One of my favorite places within Denver Botanic Gardens‘ 24 acres is the naturalistic Gates Pond. Half-hidden in a back corner, the pond is bordered on one side by a prairie garden, on the other by a piney woodland bluff. This is Part 5 of my tour from my visit in late September.

Gates Pond

DBG has several ponds and waterways, but Gates Pond is my favorite for its naturalism.

A few benches on elevated overlooks draw you in for a closer view. No one can resist a water view.

Gates Montane Garden

A rocky, narrow path leads up into the Montane Garden. Under fragrant pines, with glimpses of the pond below, an inviting plank bench offers a spot to rest.

I greatly enjoy this place too.

Prairie Garden

On the other side of the pond, a prairie garden in fall bloom and color was beautifully backlit by the morning sun.

Splashes of red stood out amid gold and silver foliage.

Flowering grasses are so good at capturing light.

Laura Smith Porter Plains Garden

In the Plains Garden, fuzzy white wands remain where purple liatris bloomed earlier in the season.

Towering sunflowers were still going strong.

Dryland Mesa

On a flat-topped ridge, the Dryland Mesa “was the first public garden to portray the concepts of Xeriscape,” according to DBG’s website.

Designed in 1986, the garden features plants native to arid regions of the West and “has not been watered since 1997, except for new plantings that have been watered by hand.”

A variegated agave makes an elegant container plant.

Nearby, the Hive Garden Bistro offers an excellent lunch, with a spacious deck overlooking a waterlily pond.

Sacred Earth

Circling behind the bistro, I found the Sacred Earth garden, featuring plants important to Native Americans from the Four Corners Region. 

A wooden ramada provides a shady gathering place.

Pretty ristras — strings of drying Hatch chiles — adorn the ramada.

A quick peek at the Annuals Garden

And cutting garden, where dahlias were starting to fade

Victorian Secret Garden

The Victorian Secret Garden reveals itself in a tucked-away nook. Its handsome gabled gazebo is surrounded by showy pots of tropical plants.

Twining up the gazebo, a morning glory glows with its own interior light.

Up next: The Monet Pool and Japanese teahouse with bonsai display at Denver Botanic. For a look back at DBG’s Dwarf Conifer Collection and Rock Alpine Garden, click here.

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Digging Deeper

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