Detailed review by 1krispy1
1krispy1(62)
Broomfield, USA95%
I have been to the Denver Botanic Gardens on a number of occasions. However these were always around concerts that my son was involved in. I would listen then leave.
This trip was different. I was on a mission. I knew the first thing I wanted to visit was the Tropical Conservatory. It was the Orchids and bromeliads that I want to photograph. It was very interesting. The building has a path that twists around the inside walls and traverses the interior of the tropical forest. I did the path several times, flowers were everywhere and it took a couple of times to get the pictures I was after.
Attached to the main building is the Cloud Forest Tree building. It is small but the blooms were very interesting. There were placards in the room to compare where the specimen trees came from and the Colorado Mountains.
My original intent was to get a few pictures from the "Tropics" for posting then go home. However I thought as long as I was here I should go ahead and walk the grounds. It was amazing.
There are plants from around the world. There are plants from all kinds of life zones. For example cactus and succulents from arid deserts, a South African Plaza, a Lilac Garden, Plants from Asia, an Oak Grove, Victorian Secret Garden, Roman Gardens, a Chinese section, Herb Gardens, Montane Gardens, Japanese Garden and a Water Garden. This is not an all exclusive list, just a teaser of what it available.
The whole thing is laid out so it is friendly for strollers and wheel chairs. There are ramps and elevators to access the buildings and outdoor grounds. It was like an oasis in the urban scene.
All the plants were marked for easy identification. Another interesting aspect is a new feature. One can use their own cell phones and a speaker comes on the line to explain what one is looking at.
Denver Botanic Gardens10
Ratings
-
Accessibility
-
"Must See"-Factor
-
Budget Friendliness
-
Architecture
-
Diversity of Vegetation
-
Relaxation Value
-
The Denver Botanical Gardens are centrally located in Denver. Getting there is straight forward. In my case I took Colorado Blvd. south to 13th Avenue. Then I went west on 13th Avenue to York Street. The Gardens are on 11th Avenue and York St. York is a one way street south bound. Get in the left lane to access the parking lot straight across York from the main entrance. If coming from the south Josephine is the north bound one way street. The parking lot is between the parallel streets of York and Josephine.
The entrance fee was only $7.50. I thought this was very reasonable particularly after I had been inside for a while.
The architectural aspects of the Denver Botanical Gardens were very interesting to me. The Tropical Conservatory building is very unique. A photograph of it can be seen at http://www.botanicgardens.org/pageinpage/generalin formation.cfm. It is something of a Denver landmark as a result of this interesting design. It is home to a wide variety of tropical forest type plants including orchids and bromeliads. Another interesting aspect was the Japanese Tea House. This structure was built in Japan, then disassembled, shipped to Denver and reassembled by the same craftsmen that had built it in Japan. The crowds are laid out in a wide variety of things to reflect the variety of plants that are being exhibited in each of the variety of areas.
There are over 9500 plant species from around the world represented at the 23 acre site on York. It is amazing in the diversity of plants and places they represent.
My original intent when visiting was to get enough photographs from the Tropical Conservatory that I would have five good ones to post to Trivago and go home. However I started walking the rest of the Gardens and had to remain and enjoy what was available. This is why I rated the recreation value so high.
All factors combined for me to give the must see factor it high rating. This was a very interesting complex. It has a vast variety of plants and grounds that was well worth the visit even in February. In late March and April when it really starts greening up and the blooms start coming on it will be fantastic.
