"ln the cool of the garden" is a phrase with deep roots back into my childhood. Our family always had gardens to tend to and a dear elderly neighbor, Mrs. Ruth Bruerton, was a great source of a small income for a little boy, as she would pay me to take care of her flower gardens and yard.
So, I grew up with gardens.
There is just something I would suggest is deeply rooted in all of us, if we go back far enough, when it comes to gardens. This evening, I would like to present you with a brief look at the most amazing garden I have ever seen.
Actually, it is a park - Yampa River Botanic Park. And it is full of gardens.
Great! So, to get us started off, where exactly is this park? It is in north central Colorado, just south of the town of Steamboat Springs. And as you begin to get an idea of how impressive this park is, I'll let you know right up front there is no charge to see it. It is free to the public!
Oh, sure, probably funded with taxes from a pretty well-to-do "winter playground" for the "rich and famous" right? No! As you read on their website, the park receives no tax money.
Brief History and Location Details
On the park's website, you learn:
"The Park sits at an altitude of 6,880 ft in a cool valley at the foot of Mt Werner, the Steamboat Ski Mountain. In winter, cold air flows down the mountains into the Valley so that temperatures can reach as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (and Celsius). The Park gets an average of only 60 days a year without a killing frost."
How did this park get started, under such formidable conditions? The credit goes to a single couple - Bob & Audrey Enever - and their vision for what could be.
It all started with the town wanting to put a trail in along the Yampa River. In the early 1990s. There are some complicated details on their website, but the gist of it was this couple working together with the town and others in a partnership. The first gardens were planted in 1997. So, the park is over 20 years old.
What had once been a horse pasture and mobile home park became a combination of a soccer field for the town's youth (next to the park) and this great park!
Experiencing the Park
You barely get through the gate, when you are presented with this incredibly intricate rock garden, with a wonderful path flowing through it:
Given the rich diversity of all the plants in the park, here was a display talking about active research underway on plants under the Plant Select program:
"Plant Select® is the country’s leading brand of plants designed to thrive in high plains and intermountain regions, offering plants that provide more beauty with less work so gardeners of all levels can achieve smart, stunning and successful gardens using fewer resources and with a more positive environmental impact."
"Plant Select® is a nonprofit collaboration of Colorado State University, Denver Botanic Gardens and professional horticulturists. Our mission is to seek out and distribute the very best plants for landscapes and gardens from the intermountain region to the high plains and beyond."
"Peter"
"Sculptor: Hill Blackett, Jr."
" A gift to the Yampa River Botanic Park"
"1998"
Birdwatching
People aren't the only creatures which enjoy gardens. We noticed a number of people strolling carefully through the park with binoculars. Hoping for the sighting of some rare birds, as well as just enjoy seeing "old friends" again.
It takes a lot of work to be a professional birdwatcher. During my brief exposure to it, I learned about the challenges of needing to properly identify both the male and female, mature and immature, and then, as if that wasn't enough, their seasonal variations. And, after all that, as stated above, you may not see them at all, but need to be able to identify them by their calls ...
A special treat, if you are there at the right time of year, is a nesting pair of osprey, just outside the park, along the edge of the Yampa River. We didn't get to see them, but saw where they nest, once they return to this area.
The Garden List
Beyond what you've seen here, to give you an idea of how extensive the effort has been to make this wonderful place what it is to today, just "scroll down" through this listing of the various gardens inside this park:
- Blue Garden (Rainbow Neighborhood)
- The Crevice Garden (Hummingbird Neighborhood)
- Lily Garden (Sundial Neighborhood)
- The Medicinal Herb Garden (Wind Neighborhood)
- The Coreopsis Corner (Green Neighborhood)
- Garden for All Seasons (Wind Neighborhood)
- The Hidden Garden (Reflecting Neighborhood)
- Penstemon Garden (Reflecting Neighborhood)
- Jeff's Garden (Trillium Neighborhood)
- Carol Fox Garden (Trillium Neighborhood)
- Spring Bulbs Garden (Foliage Neighborhood)
- The Foliage Garden (Foliage Neighborhood)
- Sascha's Rock Garden (Kiosk Neighborhood)
- Annuals Garden (Pond Neighborhood)
- Fairy Garden (Kiosk Neighborhood)
- Rose Garden (Kiosk Neighborhood)
- The Members' Rock Garden (Members Neighborhood)
- Dorothy's Garden (Members Neighborhood)
- Doris' Arbor Garden (Sundial Neighborhood)
- The Stumpyland Fairy Garden (North Neighborhood)
Wow! That's quite the list @roleerob. Is that it? No! There are more than 50 gardens!
Hopefully, this post has helped you appreciate a truly unique gardening experience. Steamboat Springs is a pretty famous destination for vacationers - summer and winter. But to do what? Visit a garden park? Who knew?
For some of us, the story of man's origins begins in a garden - the Garden of Eden. Whether you may believe in this or not, I would like to think a visit to this delightful park gives us just a glimpse of what that might have been like.
In this fascinating time in our history, we are now linked together through our Steem blockchain. So, for my readers who maybe "on the other side of the world," perhaps you will never have the opportunity to see this garden for yourself. In that case, then, you at least have seen a bit of it through the eyes of one of your fellow Steemians.
Closing
If you have even the remotest interest in gardening, you definitely want to visit the Yampa River Botanic Park, if at all possible. It is truly an amazing place. The peace and tranquility you experience there will be with you for a long time.
Hope you have enjoyed this post. I'd love to hear from you!
Until next time, all the best to you for a better tomorrow, as we all work together to build our Steem Community! 👍 😊
Respectfully,
Steemian @roleerob
Posted using Busy.org and “immutably enshrined in the blockchain” on Thursday, 20 September 2018!
Source: Glowtext.com
If you liked this post, you might enjoy others in my "Travelogue" series:
It's raining so I happen to be stuck in the hotel for a few hours and thought I will take some time to go through your post..
First of all I like your photos. The park is beautiful and you showed it nicely with your photos. I also enjoy the way you present us your day. It is a nice story with some information that not everybody knows (e.g. about bird watching) so we can learn from it.
You also properly showed the references and linked all the material correctly. Your post is very easy to read and understand and I like it!
I would probably just pick a few gardens instead of listing so many of them and maybe write some interesting details about them and include one or two photo of each one of them. I think it would be more interesting for the reader. What do you think about that?
I think you should use travelfeed tag for your travels and add your posts to steemitworldmap. This would get you bigger audience and more attention. Let me know if you would need any help with that.
I'm happy to discuss any further details with you :)
Thank you for sharing and I wish you a lovely weekend and talk to you soon!
Quick update @delishtreats. The reply from @steemitworldmap just showed up a short time ago. About 17 hours, after embedding their link. And they elected (not sure how that works either) to make my post an Honorable mention!
Thanks again for bringing this amazing new (to me) interface to my attention. Until we "meet" again, I hope all is well with you and yours in your current travel adventure!
Hello @roleerob! :)
I apologize that it took me long to get back to you. We were on our way back home from Luxembourg. The weather was horrible so we didn't spend much time outside. It's a pity as I really wanted to take some photos of the city but it was sadly impossible. However we met some old friend so at the end it turned out to be a great weekend, just a little bit different to what I expected.
Many Steemians use the main tags because they don't know about various tags that could help them. Travelfeed is also selecting posts that they upvote and resteem. You get higher reward and visibility. You can also go to their account to see what kind of post they support. It is a great initiative!
If you want you can go to my posts and check the tags that I'm using for various posts. Walkwithme is also a good tag where you can see posts from authors who like to go outdoors and enjoy walking. There are some great posts under this tag!
At the beginning I was using tags in the same way like you are. But over time I got to hear from different Steemians about the tags that I'm using now and I'm really happy about it. I got to know a few great people who use the same tags and support each other. On that main list there are not all tags included but I don't know why..
I'm so happy for you to be included in Honorable mentions of steemitworldmap! Congratulations! Your first post and you already got a reward! Great job!
PS: Usually you get the message from steemitworldmap very quickly but if they face any technical issues it might be delayed. BUT it always comes :)
Oh and before I forget - it is good to link the post when there are a couple of photos from each garden BUT it is much better when you take these photos yourself and post them :) This would be much more appreciated by others! :) It's just a tip how to make your great post even better!
sir roleerob! what an amazing post and such stunning photos! Great job on putting together the history and building of the park.
Also, I have a hard time with my computer staying on the Engagement League page but I saw that you commented some nice things about me and wanted to thank you for your kind words.
I can't really hold a candle to you and @delishtreats as far as great commenting but I try at at least and love talking to people! lol.
God bless you sir!
My friend from the Lone Star state! Thank you for stopping by @janton. I really appreciate that. And the words of encouragement. Can't get too many of those! Well ... Maybe you can, but I've never been close to whatever the limit is, so they're always welcome. 😊
Seriously, you must be a mind reader, as I was thinking this morning, before heading off to work, about writing to you. Why? Out of concern some of my comments might be misunderstood. It is my light-hearted way of a little jab here and there in good humor (to me), but ... You just never know how words come across, so was thinking I better go "find you" and say something. You saved me the trip!
I admire what you do @janton and I'm sure many others do as well. We all contribute value "in here" each in our own way and, hopefully, to the best of our ability. You have a very natural "just yourself, no pretense" way of interacting with all of those around you. As you say, you love talking to people and I think that comes through just fine, so I wouldn't change a thing!
One thing is for sure. While I say you have a natural way about you, the "pace" you set "out their on the curation trail," is definitely supernatural! For the last couple of weeks, I've done far more "curating" than ever and I'm not even close ...
So ... You don't strike me as the "fearful" type, but if you are in any way "running scared" trying to keep the title, I can assure you Champ, I'm no threat! 😉
Until we "meet" again, all the best to you sir!
haha! sir roleerob! no sir I didn't perceive anything you said to be anything but flattering so I appreciate it a great deal and you are also very down to earth and so nice to talk to.
I love to tease people and have gotten into trouble a few times! lol. where people thought I was serious so yes, you really have to be careful.
By the way, this post that you did on Colorado deserves a curie vote that's for sure! Isn't delishtreats the best? haha. one of the many marvelous people on here. what a joy to be able to interact with so many wonderful and talented folks!
As far as running scared to keep the title, not exactly. lol. no I don't worry about it, I can't just keep winning forever so I will be in and out of the top depending on other responsibilities and work and getting knocked off could happen any time.
The way I look at it is that almost everyone in the league is more talented than me, some don't have the contacts but most could beat me if they put alot of time into it. I have alot of disadvantages which make me very beateable if someone gets serious.
delishtreats is one of them and may do it... not this week but after that she will be home and already told me she could beat me and I just said I know you can! lol. And of course at this point it would be a big deal for someone to beat me. Especially if they got close for a couple of weeks and then finally did it like the third week! lol. that would be entertaining for people and think how much of an increase in engagement that would result in.
thank you sir for your kind words, God bless you!
Hiya, just swinging by to let you know that this post made the Honorable mentions list in today's Travel Digest #328. Please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider upvoting the Travel Digest if you like what we're doing.
Excellent @steemitworldmap! Just back from posting a much more detailed response on your linked post here. Which I fully upvoted!
Thank you very much for the "Honorable mention!" I really appreciate the encouragement!!
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STOPHi @roleerob!
Your post was upvoted by @steem-ua, new Steem dApp, using UserAuthority for algorithmic post curation!
Your UA account score is currently 2.310 which ranks you at #18873 across all Steem accounts.
Your rank has improved 779 places in the last three days (old rank 19652).
In our last Algorithmic Curation Round, consisting of 426 contributions, your post is ranked at #314.
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