is a sampling of Colorado Natives at Denver Botanic Gardens:
Family
Agavaceae
Cactaceae
Fagaceae
Genera
possible
Genera in
collection
Species,
Subspecies
and
Varieties
possible.
Species,
Subspecies
and
varieties in
Collection.
2
5
1
2
5
1
7
27
4
6
21
4
32
Genus within
family with
greatest number
of species, ssp,
and var. number possible
Yucca---------6
Opuntia------14
Quercus-------4
Number
in
collection
6
9
4
Orchidaceae
Pinaceae
Poaceae
Rosaceae
Scrophulariaceae
11
4
71
24
18
1
4
32
20
6
25
12
296
55
131
1
11
51
38
65
Platanthera---7
Pinus----------6
Elymus------34
Potentilla----38
Penstemon---70
0
6
2
2
48
Wild–collected germplasm is especially valuable to our collection, as it usually represents
pure species without genetic material from far-off sources. These are plants that have
evolved under, and adapted to, local conditions and are potentially better suited for use in
regional horticulture. At this time nearly 18% of our native Colorado collections and 25%
of other western native collections are wild-collected, or nursery-grown of known wild
origin. The remainder of the collection is nursery-grown, and exact origin is not usually
known beyond the nursery source. While these are relatively strong numbers, the
integrity of the collection could be improved by incorporating more wild-collected taxa.
Of the 97 accepted plants considered endemic to Colorado (occurring only within the
state of Colorado,) Denver Botanic Gardens has grown and maintained 23 species. The
Gardens has significant potential to act as a repository for more endemic and threatened
or endangered plants. These could be used as valuable educational tools for conservation
awareness.
f) Weaknesses
The majority of our native collections have been assembled based on ease of culture and
suitability for horticulture and use by the gardening public. Aggressive plants, or those
that require highly specialized conditions or plant associations are less likely to be
included. At this time, several families and genera of plants are very poorly represented.
Examples include Orchidaceae and all families of ferns and fern allies. Most of these
present marked difficulties in culture and procurement, or may in some cases be illegal to
acquire due to endangered status. These are valuable in their own right, interesting to
taxonomists and important to conservationists and researchers. Still, most have little
practical application in horticulture and are not considered high priorities for our
collections at Denver Botanic Gardens.
While we list 278 garden hybrids and named cultivars as derived from plants that are
native to Colorado, most of these have been selected from other regions where these
plants also occur, especially the Midwest. There is great opportunity to select and name
cultivars from our own indigenous germplasm, thereby bringing better adapted plants into
the market. Plant exploration and trials are the only way to acquire and introduce such
unique material.
g) Opportunities and Collection Priorities
• Conduct further in-depth assessment of collection:
Numerous families and genera are absent or barely represented in our collections.
Further systematic examination of the collection would be a useful tool in
determining the direction and potential content of future acquisitions.
• Prioritize future acquisitions:
33
•
•
Those with greatest potential should be catalogued and prioritized.
Expand exploration and wild collection efforts:
Several western regions have exceptional potential as sources for plant suitable for
horticulture in Colorado. These include, but are not limited to the following:
Big Bend area—West Texas
Edwards Plateau—Texas
High elevations within Sonoran Desert—Arizona, Mexico
High Elevations within Chihuahuan Desert—New Mexico, Mexico
Eastern slope Sierra Nevada—California, Nevada
Great Basin ranges—Southern Nevada
Eastern slope Cascade Range, Blue Mts. and Wallowa Mts.—Oregon
Colorado Plateau and Mogollon Rim—Arizona, Utah
All of Colorado, especially:
Uncompahgre Plateau—SW Colorado
High Plains—E Colorado and bordering states
Establish a Trial Garden program. This is needed to systematically test promising
species and selections for future introduction to the horticultural trade via Denver
Botanic Gardens’ plant introduction program, Plant Select®.
h) Implementation Strategy
The Denver Botanic Gardens has a strong Native Plant collection and expansion of this
collection will focus on conducting further in-depth examination of this collection to
analyze the gaps in the collection and prioritize future acquisitions. Once this is
determined, future work will include collection trips and establishing test plots to select
plants with ornamental value to the horticulture trade. Resources needed will be staff time
and funding for plant collection trips. Establishing a trial program will require space
dedicated for this program in addition to staff time and program funding.
Timeline:
Activity
Collection
assessment
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Seed collection
expeditions
Develop and
implement a trial
program
i) Evaluation
The overall implementation and evaluation of the collections plan will be overseen by the
Director of Horticulture and the Curator of Native Plant collections.
34
Activity
Collection
assessment
Seed collection
expeditions
Develop and
implement a trial
program
Evaluation
Procedure
Assessment
completed
Number and kind of
species collected
during each of the
collection trips and
propagation success
of seeds collected
Program in place
with documented
results of
performance of plants
in the gardens
35
Evaluation Time
Person Responsible
Every 6 months
Curator of Native
plants
Curator, Propagator
At the end of each
collection trip and
monitor
propagation results
monthly
Every 6 months
Curator
6. Tropical Collection
36
a) Description
The plantings within the Boettcher Memorial Conservatory are designed to showcase
plant species found in each of the lowland tropical rainforests around the world and also
include cultivated varieties chosen for their exceptional form or color. With hundreds of
thousands of tropical plants in the world, it would be impossible to collect, grow and
display them all. With limited space, every botanic garden must realistically evaluate the
facilities it has and what plant groups or families would best serve the institution’s goals
and needs. Currently, Denver Botanic Gardens’ tropical collections contain nearly 3500
taxa representing over 2400 species from 656 genera and over 120 families. Denver
Botanic Gardens’ tropical collections have particularly strong representation from Central
and South America. Asian tropicals are also well represented but more plant species
from Australia and Africa could be included. While the Gardens’ tropical displays
encompass a wide range of plant families, over the years several have obtained
prominence in our collections. The tropical collection serves as a great resource for
indoor gardeners.
b) Collections Content
Orchidaceae
It is estimated that well over 30,000 species of orchids exist on earth and that nearly 70%
of those species are epiphytic. Because of enthusiastic volunteers and a strong and active
local orchid society, the collection has grown to well over 3,000 accessions representing
more than 1,000 species from over 200 genera. The oldest orchid in the Gardens’
collection is an Asian Coelogyne speciosa, which has been at the institution since 1967.
The addition of orchids collected by Gardens’ donors, William and Mickie Thurston,
turned a few random plants into an important botanical collection. Over the span of many
years, the Thurstons, along with noted orchid specialists, made repeated trips to Central
and South America looking for new and unusual plants. Each collection was well
documented, herbarium specimens were made, and duplicate divisions were distributed to
a number of scientific and botanical institutions, including the Gardens. These early
additions established an initial focus on several new world genera including Encyclia and
Oncidium, but over the years the collection has diversified to include representative
specimens from around the world, as well as man-made hybrids.
Perhaps the greatest strength of Denver Botanic Gardens’ orchid collection is the number
of plants that are from known wild origin. Additionally, the continuous display of
flowering orchids in the Cloud Forest exhibit provides a year-round attraction for visitors.
Bromeliaceae
Bromeliads are members of a large family of plants native to tropical and semi-tropical
areas of the western hemisphere. Often grown as houseplants, they are admired for their
colorful, long-lasting flowers as well as their vase-shaped foliage. Among the more
recognizable bromeliads are the pineapple (Ananas comosus) and Spanish moss
(Tillandsia usneoides). The Gardens’ bromeliad collection was established in the 1970s
by a major donation from Mrs. Walter R. Smith of New Orleans and many of the original
plants are still in our collection.
37
Because of their year round color and interesting growth habit, bromeliads are a
particularly appropriate plant family for Denver Botanic Gardens to focus on. Currently
our inventories indicate that we have 371 species representing 35 genera but a new
inventory needs to be undertaken.
Arecaceae
The plant family Arecaceae (sometimes referred to as Palmae) is a diverse and ancient
family with 2500 species in 200 genera confined almost exclusively to the tropics of the
world. Palms are an essential part of any tropical collection and Denver Botanic Gardens
is no exception. Due to the many members (and being large trees), a comprehensive
collection in culture is impossible. Currently the palm collection is one of diversity
attempting to grow and exhibit palms that help to convey to the patron, student and
volunteer the vast range of palm morphology, anatomy and habit that exists. Some palms
of the collection are important in that they represent rarity either in nature (Neovitchia
storckii) or commerce (Pinanga sp. and Carpentaria acuminata) and are valuable from a
conservation standpoint. Palms possibly more than any other plant family are most
closely associated with patron’s perceptions of the tropics and for that reason are
invaluable to the Denver Botanic Gardens’ tropical collection. Certain challenges are
inherent when keeping a collection of palms. These include limited space to grow large
palms, disease, inability to prune palms once they reach the ceiling (possessing a single
meristematic zone) and difficulty transplanting certain species. Despite the horticultural
challenges of palms the reward to patrons and staff is immense and is only made better
through diligent study, education and interpretation.
Araceae
Araceae much like Arecaceace is a large and diverse family containing 2000 species in
100 genera. However, aroids (the common term for the family) are not solely confined to
the tropics with less than 10 percent of the family inhabiting temperate zones of the
world. A tropical collection without aroids would be misrepresentative of tropical ecosystems. Denver Botanic Gardens possesses a moderately large and diverse collection of
tropical aroids with 115 species from 22 genera. The diversity of growth habits amongst
aroids at Denver Botanic Gardens includes epiphytes (Anthurium scandens ssp. pusillum)
terrestrial (Alocasia sp., Colocasia sp., etc) aquatic (Lasia spinosa, Pista sp.) and vines
(Philodendron sp). Aroids at Denver Botanic Gardens are currently being expanded but
possess almost no wild collected specimens.
Zingiberaceae
The gingers (common term for plants of the Zingiberaceae family) are related to the
palms and aroids, all being monocots. However, the geography of gingers unlike that of
the palms and aroids is isolated almost entirely to tropical Southern and Southeast Asia.
China alone contains 216 named species and of those 141 are endemic. The collection of
plants in the Zingiberaceae family at Denver Botanic Gardens is of moderate size,
representing 29 species in 10 Genera compared with the total in the family of 1300
species in 50 genera. The collection at Denver Botanic Gardens has been assembled to
represent the diversity within the gingers to include such forms as basal flowering, apical
flowering, rhizomatous, tuber forming, mat forming, and others. Recently the collection
38
of gingers has grown with some recent acquisitions from US Botanic Gardens, one of
which (Scaphochlamys kunstleri) is an epiphyte, a rarity in gingers. The ginger collection
at Denver Botanic Gardens is significant in diversity and potential usage and should be
expanded to encompass a greater cross section of the family.
Begoniaceae
The plant family Begoniaceae is made up of three genera with the genus Begonia holding
nearly all of the species of the family with an estimated 1000 species. The importance of
the Begonia to ornamental horticultural is immeasurable with thousand of hybrids and
varieties having been developed since its introduction into European gardens in 1777. Of
the 1000 species in the genus Begonia, Denver Botanic Gardens possesses only 24 with
nearly the same number of hybrids. Genera Hillbrandia and Symbegonia are completely
absent from our begonia collection and in the case of Hillbrandia will likely be
impossible with the only species of the genus being an endangered species.
Ferns
Fern is a term to refer to any plant in the division Polypodiophyta made up of nearly 30
families with 300 genera containing 12,000 species. However, at Denver Botanic
Gardens like many other institutions, ferns are grouped with other pteridophytes
commonly referred to as fern allies. Fern allies include the lycopods, selaginellas,
equisetums and psilotums. Ferns and their allies were the dominant flora 200,000,000
years ago creating lush forests which would later become the vast coal resources we
utilize to power much of our modern society. Today ferns inhabit nearly all climates of
the world yet it is the tropics that possess the majority of fern species. Denver Botanic
Gardens’ tropical fern collection including allies number 49 species in 22 genera among
13 families, a feeble total when held against the entirety of ferns in the world. A
comprehensive collection of ferns at Denver Botanic Gardens is prohibited by space and
resources therefore expansion of the collection should strive to include aspects of
diversity, educational merit, research opportunities and interest to patrons.
Gesneriaceae
Gesneriads are a family of mostly tropical plants (both Old and New World) that are
familiar to many houseplant aficionados. Gloxinias, African Violets, and Streptocarpus
are some of the more familiar and showy members of this family. This familiarity and
the opportunity for year round color make gesneriads an appropriate family for DBG to
collect. There are roughly 80 genera in the Gesneriaceae family of which the Gardens
has 18. This is a collection that could easily be expanded and displayed more effectively.
Acanthaceae
Like Gesneriaceae, the Acanthus family (Acanthaceae) has many plants that bloom
nearly all year long. With over 40 species growing in our collections, there is always
something in bloom. Additionally, there are non-tropical Acanthaceae growing in our
outdoor collections. This provides a great opportunity to connect our hardy outdoor
collections to our indoor tropical exhibits.
39
Other groups of importance
The above treatments of plant families and groups denotes their importance as a specific
collection of significant size and scope however some species are important individually
and are unable to be grouped as part of a larger collection. Several families at DBG are
not extensive enough to be deemed a collection. Despite this condition, efforts should be
made to refine these collections to fulfill some of the priorities mentioned in larger
collections. Some families that could benefit from detailed refinement are Anacardiaceae
Ericaceae,
Urticaceae,
Asteraceae,
Solanaceae,
Asclepidaceae,
Rubiaceae,
Scrophulariaceae and Piperaceae. Several individuals in the tropical collection should be
recognized as heritage plants having been grown at Denver Botanic Gardens since the
inception of the tropical collection (circa 1965). These plants include: Callisia fragrans,
Eucharis x grandiflora, Dichorisandra thyrsiflora, Cecropia peltata, Cycas circinalis,
Calliandra haematocephala, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ‘Scarlet Giant’, Ficus aspera,
Rondeletia leucophylla, Dombeya elegans, Pilea cadierei, Pilea involucrata, Eletarria
cardamomum. In our collection of tropical plants some deserve a status of rarity, three
plants are currently in this status (Neoveitchia storckii, Kokia drynarioides and
Warszewiczia coccinea). Finally, two groups, a species collection of tropical Nymphea
(known as the Wiersema collection) and epiphytic cactus, both of which are tropical in
origin will be covered in Aquatic and Cactus and Succulents sections respectively.
c) History of the Collection
Tropical plants have played an integral part in Denver Botanic Gardens’ history and
continue to be among the favorite attractions to thousands of visitors each year. Before
the first formal garden at Denver Botanic Gardens’ York Street site was even completed,
plans were underway for the construction of a state-of-the-art conservatory to showcase
tropical plant collections in semi-arid Denver, Colorado. In 1962, the Boettcher
Foundation donated $10,000 to develop plans for a tropical conservatory and in 1963,
donated an additional $1 million towards its construction. As noted by architects Victor
Hornbein and Edward D. White in the November 1964 Green Thumb News, a botanical
garden “…has several functions, including plant research; the exhibition of living plants,
among them plants not native to the immediate region.” During its construction, these
architects and general contactor Gerald H. Phipps developed new and innovative ways to
construct what has since become a Denver landmark. As construction progressed,
mechanical systems to maintain optimum growing conditions were added and rock and
water features installed. Finally, plants were added under the guidance of Ernest Bibee
and in January 1966, the Boettcher Memorial Conservatory was dedicated and opened to
the public, greatly expanding the diversity of plants on display at the Denver Botanic
Gardens.
Orchids and bromeliads were an important part of Denver Botanic Gardens’ early tropical
plant collections and in 1981, an additional display greenhouse was constructed at the
west end of the conservatory to showcase these plant families. Named in memory of
Margaret E. “Marnie” Honnen, Marnie’s Pavilion allowed visitors the opportunity to
view beautiful tropical specimens that had been hidden behind the scenes for so many
years. By the early ‘90’s, many vital systems in the conservatory were showing signs of
decline and had become unreliable. Valuable plant collections were at risk so planning
40
began for a major renovation. Along with the architecture firm BIOS, Inc., staff and
volunteers began brainstorming new botanical and educational themes and drawings for
the renovation were completed in 1997. Work began in January 1998 with the
propagation and removal of existing plants followed by demolition projects. During
renovation, new plants were acquired from around the country. A focus of new
acquisitions was to have an ever-changing exhibit with a diversity of flowering trees and
shrubs to provide color and changing focal points all year through. When the
conservatory reopened in the fall of 1998, over 800 species of herbs, shrubs, trees and
vines were able to enjoy the lush tropical environment created by improved heating,
cooling and humidification systems.
With plants flourishing in the newly renovated conservatory, it became apparent that
improvements were needed in Marnie’s Pavilion as well. In 2001, planning began to
replace the rather formal plant displays in this space with a more naturalistic setting for
Denver Botanic Gardens’ epiphytic plant collections. The Cloud Forest Tree exhibit
opened in January 2003 with a focus on displaying orchids, bromeliads and other
epiphytic plants in a manner more closely resembling what one might find in nature. The
“tree” is constructed of metal culvert pieces, rebar and Styrofoam that has been covered
with natural cork bark. Many of the plants growing on the tree are permanently attached
while others are rotated into the display as they come into bloom.
Over the years, the Boettcher Memorial Conservatory and its associated collections have
proved invaluable in executing the Gardens’ mission of connecting people with plants.
The Conservatory recreates a natural ecosystem that affords visitors new plants to see as
well as an endless wealth of opportunities to learn.
d) Justification
While the visiting public is the primary audience for the Denver Botanic Gardens tropical
collections, there are also people interested in tropical plant research, like those from
Colorado College and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science who use the
collections. Numerous Denver area minority populations have heritage in tropical areas
of the world, and so the tropical collections have the potential of connecting these
populations with their heritage.
Tropical plants as a whole are particularly interesting and appealing to the general public
and, thus, can readily serve as an important vehicle for introducing the plant world to the
public and providing to that public delight and enlightenment. This collection provides
educational opportunities for indoor gardeners. Recent visitor surveys indicate that the
conservatory and cloud forest tree exhibits have some of the highest visitorship of any
gardens at Denver Botanic Gardens. They also have the highest percentage of
“excellent” ratings by our visitors.
Education programs, especially youth education, have taken increasing advantage of the
conservatory for programmatic use. These programs include Plant Discovery Day,
Journey to the Rainforest, and Discovery Backpacks among others.
41
The world’s tropical ecosystems have great importance far beyond their geographical
boundaries, and the Denver Botanic Gardens tropical collections can help people in this
region, most of whom will never be able to visit a tropical ecosystem, learn about these
ecosystems and their relevance to people everywhere. Little understood is the fact that
the Denver area was once in a tropical ecosystem—“Rocky Mountain plants” were once
“tropical plants”!
e) Strengths
• Strong representation of Asian and Central and South American tropical species.
• Provides year-round interest with a diversity of flowering trees, shrubs, vines, and
foliage plants, providing color and changing focal points.
• Diverse Orchid collection with the opportunity to rotate and display orchids as they
come to bloom at the Marnie’s Pavilion cloud forest exhibit.
• Diverse Bromeliad collection.
• Moderately large and diverse tropical aroid collection.
• The Zingiberaceae collection showcases a diverse variety of growth forms such as
basal flowering, apical flowering, rhizomatous, tuber forming, mat forming, and
epiphytic.
• Offers an endless wealth of learning opportunities.
f) Weaknesses
• Limited representation of Australian and African taxa in the tropical collection.
• The collections have numerous less desirable and poor quality hybrids that need to be
deaccessioned.
• The backup greenhouses are in poor condition and the environmental control systems
need to be renovated to maintain the health of the collection.
• There has been a history of deterioration of collections with staff vacancy.
• The Araceae collection does not have any wild collected specimens and this
collection also needs to be diversified.
• Present interpretation and educational programs do not take advantage of the
educational potential that a tropical display can provide. New interpretation and
educational programs should emphasize conservation, ethnic culture, co-evolution,
tropical plant adaptations, etc.
g) Opportunities and Collection Priorities
• Enhancement of the lowland tropical rainforest display with more representatives
from Australia and Africa.
• Collection improvement by culling less desirable and poor quality hybrids.
• Improvement of back-up greenhouses to have better environmental flexibility.
• Diversify sub-collections.
• Expanding educational public programs such that the tropical collections are utilized
to their full potential and to increase winter visitorship.
• Improved interpretive signs.
• Development of an emergency rescue list.
42
h) Implementation Strategy
The tropical collections will to be expanded to include plants from Australia and Africa.
Many of the sub-collections will also be expanded. This will be achieved through
collection trips or through exchange with other botanic gardens and purchases.
Greenhouse renovations are critical in maintaining a healthy tropical collection and it is
imperative that renovations are done as soon as funding becomes available. The
interpretation will to be improved in the conservatory. An emergency rescue list of plants
will be developed and the Bromeliad collection will be evaluated for quality and
protocols will be developed for maintaining the health and diversity of this collection.
Timeline:
Activity
Expansion of
collections
Greenhouse
renovations and
associated
collections care
Develop and
install
interpretive signs
Develop an
emergency
rescue list
Develop
protocols for care
of the collections
i)
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Evaluation
The overall implementation and evaluation of the collections plan will be overseen by the
Director of Horticulture and the Curator of Tropical collections.
Activity
Expansion of
collections
Greenhouse
renovations and
associated
collections care
Evaluation
Procedure
Number of new
plants added to the
collection from
Australia, Africa and
expanded subcollections
All greenhouses in
operable conditions
43
Evaluation Time
Person Responsible
End of each year
Curator
As soon as work is Curator, Director of
completed
Operations
Develop and install
interpretive signs
Sings in place
End of each year
Curator,
Interpretation
Coordinator
Develop an
emergency rescue
list
The list in place
Curator
Develop protocols
for care of the
collections
Protocols in place
and followed
End of 2008 and
reviewed and
revised every year
thereafter
End of the year
44
Curator
7. Steppe Collection
45
a) Description
Steppe Defined: The Steppe biome is a dry, cold, grassland that is found in all of the
continents except Australia and Antarctica. It is mostly found in the USA, Mongolia,
Siberia, Tibet and China. Steppe regions are located away from the ocean and close to
mountain barriers and therefore have low humidity.
Sub Collections: Asian steppe, South American Steppe, African Steppe, North
American Steppe
• Asian Steppe: plants which are naturally occurring in the vast central region of
the Asian continent.
• South American Steppe: plants which are naturally occurring in very small
areas of South America (very few in our collection).
• African Steppe: plants which are naturally occurring in very small areas of
Africa, predominantly South Africa (few in collection).
• North American Steppe: plants which are naturally occurring in a large central
area of North America.
b) Collections Content
Number of Accessions
Number of Taxa
Number of Genera
Number of Families
Number of species
Number of subspecies, varieties, cultivars
Number of Wild Collected Species
883
504
163
52
469
35
89
c) History of the Collection
Rock Garden
The Steppe Collection at Denver Botanic Gardens finds its origins in the Rock Alpine
Garden. Until 1994 and the advent of the Watersmart Garden, the Rock Garden was the
only garden where a visitor could find steppe plants within Denver Botanic Gardens.
This garden was a testing ground for many of the successful steppe plants one finds today
in other areas of Denver Botanic Gardens. Still, there wasn’t any interpretation provided
to visitors about the relationship between the steppe of Asia and the steppe of North
America.
Water Smart Garden
The concept of the Watersmart Garden, in 1994, lead to the increase in use of Asian
Steppe Plants. Watersmart featured a mix of drought tolerant plants from North America,
South Africa, South America, Asia and the Mediterranean. The mix of dryland trees,
shrubs, and perennials, and the garden’s prominent location, has made this one of the
most important gardens at Denver Botanic Gardens. It demonstrates a vast array of plant
material in a relatively small area that is perfectly suited to this climate. The underlying
message is that there are many areas of the world with a very similar climate to that of
46
Eastern Colorado and the North American Steppe.
Plant Asia
Plant Asia was designed in 2001 by Denver Botanic Gardens staff and constructed in
2001 and 2002 by staff. The primary purpose of the Steppe area in this garden is to
primarily showcase the drought tolerant plants from the steppes of Asia and educate the
public about the parallels between the high steppe of North America and the high steppe
climate of Asia.
d) Justification
Our audience is primarily from the front range of Colorado with a few people from out of
state and few visitors from the mountains. Some of our more regular visitors are amateur
gardeners who want to learn more about gardening and plants. We also have professional
landscape designers, botanists, staff from other botanic gardens and researchers visiting
from around the world. Example: In 2004 the Dutch conifer society visited to see our
dwarf conifer collection.
Our Asian Steppe collection fills the niche of “plants from similar areas of the world” for
this audience on an aesthetic and research level. The Asian Steppe collection is the only
one of its kind in North America, making a visit to Denver Botanic Gardens unique.
The Asian steppe collection clearly meets the goals of the mission statement. The Asian
steppe is clearly a similar climactic region. At Denver Botanic Gardens we are displaying
these plants to visitors in a variety of ways. In the Watersmart and Rock Alpine gardens
our ever expanding collection is used in conjunction with native plants, South American
plants, and South African plants to create year round color and interest. These gardens
both have unique design element and themes that make these plants even more attractive
to visitors, making these plants more applicable to the home landscape.
The steppe area in Plant Asia is unique in that it only features plants from the high plains
of Asia. This garden is unique to Denver Botanic Gardens, and probably to all of North
America. This is the single area of Denver Botanic Gardens where we can really get the
message across about the significance of high Asian plateau flora in relationship to the
flora along the front range. The Asian Steppe collection is most important as an
interpretive and educational piece to fulfill our mission.
e) Strengths
• Quantitative strengths
Given the number of species represented in the collection there are a high number of
families represented. In total there are 89 families within three garden spaces.
Although the majority of the species listed were originally planted in the Rock Alpine
Garden in the late eighties and nineties the number of accessions has risen. This is
due to the construction of Plant Asia and the increase in diversity in the Watersmart
Garden.
• Adaptability
Since Asian steppe plants have evolved to thrive in climates similar to Denver’s,
47
•
•
•
Asian steppe plants often exhibit a propensity to thrive in our gardens. True steppe
plants are drought, sun and wind tolerant and serve to expand the plant palette for
dryland garden design. They are often easy to care for and need little supplemental
water.
Aesthetic appeal
This may be the greatest strength of DBG’s steppe collection. The Gardens derive a
great aesthetic benefit from plants like Eremurus, Veronica, Acantholimon and
Tulipa. These have become signature plants adding color and in some cases winter
interest.
Interpretive Message
Given that the Asian steppe is akin to Colorado’s high plains this offers another way
to educate the public about other countries in conjunction with Colorado. Perhaps it
even lends an exotic feel to the steppe of Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico.
Unique with a wide range of potential
This collection is most likely the only one of its kind in North America. This, coupled
with our native plant collection, sets us apart from other botanic gardens and given
the vast number of untested (in the Rocky Mountain Region) plants, the Asian steppe
collection has an incredible potential for growth and research.
Example: Takhtajan outlines the Central Anatolian Province as having a species
endemism of 30%. The Armeno-Iranian province contains unique genera like
Acanthophylum and Onobrychis and many unique species of Quercus. This gives us
the option of expanding our collection in many different directions.
f) Weaknesses
• Very small sample of the actual number of species
Our representative collection, in comparison to the large number of species found in
the Asian steppe, is quite small. We continue to grow many of the same plants in a
number of gardens. Although this is aesthetically pleasing in many gardens the
diversity of steppe plants has leveled off over the past five years. More plants could
be tested.
• Space issues
We don’t have the space to represent some of the larger genera and families.
• Wild Collected
There are only 89 accessions with wild collected data. This offers less integrity to the
collection and little chance to exhibit to the visitor what a plant from the wild truly
looks like. The only way to increase diversity within this collection is through wild
collected seed. Therefore the enhancement of this collection is dependent upon
specialized growing conditions. Our facilities are deficient in both space and
personnel to handle the specialized needs of growing Asian steppe plants.
g) Opportunities and Collection Priorities
• More research needs to be conducted on the Asian Steppe collection and on the
African and South American Steppe collection. It would be beneficial to break down
what plants are most important to this collection that we already have and what plants
need to be acquisitioned to make the collection more comprehensive. It is imperative
that we know what we have in our collection and what the future is of the Steppe
48
•
•
Collection in order to promote Denver Botanic Gardens as the leader in steppe flora.
Organize Collection trips to appropriate regions of Asia. A commitment like this
would truly make Denver Botanic Gardens a leader in Asian steppe flora. It would
be worthwhile to start collaborative efforts with botanic gardens in Mongolia,
Pakistan, Turkey, states of the Former Soviet Union and Iran.
Create test beds and reserve greenhouse space to grow and trial the plants.
h) Implementation Strategy
The major focus for this collection will be to diversify the collection with wild collected
material from other Asian, African and South American Steppe regions of the world. This
will be accomplished by organizing collection expeditions to these regions. Test plots
will be created to trail these plants for adaptation to our region. Enhanced interpretation
will also be a priority for this collection.
Timeline:
Activity
Plan, organize
and implement
collection
expeditions
Greenhouse
propagation
2007 2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015 2016
Develop and
implement
testing program
Enhance
interpretation
i) Evaluation
The overall implementation and evaluation of the collections plan will be overseen by the
Director of Horticulture and the Horticulturist responsible for the Steppe collections.
Activity
Evaluation
Evaluation Time Person Responsible
Procedure
Plan, organize and
Funds raised and
End of each trip
Horticulturist
implement
number of new plants
collection
acquired during these
expeditions
expeditions
Greenhouse
propagation
Successful
propagation of
collected seeds and
well documented
records
49
Every 6 months
Horticulturist,
Propagator
Develop and
implement testing
program
Enhance
interpretation
Program in place
with well
documented results
of plant adaptability
to CO conditions
New interpretation in
place providing
educational messages
to visitors
50
End of each trial
Horticulturist
End of each year
Horticulturist,
Interpretation
Coordinator
8. Herbarium of Vascular
Plants Collection
51
a) Description
The Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium (known as KHD in the Index Herbariorum) contains
over 43,000 voucher specimens of dried and pressed vascular plants.
b) Collections Content
While the herbarium contains species from around the world, KHD is primarily a
regional herbarium with a geographic emphasis on plant species from Colorado and the
Southern Rocky Mountain Region. Voucher specimens from neighboring states within
the western Great Plains and Colorado Plateau are also represented. The Herbarium also
houses specimens of cultivated plants, collected primarily from the Gardens, including a
water lily standard.
• Regional herbarium with good representation of the native and naturalized flora of
Colorado, especially the Colorado Front Range, adjacent mountains and prairie.
• Representation from other western states (especially Utah and Arizona), eastern states
and Europe.
• Collection consists primarily of vascular plants: fern and fern allies, gymnosperms
and angiosperms. Small holding of lichens (151 specimens) and mosses (166
specimens).
• Cultivated plant collection including an extensive collection of tropical plants from
the tropical conservatory.
• Few isotypes (No type specimens).
• One horticultural standard.
• Reference collection of the Colorado native and naturalized flora.
c) History of the Collection
KHD was founded in 1943 by George Kelly and Kathryn Kalmbach as part of the
Colorado Forestry and Horticulture Association. It was moved to Denver Botanic
Gardens in 1959. The first curator was Kathryn Kalmbach serving until her death in
1962. At that time Dr. Helen Marsh Zeiner became Chairman of the Herbarium
Committee. She was appointed Honorary Curator in 1971 and served in that position until
1995 when she became Herbarium Curator Emeritus. Dr. Janet L. Wingate became
Herbarium Manager in 1995 (first paid herbarium position) and became Curator in 2005.
In 2007, Dr. Wingate retired and became Herbarium Associate. Dina Clark became
curator at that time. KHD was essentially built by volunteers and they continue to play a
very important role in its development.
d) Justification
Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium collections support the Gardens’ mission and its programs
in conservation, education, horticulture and research primarily through the representative
collection of the vascular plants of Colorado and the southern Rocky Mountains.
KHD promotes the mission of the Gardens by increasing, preserving and making
available knowledge of native, naturalized and cultivated plants. More importantly, the
herbarium provides a library of specimens that are used to further our knowledge about
the Plant Kingdom that can be used today and long into the future.
52
A wide range of audiences use the herbarium including:
• Denver Botanic Gardens staff, membership and the general public
• Denver Botanic Gardens Education department. Tours, floristic and botanical classes,
botanical illustration.
• Researchers
• Biologists, ecologists.
• Amateur botanists
• Schools and Universities
• Students
• Botanical illustrators
• County, state and federal agencies (Forest Service, BLM, county agents, open space
departments, extension agencies)
• Environmental and botanical consulting firms
• Plant societies
• Nurseries, plant growers, horticulturists, landscape architects
• Rocky Mountain Poison Center regarding plant poisoning
e) Strengths
• Scientifically valuable because specimens are well preserved and well documented.
• Good regional representation of the Colorado flora especially of the Colorado Front
Range, metropolitan area and adjacent plains with 76.5% of the Colorado flora
represented.
• Strong collections of species within the Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Orchidaceae,
Brassicaceae, Fabaceae
• Representative collections of ferns
• Representative collection of local invasive plants.
• One of the few regional herbaria with a good collection of cultivated plants.
• Reference collection of the Colorado flora provides for easy study and identification.
• Collections of historical interest.
• User friendly arrangement, all alphabetical according to family and species. Usually
open 5 days per week.
• Perfect climate for preserved plants, dry and cool. We have no insect problems.
• Convenient resource for the Denver Metropolitan public.
• Helpful staff and volunteers.
• The Colorado collection is databased.
f) Weaknesses
• Only 45% of the Colorado flora is well represented by 3 or more specimens with
incomplete representation from southern Colorado, West Slope and eastern plains.
• Current database system is not the most effective system for efficient data entry and
retrieval.
• Only a very small percentage of the out of state collection is databased. An estimate
of 50% of the cultivated collection is databased.
• Understaffed; curator is only part-time, and work is primarily done by volunteers.
• Many older specimens are mounted on high acid paper.
53
g) Opportunities and Collection Priorities
Accessions:
• Continue to add accessions to the herbarium through field projects and collect from
poorly documented areas of Colorado.
• Continue to add collections through cooperative research projects with agencies,
organizations and universities
• Continue exchange program with other herbaria.
• Continue to build cultivated collection from DBG living collection
• Continue to add to the Colorado Reference Collection.
Deaccessions:
• Deaccession poor specimens (poor documentation or damaged specimens).
Databasing:
• Database in this order: Colorado specimens, cultivated specimens, out of state
specimens.
Growth:
Growth should continue by about 1,000 specimens per year with emphasis on the
following:
• Enhancement of the Colorado collection with at least 3 specimens per species.
• Other species within the Southern Rocky Mountain Region and adjacent states.
• Cultivated plants.
• Continue to build educational Colorado reference collection.
h) Implementation Strategy
The major goal for this collection is to have an enhanced and near-complete collection of
the Colorado flora and an increased number of specimens from the Southern Rocky
Mountain Region and adjacent states. Further, a strong representation of cultivated plant
species is also important. Through active collection and field projects, the collection can
be increased in size and representation. Additionally, the collection can grow in size and
representation through exchange with other herbaria and by donations from private
parties and volunteers. Databasing all the collections, and deaccessioning poor quality
specimens are also important priorities
Timeline:
Activity
Expand Colorado
collection
Enhance the
collection from
the Southern
Rocky Mountain
2007 2008
2009
2010
54
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015 2016
Region and
neighboring
states
Enhance the
cultivated
collection
Database the
entire collection
Deaccession poor
quality
specimens
i) Evaluation
The overall implementation and evaluation of the collections plan will be overseen by the
Director of Research and the Curator responsible for the Herbarium of Vascular Plants
collections.
Activity
Evaluation
Evaluation
Procedure
Time
Nearly all
End of each year
Colorado species in
collection
represented with at
least 3 specimens
Person
Responsible
Curator
Enhance the
collection from the
Southern Rocky
Mountain Region
and neighboring
states
Increased number of
specimens
End of each year
Curator
Enhance the
cultivated
collection
Database the
entire collection
Increased number
of specimens
End of each year
Curator
All specimens in
the collections
databased
Analysis of the
collection and
removal of poor
quality specimens.
End of each year
Curator, Manager
of Plant Records
End of each year
Curator, Manager
of Plant Records
Expand the
Colorado
collection
Deaccession poor
quality specimens
55
9. Herbarium of Fungi
Collection
56
a) Description
The Denver Botanic Gardens’ Herbarium of Fungi has accessed 22,000 fungal
specimens in its 43 years of existence. As of this date the herbarium houses
approximately 14,000 well-preserved and documented Colorado specimens.
b) Collections Content
The Herbarium of Fungi houses approximately 22,000 preserved and documented
specimens of native fungi, the result of collecting for more than 40 years in many
ecosystems in the Rocky Mountain region, ranging from the prairie grasslands up to
the tundra. The Herbarium is one of the most complete, diverse and well-documented
collection of fleshy fungi and myxomycetes in the Rocky Mountain region. The
specimens include Basidiomycetes with emphases on the Agaricales, Boletales,
Gasteromycetes and the Aphyllophorales. A sizeable and diverse collection of
Ascomycetes with emphasis on the Discomycetes is represented. A large and
representative collection of Myxomycetes of the region is also present. Fresh notes
and photographs complement most collections. A large percentage of the collection is
on a searchable database. To qualify as an international herbarium suitable for use
worldwide, the Herbarium of Fungi has been formally registered with the Index
Herbariorum; its designation is recognized by the acronym DBG.
The Herbarium of Fungi consists of:
• 86 families of Basidiomycetes, including mycorrrhizal fungi, hypogeous fungi,
and an extensive collection of gasteromycetes;
• 34 families of Ascomycetes, including truffles and an extensive and remarkable
collection of discomycetes;
• 10 families of Myxomycetes.
The total number of genera represented in our herbarium is currently 384,
representing approximately 2560 different taxa (genus plus species and/or variety).
Most of these taxa have multiple specimens, an important feature of a research-based
fungal herbarium accessible to all research scientists. Besides documenting a range
of phenotypes for taxonomic comparisons, this effort allows us to record the
frequency, geographical range and varying times of fruiting of our fungal collections
at all ages and stages. Multiple specimens collected over the decades will help to
document mutually beneficial relationships between fungi and plants, as well as the
effect of climate changes and changing ecosystems in the future.
A great percentage of our specimens are documented with photographs taken when
they were fresh (essential to document colors and fine details that change upon
drying). To accompany our collection we have over 8,450 labeled photographs in the
form of slides and prints along with several hundred digital photos.
In our fungal herbarium we treasure 18 type collections (the unique collection from
which the original published description of that taxon was made and housed nowhere
else in the world). They are the result of our decades of scientific research and
57
publications on the mycoflora of the region.
c) History of the Collection
The Herbarium of Fungi was founded in l965 by Dr. D. H.”Sam” Mitchel, a Denver
internist and poisonous mushroom expert. Until 1990 it was an all-volunteer staff
who together made thousands of collections, documented and photographed them,
and carried out important research projects culminating in the publishing of dozens of
scientific peer-reviewed articles and books. In l990 a part-time curator was hired to
continue the work.
d) Justification
The Herbarium of Fungi (“Mycology”) supports Denver Botanic Gardens’ mission
and its programs in conservation, education, horticulture and research primarily
through the survey, collection, and specimen preservation of Rocky Mountain fungi,
which documents the diversity of the mycoflora of the region and its relationship with
native plants.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Our most important audiences are the Denver Botanic Gardens’ staff and
membership and the general public who seek out information on mushrooms and
their relationship to plants in all seasons.
We provide support for our Denver Botanic Gardens’ Education department,
teaching classes, giving tours, providing information and specimens for the
Botanical Illustration classes (among other services).
We consult with and identify mushrooms for amateur mushroom enthusiasts all
around the region including hundreds of contacts yearly with members of the
Colorado Mycological Society and the Native Plant Society.
Mycological professionals, U. S. and world-wide, use our collection as a resource
for floristic studies, taxonomic and ecological studies, and DNA sequencing
work; their visits to our laboratory add stature to our herbarium and result in
collaborative research for our scientific publications.
Local businesses including industrial hygienists and nursery schools consult with
us regarding potential poisonous mushrooms growing locally.
Rocky Mountain Poison Center in cooperation with the Colorado Mycological
Society consults with us regarding mushroom poisonings reported from a 9-state
region.
Local emergency room hospital physicians and veterinarians use our herbarium
and staff for information and identification of possibly poisonous mushrooms
ingested by people and pets alike.
Land managers (local, state, national parks, national forests and the Bureau of
Land Management) seek information on the fungi growing in varied ecosystems
throughout the area and make use of our data-base and specimens for their
inventories.
Local law enforcement as well as the Colorado Bureau of Investigation
occasionally contact us regarding the use of illegal mushrooms by members of the
public.
We conduct tours of the herbarium of fungi for local schools and universities.
58
In addition to “connecting people with plants” our fungal herbarium and its outreach
strive to “connect fungi to plants,” since both plants and fungi have evolved together
and are inter-dependent upon each other.
e) Strengths
• The Herbarium of Fungi is considered to be one of the most diverse and complete
collections of mushrooms and other fungi located in the Rocky Mountain region
(including universities).
• A magnet for researchers and land managers looking for information on regional
mycoflora.
• Because of its location, a valuable resource for the public.
• Scientifically valuable, well organized and documented specimens of higher fungi
are preserved in an ideal climate for fungal specimens (because of our arid
climate and relative freedom from insect pests).
• Entire collection is properly preserved, safely archived and databased.
• Each specimen is backed up by a 5x8 inch data card with macro and micro data
recorded.
• A large percentage of the specimens are represented by a color photo of the
mushroom in its fresh state.
• A user-friendly arrangement of specimens is organized by fungal orders and then
alphabetically by genera.
f) Weaknesses
• Some Colorado ecosystems are undercollected especially the southwestern
mountains, Gambel oak, pinyon pine and grassland ecosystems.
• Scientific and public audience publications are strong, but limited in number.
• Current system of databasing was designed for living collections and is
cumbersome and inefficient for entering preserved specimen data. Data retrieval
is difficult and sometimes nearly impossible.
g) Opportunities and Collection Priorities
• Investigate native fungal/plant relationships by collecting fungi in unusual Rocky
Mountain habitats such as: alpine regions, Gambel Oak habitats, and some undercollected habitats such as dunes, fens, calcareous soils, forest burns, as well as
prairies and grasslands
• More intensive collecting in native habitats located in southern and western
Colorado (under-collected areas).
• Serve as a regional repository for mushrooms retrieved from actual mushroom
poisonings (referrals from the Rocky Mountain Poison Center in collaboration
with the Colorado Mycological Society).
h) Implementation Strategy
The focus of this collection will be to continue adding accessions of fungi native to
the region, particularly mycorrhizal fungi, in order to demonstrate and voucher those
fungi that are important to our region. Other priorities will be to garner increased
59
public interest for this collection by publishing more research papers and articles in
popular magazines and books and to complete electronic databasing of the collection.
Timeline:
Activity
Increase collection
content
2007 2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015 2016
Increased publicity
through
publications
Complete
electronic
databasing
i) Evaluation
The overall implementation and evaluation of the collections plan will be overseen by
the Director of Research and the Curator responsible for the Herbarium of Fungi
collections.
Activity
Evaluation
Procedure
Increase collection
Approximately 400
content
specimens added
each year
Increased publicity
Number of articles
through publications published
Complete electronic All specimens in the
databasing
collections databased
60
Evaluation Time
Person Responsible
End of each year
Curator
End of each year
Curator
End of each year
Curator
10. Library Collection
61
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
a. Description / Collection Content
The Library’s Special Collections include the Waring Rare Book Collection, glass slides,
botanical stamps, and institutional archives. There are 736 cataloged titles in the Waring Rare
Book Collection.
b. History
The Library’s collections were augmented significantly by the collections of rare botanical books
donated by Dr. James P. Waring and John P. Mitchell.
c. Justification
The Library’s Special Collections create the opportunity to increase public awareness and
audience development through scholarly research, publication, exhibition and display. In
addition, many works offer a primary source for scholars and other researchers. In general, these
collections provide another avenue to connect people with plants at Denver Botanic Gardens.
d. Strengths
• The Waring Rare Book Collection contains seminal works in the history of botany.
• The Rare Book Collection was formally catalogued in 2007 and a subsequent insurance
value appraisal was completed in 2008.
• Poised to share information in electronic format.
e. Weaknesses
• The Waring Rare Book Collection lacks environmental sensors, controls and upgrades to
current standards; enough shelving and/or cabinets to house rare works; workspace
appropriate for using the collection; and funds for repair of damaged items. These
concerns need to be in the forefront when Phase IV of the Master Development Plan is
funded and a new Library is designed and built.
• None of the Waring rare books has been treated for condition needs per the
recommendations made in 1996 by Laura Waits, conservator.
• In recent years the Library and Art Collections were treated as one entity, creating
difficulty in managing both with one set of aims.
• There is no space for storage or growth, other than by weeding the collection.
• There is no fire suppression in place for any of the Library collections.
• Library staff needs training in disaster recovery and collections care.
f. Opportunities and Priorities
• Separate art items from Library Special Collections to facilitate better management.
• Complete a new collections assessment.
• Determine areas of focus for collecting.
• Utilize recent digitization feasibility study (Robb, 2008) to determine next steps for
institutionally-coordinated digitization project.
• Address condition of Waring rare books according to professional recommendations and
results of appraisal.
• Identify new revenue and/or fundraising sources.
62
•
•
Train staff on appropriate emergency response measures.
Train staff on care of both the main and Waring Rare Book collections.
g. Implementation Strategies
Timeline:
Activity
Separate art from Library
Special Collections
Complete a new
collections assessment
Research object history,
including donor
information
Determine areas of focus
for collecting
Develop Library
Collections Procedures
Manual
Promote the Collection to
local, regional and national
communities
Survey peers and/or
museums re: rare book
holdings
Address condition of
Waring rare books
Determine next steps
digitization project
Identify needs for new
facility
Work with architects and
other stakeholders to
create vision for new
facility
Plan for move and storage
2008
2009
2010
Plan for display space
Transition to new facility
Identify new sources of
support
Train staff on emergency
response
63
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Train staff on collections
care
Implement a digitization
program
h. Evaluation
Activity
Separate art from Library
Special Collections
Evaluation
Procedure/Success
Indicator
Library holdings are
distinct & relevant
Evaluation
Time
2009-2010
Complete a new
collections assessment
Complete catalogue of
items and related
needs
by end of 2009
Research object history,
including donor
information
Object files created
by end of 2009
Determine areas of focus
for collecting
Develop Library
Collections Procedures
Manual
Promote the Collection to
local, regional and
national communities
At least three core
areas identified
Manual with
supporting forms in
place & utilized
Greater awareness of
holdings; increased
inquiries into
resources
Awareness &
quantification of
overlap or
dissimilarity among
like institutions
Project plan in place to
conserve, preserve or
restore; funding sought
Project plan in place to
integrate efforts with
herbaria, & Art
Collection
Identify best practices
for type of facility,
by end of 2009
Survey peers and/or
museums re: rare book
holdings
Address condition of
Waring rare books
Determine next steps
digitization project
Identify needs for new
facility
64
by end of 2009
Annually
Person Responsible
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yInterns/Volunteers
yHead Librarian
yLibrarians
yManager of Exhibitions
yInterns/Volunteers
yHead Librarian
yLibrarians
yManager of Exhibitions
yExhibits Admin. Asst.
yInterns/Volunteers
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
1st quarter, 2010
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
By end of 2009,
then annually
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yOther stakeholders
By end of 2009
Ongoing until
groundbreaking
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
Work with architects and
other stakeholders to
create vision for new
facility
Plan for move and
storage
Plan for display space
Identify new sources of
support
Train staff on emergency
response
Train staff on collections
care
Implement a digitization
program
including storage,
transport, display &
patron space
Plans created
Key challenges
identified; plans for
transport, handling &
storage in place
Nature of a rare books
display space outlined;
exhibits or core ideas
identified
Specific funders and
related timelines
identified; coordinated
with Development
Training session
hosted; practical
application of Disaster
Plan understood
In-house session
hosted; professional
development sought
Collections available
in digital format; plan
in place for continued
support
of LibraryHerbaria-Art
Building
By 2012 or
ground breaking
of new building;
whichever first
By end of 2011
yOther stakeholders
Ongoing until
2012
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
Ongoing
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yDevelopment Staff
Annually
yDirector of Exhibitions
yDirector of Operations
yManager of Operations
Ongoing
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yOther stakeholders
By end of 2011
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yOther stakeholders
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yOther stakeholders
MAIN COLLECTION
a. Description
The main Library Collection is composed of books for adults and children, DVDs, videos, CDs,
current and retrospective periodicals, nursery catalogs, slides and pamphlets. The collection
covers horticulture, gardens and gardening, landscaping, agriculture, world flora, botanical art
and illustration, flower arrangement, history of botany and botanical gardens, medical botany,
ethnobotany, insects, plant pests and diseases, plant lore and nature crafts.
b. Collection Content
In May 2008, the counts of cataloged items (by collection type) in the main collection numbered:
audio-video-DVD, 277; book (including juvenile), 21,222; reference, 196; periodical (titles only,
not all the issues), 261; CDs, 13; and pamphlet, 220. Estimates of uncataloged main collections
are: nursery catalogs, 2000; slides, 2500. The approximate count of items totals 28,000.
65
In addition, the Library uses but has not yet cataloged such electronic resources as the Gardens'
own BG Map and BG Base, plants.usda.gov, the AGRICOLA database, the EBSCO Garden
Literature database (a subscription purchase), the Anderson Horticultural Library database and
many, many more. The Library's links page offers the following categories: Water-Smart
Gardening®, Gardening and Horticulture, Local and Regional Gardens, National Gardens and
Arboreta, Plant Images, Plant Information/Identification and Plant Societies.
c. History
Helen Fowler Library was founded in 1948 from the 500-title personal collection of Helen K.
Fowler, who, with her husband, was a landscape gardener and owner of Shadow Valley Gardens,
a large nursery in Wheat Ridge (Green Thumb News, 18:1 [1961], p. 12). The original Library
was part of the Colorado Forestry and Horticulture Association. Its first paid professional
librarian was Solange Gignac, who was senior librarian from 1971-1995. The used book sale
from 1972 to 2002 helped in the growth of the library collections.
At its 2005 Strategic Planning meeting, the Library adopted as its mission statement: "to be a
widely recognized resource in the Colorado community; to be considered the first, primary place
for botanical resources in the Western U.S./Rocky Mountain region; and to be a leading library
for serious research on horticulture in the Rocky Mountain region."
d. Justification
Helen Fowler Library staff and the main collection exist to provide information and current
resources for a large and diverse audience as well as advice, motivation and current awareness
about regional gardening events and programs. In so doing it connects people with plants.
Another key component of the Library's outreach is interlibrary loans to and from North
American libraries, which gives scholars access to its titles that, in many cases, are held by just a
handful of botanical libraries and archives. Through its year-round Gardening Help program with
Colorado Master Gardeners, the Library answers plant questions from individuals in person, via
phone and by e-mail.
The Library’s role is both programmatic (content aligned with the mission of the Gardens) and
functional (open for business and serving patrons/visitors 6 days a week.
Helen Fowler Library serves a diverse audience: staff, members, volunteers and the general
public. The “general public” is a broad term encompassing individual visitors as well as a large
number of plant societies, affiliates, students (of the Gardens Education Department, local
community colleges and other area academic institutions), K-12 Colorado teachers, government
researchers, members of the Colorado green industry and, via active inter-library loans, North
American libraries and their patrons. This diverse patron base requires information at several
different levels: from highly scientific research to applied horticulture to beginning-level
gardening.
Such a diverse audience is unusual for a special/botanical library; however, it is consistent with
the audience proposed at the time of its founding: "The Colorado Forestry and Horticulture
Association Library shall have for its aim the selection of every book for the use of not only
66
botanists and horticulturalists, but for lovers of garden, field and wood; the most valuable
authoritative information on every garden subject with the distribution of subjects in groups, and
a good beginning list of both technical and non-technical editions to meet the need of the greatest
number of users." (Ibid.)
e. Strengths
• The main collection of world flora and the periodicals collection have surprised
knowledgeable visitors. These are arguably world-class collections that reflect strong
funding in its seminal years and well-focused acquisitions from the very beginning.
• The Library also holds some 2000 nursery and seed catalogs, some dating to the late 19th
century, that occupy 120 linear shelf feet. This unarchived, uncataloged collection was
displayed for the first time in 2008. It was the subject of a recent (May 2008) query from
New York Botanic Garden. Because of its ephemeral and historic qualities, it may be a
strong candidate for a pilot digitization project.
• The Library’s dedicated volunteers provide a wealth of expertise and experience,
including that of botanic garden archivist to retired librarian.
f. Weaknesses
• Funding lost with the demise in 2001 of the annual Used Book Sale, which raised some
$20,000 in peak years, has never been recovered. As a result, the main collection has
grown reactively, mainly in response to staff requests, rather than by design.
• There is no space for storage or growth, other than by weeding the collection.
• There is no fire suppression in place for any of the Library collections.
• Library staff needs training in disaster recovery and collections care.
• Gardening Help volunteers reinvent the wheel each year as seasonal gardening questions
are answered. At a moderate increase in cost, the Library might add a module to its EOS
catalog that will capture that information and make it searchable on a permanent basis.
g. Opportunities and Priorities
• Identify new revenue and/or fundraising sources.
• Promote and market the library.
• As part of a comprehensive acquisition plan, survey the world flora of the collection to
identify missing volumes, since this is the segment of our collection that is most critical
to staff users.
• Train staff on appropriate emergency response measures.
• Train staff on care of both the main and Waring Rare Book collections.
• Plan and implement a digitization program.
• Capture the information disseminated by Gardening Help volunteers in EOS.
• Organize and make usable several non-circulating collections (nursery catalogs, slides);
the specific impetus for these activities might be digitization, with nursery catalogs as a
prime candidate.
• Electronic inter-library loan [of periodicals] possible with investment in new technology
(high-speed scanner).
67
h. Implementation Strategies
Items will be prioritized according to institutional goals.
Timeline:
Activity
Promote the Library
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Survey world flora
holdings to determine
needs
Determine areas of
focus for Collection
Investigate technology
& costs for high-speed
scanner
Catalogue previously
uncatalogued items
Identify funding
sources
Develop Library
Collections Manual
Train staff on
emergency response
Train staff on
collections care
Plan and implement a
digitization program
Update Library
website to resemble
main DBG site
Add EOS Reference
Tracker module
i. Evaluation
The overall implementation and evaluation of the collections plan will be overseen by the
Director of Exhibitions and the Head Librarian.
Activity
Promote the Library
Evaluation
Procedure/Success
Indicator
Greater awareness of
holdings; increased
inquiries into
resources
68
Evaluation
Time
Annually
Person Responsible
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
Survey world flora
holdings to determine
acquisition needs
Determine areas of
focus for Collection
Investigate technology
& costs for high-speed
scanner
2009
yHead Librarian
yLibrary staff
Identify funding
sources
Ongoing priority
2009-2012
Develop Library
Collections Manual
Completion
2009
Train staff on
emergency response
Training session
hosted; practical
application of Disaster
Plan understood
In-house session
hosted; professional
development sought
Project plan in place to
integrate efforts with
herbaria, rare books &
Art Collection
In-house analysis done
in ’08; revisions
scheduled for 2009
Annually
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yDevelopment Staff
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yDirector of Operations
yManager of Operations
yDirector of Exhibitions
by end of 2009
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yWeb Technology Mngr
Attend demonstration
of Reference Tracker
prior to 2009 budget
development; money
allocated for 2009
program launch
by end of 2009
yHead Librarian
yLibrary staff
Catalogue previously
uncatalogued items
Train staff on
collections care
Plan and implement a
digitization program
Update Library
website to resemble
main DBG site;
increase usability
Add EOS Reference
Tracker module
69
By end of 2009,
then annually
yHead Librarian
yLibrary staff
yVolunteers/Interns
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yDBG Technology Team
Key gaps in holding
identified to strengthen
world flora collection
At least three core
areas identified
Options researched
prior to 2009 budget
development; money
allocated for 2009
program launch
Ongoing priority
by end of 2009
by end of 2009
Ongoing
By end of 2009
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yOther stakeholders
11. Art Collection
70
a. Description
The art collection at Denver Botanic Gardens is diverse and generally reflects previous Board
and donor interest.
b. Collection Content
In the art collection are works on paper, including paintings, prints, and drawings, as well as
sculpture, suisekis, glass stereoscopic slides and other objects.
c. History
Much of the history of the Art Collection proper has yet to be determined. This will occur during
the formal collection assessment. For many years, the Art Collection has had a shared history
with the Helen Fowler Library.
d. Justification
The art collection affords the opportunity to increase public awareness and audience
development through exhibition and display. In addition, many works offer a primary source for
scholars and other researchers. In general, art provides another avenue to connect people with
plants at Denver Botanic Gardens.
e. Strengths
• The Gardens’ art collection is especially strong in the area of prints.
• Much work has been done in recent years to organize the collection within the Waring
Rare Book room.
• Within the Gardens’ approved Master Development Plan, a new facility will include
space for a new Library (including rare book room), a gallery and storage area, as well as
for the herbaria.
f. Weaknesses
• A formal accession process, complete with appropriate registration procedures and
records, has never been created or maintained.
• A complete physical inventory is overdue.
• Awareness and complete understanding of the art collection among internal and external
communities is low.
• Documentation on gifts needs to be further researched.
• Storage – space and environmental controls are inadequate.
g. Opportunities and Priorities
The Gardens has the opportunity to completely know what’s in its holdings to better share
information with the general public as well as with members, donors, and researchers.
Priorities include:
• Physical inventory & reconciliation
• Solicit help with cataloguing – museum studies intern and/or volunteer
• Research funding sources for collections activity; apply for financial assistance
• Develop Art Collections Procedures Manual
• Create object files
71
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Create artist files
Condition reporting on each object
Research object history, including donor information
Determine items for formal accessioning
Institute formal cataloguing process, including the assignment of accession numbers
Identify appropriate collections database software; consider online collections/exhibitions
Determine areas of focus for collecting
Promote the Art Collection to local, regional and national communities
Identify needs for new facility
Work with architects and other stakeholders to create vision for new facility
Plan for move and storage
Plan for exhibition space
h. Implementation Strategies
Much analysis on the current Art Collection is necessary to embark on the tasks related to the
Collection Plan.
Timeline:
Activity
Physical inventory &
reconciliation
Conduct Collections
Assessment
Solicit help with
cataloguing – museum
studies intern and/or
volunteer
Research funding
sources for collections
activity; apply for
financial assistance
Develop Art
Collections
Procedures Manual
Create object files
Create artist files
Condition reporting on
each object
Research object
history, including
donor information
Determine items for
formal accessioning
2008
2009
2010
72
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
Institute formal
cataloguing process,
including the
assignment of
accession numbers
Identify appropriate
collections database
software; consider
online
collections/exhibitions
Determine areas of
focus for collecting
Promote the Art
Collection to local,
regional and national
communities
Identify needs for new
facility
Work with architects
and other stakeholders
to create vision for
new facility
Plan for move and
storage
Plan for exhibition
space
Survey peers and/or
museums re: art/print
holdings
Develop concept for
one or more traveling
exhibit of objects from
permanent collection
based on survey
Secure at lease one
venue to host
exhibition
i. Evaluation
The overall implementation and evaluation of the collections plan will be overseen by the
Director of Exhibitions and the Manager of Exhibitions.
73
Activity
Evaluation
Procedure/Success
Indicator
Assessment completed
Annual
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
Solicit help with
cataloguing – museum
studies intern and/or
volunteer
Research funding
sources for collections
activity; apply for
financial assistance
Develop Art
Collections
Procedures Manual
Create object files
Intern or long-term
volunteer identified &
trained
Fall ‘08
Spring ‘09
Summer ‘09
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
Grantors identified;
applications submitted
Every six
months
Baseline document and
related forms created
End of 2009
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yGrant Writer
yHead Librarian
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
Create artist files
Individual files begun for 1st quarter 2009
artist information
Condition reporting
on each object
Progress made on
condition reports
conducted; conducted in
a timely manner
Progress made on object
history; conducted in a
timely manner
Physical inventory &
reconciliation
Research object
history, including
donor information
Determine items for
formal accessioning
Institute formal
cataloguing process,
including the
assignment of
accession numbers
Identify appropriate
collections database
software; consider
online
collections/exhibitions
Evaluation
Time
Individual files begun for 1st quarter 2009
objects
Certain items labeled as
“study collection” or
simply and owned object
Art Collection
Procedures Manual
developed; accession
numbers assigned
Research conducted;
involvement of tech dept
and/or team strong; goals
determined with other
DBG Departments
74
Progress
evaluated every
six months until
baseline met
Progress
evaluated every
six months until
baseline met
By end of 2009
Person Responsible
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yExhibits Admin. Asst.
yIntern / volunteer
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yExhibits Admin. Asst.
yIntern / volunteer
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yIntern / volunteer
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yExhibits Admin. Asst.
yIntern / volunteer
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
By end of 2009
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
By end of 2010
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yOther stakeholders
Determine areas of
focus for collecting
After collections
assessment, core areas
for collecting identified
Promote the Art
Greater awareness of
Collection to local,
DBG holdings; contacts
regional and national
made with other
communities
institutions
Identify needs for new Identify best practices for
facility
type of facility, including
storage, transport, &
exhibition space
By end of 2009
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
Evaluated
annually
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
Ongoing until
groundbreaking
of LibraryHerbaria-Art
Building
By 2012 or
ground breaking
of new
building;
whichever first
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
Work with architects
and other stakeholders
to create vision for
new facility
Plans created
Plan for move and
storage
Key challenges
identified; plan for
transport, handling &
storage in place
Nature of the exhibition
space outlined; exhibits
or core ideas identified
Letter of inquiry sent to
at least 20 institutions
By end of 2011
Plan for exhibition
space
Survey peers and/or
museums re: art/print
holdings
Develop concept for
one or more traveling
exhibit of objects
from permanent
collection based on
survey
Secure at least one
venue to host
exhibition
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yHead Librarian
yRHR staff
yCEO
yBoard of Trustees
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yHead Librarian
Ongoing until
2012
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
By end of 2011
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
yHead Librarian
Concept theme identified
and related checklist of
collection objects
created.
By end of 2012
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
Intent from venue;
possible down payment,
if applicable
By end of 2013
yDirector of Exhibitions
yManager of Exhibitions
75
Appendix 1
Garden Map
76
77