Posted March 9, 2010 by Anna Sher, Director of Research & Conservation
by Vera Evenson, Curator of the Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi
A great quote I heard lately, “ The first person served by Service is the Server,” perfectly exemplifies the impact the Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi has had on our decades-long volunteer, Rosa-Lee Brace.
Sam Mitchel, the founder of our mycology herbarium in l965, inspired Rosa-Lee to study fungi during those early years and to become an expert and teacher of the Ascocmycetes and other mushrooms. Later along with her husband Bob, this dedicated pair repowered the mycology collection by spending thousands of volunteer hours retroactively and meticulously going through thousands of specimens in the collection, boxing, assessing photos and correcting errors and updating the taxonomy. The needs of a mushroom collection that they knew and loved provided this goal for them in their later years to do this great work. They both felt valued. They both knew they were doing a work that would be here for decades and decades. They honored their friend Sam Mitchel.
In their intense investigation of the mycoflora of the Wheat Ridge Greenbelt, Bob and Rosa-Lee discovered a very unusual puffball. After years of collecting and studying this unusual mushroom, they showed it to world-renowned specialist Dr. Orson Miller who declared it a new subspecies of Mycenastrum. The discovery was announced to the world in a fine article in Mycologia, a peer-reviewed journal in 2005, with Rosa-Lee as co-author; it was highlighted by Rosa-Lee’s amazing photomicrographs of the taxon.
After the passing of Bob last year, our herbarium still provides a place where Rosa-Lee is honored for her expertise and sought after for her wisdom. She considers it a sanctuary as well as a place to express her need for service.
Rosa-Lee was honored last year with the prestigious Bernice “Pete” Peterson Award for exceptional volunteer service to the Gardens. Her contributions equal over 7,500 hours, and between her and her husband Bob, were the equivalent of over 5 1/2 years of full-time service.
If you are interested in the academic study of mycoflora, please contact us to explore volunteer opportunities.
Posted March 5, 2010 by Robin Doerr, Director of Marketing, P.R. and Special Events
Oh dear…I am longing for spring. It is that time of year when it is just beginning to warm up – but not enough to discard the coat and hat just yet. I have been looking for anything that will remind me that warmer weather, buds on trees and spring blooms are a mere month or so away. My wish was granted when I walked into Denver Botanic Gardens’ retail store, Shop at the Gardens. Hundreds of new items that bring on the flavor of springtime are appearing daily on the floor of the store. A french-style gazebo holds charming, robin’s egg blue plates and mugs, glimmering blue glass bud vases and fresh, flowering plants in popular Wolff flower pots. Many of the hundreds of items are well under $25. It is worth a peek to move you toward “getting your springtime on.” Stop by and remember there is plenty of free parking and no admission is required to visit Shop at the Gardens. Horray for spring!
Posted March 5, 2010 by Ellen Hertzman, Manager of Visitor Experience
Iris reticulata
An early morning, early March walk reveals surprising delights.
• Colors: the muted greys and browns of late winter are ever-so-slowly
Read more »
Posted March 4, 2010 by Panayoti Kelaidis, Senior Curator & Director of Outreach
Spanish draba (Draba hispanica)
Poor drabas! Such a colorless name…and they have other image problems too–that acid
Read more »
Posted March 3, 2010 by Nick Daniel, Gardener Tropical Collection
Medinilla magnifica
If you haven’t been able to swing in and check out the Boettcher Tropical Conservatory in the last couple of weeks, now is a great time. We have just recently finished
Read more »
Posted February 27, 2010 by Ellen Hertzman, Manager of Visitor Experience
First Crocus at the Gardens
I checked my gardening journal this week. (I start each spring with good intentions, but writing in the journal occurs in inverse proportion to the amount of work that needs to be done in the garden!) I have been imagining that this winter has been longer and colder than recent winters. I wanted to verify that perception, using my crocus-o-meter.
Read more »
Posted February 25, 2010 by Matt Cole, Director of Education
-
-
David Montgomery, geomorphologist and author
-
-
Dr. Montgomery
-
-
Dirt: The Erosion of Civilization by David Montgomery cover shot.
When gardeners dish the dirt, they may speak of soil, either their own or the soil they wished they had. It really is the bed in which you make your garden lie. So 2008 MacArthur ‘Genius’ award recipient David Montgomery, author of Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations, is the perfect speaker to help peer into our soil’s soul and see what sustainable means to the planet’s soil.
Speaking at March 4th’s Down and Dirty: the Scoop on Soil, Dr. David Montgomery will share his thoughts on the human relationship with soil. Today’s gardeners interested in growing food, enjoying beauty and living sustainably have many of the same challenges that humans have faced throughout history. Plant nutrition, soil erosion, healthy harvests, sustainable production all have underground dimensions: any garden’s foundation is literally the soil.
Read more »
Posted February 25, 2010 by Diane Zimmer, Capital Campaign Manager
For our more fair weather visitors (you know who you are!), many have not stopped by the Gardens since those first snowflakes fell in October or have not ventured beyond the safe tropical confines of Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory. You might be surprised to learn of the many changes happening seemingly overnight
Read more »
